Houston restaurant reservations trended below comparable markets such as Dallas, Austin, Atlanta, and New Orleans in the fourth quarter of 2023. However, by Christmas, local reservations were less than 1% below the same period in 2022, which may indicate an uptick as 2024 gets underway.

Looking more broadly, Houston trailed behind in reservations compared to national and global markets, however, a year-over-year decline in reservations is consistent across most markets in Q4. Nationally, reservations were down by 2.7% and global reservations decreased by 2.2% compared to the same period last year.

OpenTable’s State of Industry data set, explored the macroeconomic factors that impacted diners this year, globally and nationally, including a look at Houston diners.  

• In the U.S., OpenTable data showed a year-over-year decline in diners by week throughout Q4, except for a brief period of holiday growth from early to mid-December.
• Looking at all of 2023, the data shows small pockets of weekly year-over-year growth nationwide at the beginning of January 2023 into February and again at the beginning of May, correlating to Mother’s Day.
• In Houston, December 2023 saw a healthy spike in reservations year-over-year, with a considerable spike in reservations on Sundays during the month compared to 2022.
• Houstonians dined out more on holidays in 2023. Most notably, Houston reservations saw an 82% increase year over year in reservations on Christmas Day and a 42% increase in reservations on New Year’s Eve.

How has inflation impacted dining trends?

According to OpenTable’s State of Industry data set, U.S. inflation rates outpaced average check size for all of 2023, except for May 2023 through July 2023. In connection, the U.S. saw the narrowest decline in year-over-year reservations during the same time frame, roughly down 2 to 3% compared to an average decline of 4% to 6% during the year as a whole)—a strong indication that consumer buying power has a direct correlation to reservations made. It is also important to note that the data set is focused on diners with reservations and does not factor in those dining at restaurants without reservations (think fast food or mid-scale establishments).

According to the most recent  Amex Trendex, published in September 2023, which surveys global consumers on their current and future spending habits around luxury shopping, travel, and dining, “Almost 8 in 10 (79%) consumers surveyed report they are dining out more often or about the same this year compared to last year,” and “53% of consumers surveyed agree they prefer to eat at hot new restaurants over upscale restaurants for special occasions”. This could indicate that, overall, consumers are still dining out, but opting for more economical or experiential restaurant options that might not appear in the standard reservation data sets.

2023 Dining Trends – What Do they mean for 2024?

Though the data for 2023 shows more declines than growth, OpenTable competitor Resy is optimistic about the progress made in 2023 and the outlook for 2024. According to The 2023 Resy Retrospective, dinner is becoming the “main event”, with a shift to viewing dinner as an experience rather than a pit stop before entertainment, and Millennial and Gen Z consumers are leading the trend. Leaning into experiential dining is a movement that is also showing up similarly in the travel industry, according to the most recent Skift Megatrends. Along with dining as experience, the industry should see a continuation of consumers preferring hot new restaurants over upscale restaurants, value in aesthetics that is comparable to valuing good food, an increase in solo dining, and diners choosing restaurants based on social media influence, according to Resy.

Written by Megan Henson 

Pictured: Steak 48; Credit Michael Anthony