http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/07/tech/mobile/reservation-hop-app-controversy/
I’m pretty sure I love just about everything this app entails. Selling restaurant reservations for cash? That’s brilliant. Why did it take until 2014 for this to occur?
Okay, there’s a potential issue of fraud here, given that some reservations are knowingly not being used. This issue could be solved by simply requiring a credit card and a “no show” fee. Trust me, some day soon restaurants will do this themselves, not through some third party.
I think the most interesting statement in the article centers around this wave of anger over “making money off something that should be free.” Something that should be free. That is so god damn hilarious I don’t even know where to start. Yeah, everything should be free.
A little econ lesson, starting with an old saying: time is money. Time spent in procuring reservations? Last-minute reservations? There’s no value in that? Seems to me we’re finally putting a real price on something that had a hidden price all along.
Things that should be free. This is what happens when journalists and “San Francisco” types mix.
No one but you can understand why I gave the desk clerk at the hotel $50 as a tip. I did not want to get in the line (about 50 people checking in, but there was a “no waiting” line for special people. I decided I was special. OK, I BOUGHT a spot in the special line. I was able to avoid the massive line, get a room that was ready and a $50 credit for food. I think I was a winner.