New legislation to target bots eating up reservations at restaurants

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Turns out that restaurant you've been dying to go to may not be fully booked after all. Rep. Anthony D'Esposito (R-Island Park) is set to introduce new legislation Monday that would target third-party companies who use bots to snatch up restaurant reservations moments after they go live, and then sell them for hundreds of dollars. Reservations that are not sold go unused, and restaurants end up half empty - losing revenue in the process. Representatives from the Independent Restaurant Coalition and New York State Restaurant Association both told News 12 this is a growing problem. They say restaurants are dealing with unprecedented "no-show" rates. The state Legislature passed a similar law this summer. It is awaiting Gov. Kathy Hochul's signature. "