Debby Soo on business model
From Debby Soo, CEO of OpenTable, 2026 Hospitality ICON awardee, in conversation with Dean Arun Upneja · · Boston University School of Hospitality
“Let's be clear restaurants are our customers. Restaurants not diners pay us. Diners don't pay us [ __ ] Okay? It is the restaurants that are paying us. So why would we spend equal amount of time on the diner side when this is the side that pays us? And more importantly, this is the side that generates and kicks off that flywheel because no one's loyal to a platform. They're loyal to the restaurants on the platform. We are not the star. The restaurants are the stars. Okay? We promote the restaurants. It's all about them.”
On , Debby Soo, Chief Executive Officer of OpenTable at Booking Holdings Inc, spoke about business model 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.