Square & OpenTable link restaurant booking & spend data

Square has expanded its partnership with OpenTable, linking reservation, payment and guest data in a single view for restaurants.

The deal builds on the companies' point-of-sale partnership, which began in 2022. Under the expanded integration, restaurants using both systems can combine booking histories and dining preferences from OpenTable with transaction and operational data from Square.

Operators can see what guests booked, what they ordered, how much they spent, how they paid and whether they returned. The goal is to reduce the need to manage reservation and transaction information across separate systems.

The integration works across Square's software and hardware products, including Square Handheld. OpenTable contributes guest data such as booking behaviour, preferences and special-occasion information, while Square adds order details, spend data, payment method and repeat-visit records.

Restaurant data

The companies are targeting a longstanding issue in hospitality technology: operators often use different systems for reservations and payments. That can make it harder to track the full customer journey from booking to bill.

By joining the datasets, restaurants can link bookings to revenue, repeat visits and customer lifetime value. The combined view is also intended to support decisions on loyalty programmes, marketing and guest engagement.

Operators can opt in to broader data sharing across both platforms, creating unified guest profiles designed to help staff recognise returning diners and tailor service using a fuller picture of their visit history.

James Schonzeit, Head of Food and Beverage at Square, said the partnership is intended to remove manual work for restaurant operators.

"Reservations, payments, and guest data shouldn't be different systems that restaurant operators have to stitch together themselves," said James Schonzeit, Head of Food and Beverage at Square.

"No one has time for that, and we're not in the business of gatekeeping their most valuable insights. By providing a cohesive view of guest and transaction data, Square and OpenTable are removing the manual work of piecing together who a guest is, so operators can get valuable time back and spend it on the hospitality and craft that keeps their guests happy," Schonzeit said.

Wider reach

OpenTable, part of Booking Holdings, works with more than 70,000 restaurants worldwide and fills 2 billion seats a year. The Square tie-up covers restaurants in Australia, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and France.

The partnership gives OpenTable users a closer connection to payment and in-venue transaction data, while Square gains a stronger link to reservation and diner preference information. For restaurants, the main attraction is likely to be a single record connecting front-of-house guest history with spend at the table.

Robin Chiang, Chief Growth Officer at OpenTable, said the expanded partnership is meant to make restaurant systems work together more smoothly.

"Restaurants can do their best work when they have tech running behind the scenes that interacts seamlessly to deliver insights that power hospitality - that's what this expanded partnership enables," said Robin Chiang, Chief Growth Officer at OpenTable.

"Square is a natural partner to support OpenTable's mission of serving restaurants and we look forward to working together to deliver best-in-class guest insights, connectivity and security," Chiang said.

Operator view

The companies also included comments from a restaurant operator already using both systems. Justin Pichetrungsi, Chef and Owner of Anajak Thai, said the combined data reduces uncertainty about who is arriving for a booking.

"Square and OpenTable working closely together means our restaurant isn't guessing who's walking through the door," said Justin Pichetrungsi, Chef and Owner of Anajak Thai.

"We might know their favorite dish, what they're celebrating, their preferences, and how regularly they visit. Our ability to cater to this only improves the hospitality our restaurant is known for. Both platforms have become essential to how we run our business, and now we're able to keep raising the bar on what our guests experience every time they book, sit down with us, order, and pay," Pichetrungsi said.

The move reflects broader demand in hospitality for integrated software that brings together guest acquisition, service and payment data. Restaurants have faced pressure to do more with fewer staff while also trying to build repeat business and personalise service for regular diners.

For suppliers, those demands have turned interoperability into a competitive issue. Payment providers, point-of-sale vendors and reservation platforms increasingly need to show that their products can share data cleanly rather than force operators to bridge gaps themselves.

Square sees the expanded arrangement as part of a broader effort to help restaurants connect more of their operational and customer information. OpenTable is seeking to deepen its role beyond reservations by tying diner information more closely to in-service activity and spend.

The practical test for restaurants will be whether the linked systems make it easier to identify high-value guests, track the return on bookings and use that information in day-to-day service. The partnership now spans six markets: Australia, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and France.