Revenue-raising zeal
Like a plane ticket or a hotel room, the increasingly common proposal is for restaurants to start implementing dynamic pricing. Dani García is the latest chef to join the chorus of voices applauding the measure. It involves increasing the price per person during peak times and lowering it when tables are slow to fill.
The solution makes sense from a strictly commercial point of view. It's pure supply and demand. The restaurant has a limited number of tables and specific hours for selling them. If there are days when demand exceeds supply and others when there are extra seats, it seems reasonable to try to balance things out through pricing.
The problem is that the restaurant business isn't an exact economic science. Or, rather, those who sit down to eat don't respond solely to economic criteria. There's a subjective, even sentimental, variable that shouldn't be overlooked. And that's where dynamic pricing can backfire: instead of filling the gaps in the reservation book, it can do just the opposite.
Most people don't go out for dinner on Saturdays because it's the day they most want to, but because it's the day they can afford it. During the week they work, get up early, leave the office late, pick up the children, and arrive home tired. Dynamic pricing, in that case, would end up lowering the price for the customer who least needs the discount and raising it for the one who has the least ability to avoid it.
Some can afford to treat a Tuesday like a Saturday, while others eagerly await Saturday so they can go out. This eagerness to maximize profits per meal speaks volumes about the kind of hospitality industry we're heading towards. Clearly, an empty table is a problem for a restaurant, but a loyal clientele that ensures the business's survival isn't built by squeezing every last penny out of diners.
