You can now book a reservation at 130 of the top restaurants worldwide through Google Maps.
Chicago startup Tock, which offers tickets to top tier restaurants across the world, announced an integration with Google Maps Monday.
When a user clicks on the location pin for a restaurant through Google Maps, additional information about the restaurant pops up (such as hours, phone number, and menu) including the option to "Find a table" via Tock. When a user clicks this option, it opens the Tock website for the restaurant where users can choose their experience, number of guests, date, and time.
Find tables at many of the world's top restaurants with @Tock in Google Maps. Ready to #TreatYoself? pic.twitter.com/BsO82e7ng6
— Google Maps (@googlemaps) January 23, 2017
The Google Maps integration will work for all 130 restaurants currently on Tock's platform, which span 42 cities in 11 countries.
With Tock's restaurant ticketing system, users put down a deposit for their meal (which has helped restaurants cut down on no-shows, the startup told Chicago Inno in June). They also offer dining "experiences," such as a marriage proposal set up at a rooftop bar in Chicago or a "chef's counter" seating at a restaurant in Ann Arbor that provides a full view of the kitchen.
"We see this as a win-win: Google users get to find great restaurants, and our restaurant partners get more guests," said Tock cofounder Brian Fitzpatrick to Chicago Inno over email.
"We're pretty excited about this integration since most people discover restaurants through Search, Maps, and Social," he added. "Google helps guests find a restaurant, we help guests find a reservation."
Tock was founded by Fitzpatrick, former senior engineering manager at Google, and Chicago restauranteur Nick Kokonas (he owns Alinea, Next, and the Aviary) in 2015. Since launching, they've processed $132 million in pre-paid bookings, and last month they seated over 80,000 people, said Fitzpatrick. They raised $7.5 million in funding in October.
