Impossible reservations

[macrosan]

Hello Fresh_a

How do you obtain those "impossible" table reservations, or theatre or opera tickets ? Is there a special concierge's grapevine, or do you have contacts with "scalpers", or do you use big agencies ?

Or does your hotel maintain special relationships with any of these establishments ?

[fresh_a]

Macrosan, thanks for the question.

We all have our contacts, but persistance really pays off, for example, when a client asks for a three-star Michelin on a Saturday night. As much as a "contact" may want to help you out, if you call, and call again, and stick to the task, maybe you'll get someone's cancelled table.... The top restaurants also let us know when they have tables left, just in case...

[cabrales]

fresh_a: How many times might you be calling a restaurant on a given day? Also, how many specific restaurant reservations requests do you on average receive a day?

Would you recommend a strategy of calling repeatedly for individual diners?

Are there particular strategies for smaller-capacity restaurants like L'Astrance and Hiramatsu?

[fresh_a]

I would be extremely careful in calling restaurants too often. Calling too often could lose you your possibility of dining in certain establishments....

I can permit myself to bother restaurants from time to time, and with people I know, in a way that others may not be able to do...

It is important to give the restaurant the impression that you are serious, flexible, and really want to eat there...sometimes a fax with a credit card number as guarantee does the trick (though many establishments would never charge you a penny...)

Most establishments like Astrance and Hiramatsu I would suggest contacting as early as possible, although sometimes the last minute works out just fine...