Debby Soo on leadership
From Debby Soo, CEO of OpenTable, 2026 Hospitality ICON awardee, in conversation with Dean Arun Upneja · · Boston University School of Hospitality
“I had wanted to be a CEO for a very long time in college. That's what I wanted to do. I didn't know of what. I didn't know how. Um I remember when I was a teenager I saw Andrea Jung who was the former CEO of Avon. Do you guys even know Avon? Okay. The OT's people know all um it's a beauty company where you know it's like a direct to direct to consu. Okay. Okay. Anyways, Andrea Jung, Asian woman. There weren't very many Asian woman CEOs. Um, you know, when I was growing up and I guess, you know, even today, uh, and when I saw her photo on that magazine cover, I was like, you know, she went to Princeton, her parents wanted her to be a lawyer, then she ended up going to retail. Um, I was just like, yeah, like that's what I want to do. I didn't know how, uh, but I knew like that that's what I wanted to do.”
On , Debby Soo, Chief Executive Officer of OpenTable at Booking Holdings Inc, spoke about leadership during Debby Soo, CEO of OpenTable, 2026 Hospitality ICON awardee, in conversation with Dean Arun Upneja on Boston University School of Hospitality.
About Debby Soo
Debby Soo, CEO of OpenTable, received the 2026 Hospitality ICON Award at the Hospitality Leadership Summit hosted by Boston University School of Hospitality on April 10, 2026. In a conversation with Dean Arun Upneja, Soo discussed her career journey and OpenTable's restaurant-first mission. She described the company she joined in August 2020 as "not shiny," noting it was in the middle of the pandemic when restaurants were largely closed. Soo criticized past practices, saying that during COVID, OpenTable waived fees but required restaurants to sign three-year contracts to receive free months, calling that approach "stupid." Soo stated that under her leadership, OpenTable's revenue per restaurant has not grown and has "declined purposely" to compete with flat-rate competitors and ensure the value matches what restaurants pay. She emphasized that restaurants are the paying customers, not diners, and that resources are focused on providing best-in-class software for them. Soo added that despite declining revenue per restaurant, overall revenue has increased every year due to growing the install base, hiring more salespeople, and improving the product.