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HOTREC ‘MEAL-SHARING’ PLATFORM POLICY PAPER – MAY 2018
3.2. Market Developments in
‘Meal-Sharing’ and Home Restaurants
Understanding the position of home restaurants within the wide
spectrum of customer dining experiences is above all about
understanding interrelationships. The ongoing growth of relevant
platforms and the reputation home restaurant experiences
have gained recently is to a certain extent a consequence of
developments occurred in the sectors of short-term rentals and
ride-sharing. As another sector of the ‘collaborative’ economy
with a direct impact on travel and tourism, home restaurants
demonstrate faster or slower trajectories of growth among
countries and destinations based on the local and international
stories of different platforms.
The following overview of key events and developments over the
last 2 years sheds light on these interrelationships and the recent
initiatives of key players.
Moving into the dining space: food tourism
and the ever-expanding list of Airbnb’s
ambitions
•
In July 2017, Airbnb revealed a wide agenda by identifying
cooking experiences as one of the most dynamic on-demand
experiences of Airbnb Trips
11
.
•
To boost this segment, Airbnb rolled out in December 2017
a series of YouTube videos featuring the personal stories of
selected hosts and a series of “Holiday Recipes from Around
the World”
12
.
•
It has also begun to provide guidelines for compliance
with local regulations to cooks who are involved in foodie
experiences in major destinations such as Amsterdam
13
.
Home restaurant platforms: monitoring a
potential giant in its infancy
•
With an estimated valuation above €30 million, the new
Eatwith is currently the most potent brand among home
restaurant platforms.
•
After purchasing Cookening, the original EatWith and Grub
Club over the last 3 years, VizEat finally rebranded as Eatwith
early in 2018 14.
a. The global plans of VizEat got a boost in October 2017
through prestigious partnerships with Virtuoso
15
and
Huawei. In the latter case, the partnership has allowed
Huawei smartphone users in China and Europe to
download the platform’s app in a variety of languages,
including Mandarin
16
.
b. The acquisition of EatWith in September 2017 included
a deal for the entire entity (website and past activity) and
there is no evidence that it could cause conflict on EatWith
earlier partnerships with travel companies such as The
Travel Corporation
17
.
c. Furthermore, the acquisition of Grub Club in January
2018 is expected to enrich the portfolio of Eatwith with
culinary experiences in pop-up events and supper-clubs
18
.
d. As a consequence of recent development, the new
Eatwithclaimsnow20 thousandhosts. Thesehostsprovide
150 thousand guests with 5,000 foodie experiences on a
daily basis among more than 130 countries
19
.
e. Eatwith also provides all hosts and guests with a £5
million guarantee, which is suggested to cover all cases
where liability is called into question
20
.
Home restaurant platforms: a sector in
constant evolution
•
Withlocals managed in October 2017 to raise €3.5 million
in Series A funding led by Inkef Capital. This is expected to
boost the plans of the platform to expand in 2018 into 40
more cities including New York, Florence, and Hong Kong
21
.
•
Gnammo in Italy, launched in May 2017 ‘Young Chefs Grow’
in collaboration with a Professional Institute from Turin. The
project aimed at helping the advanced students gain valuable
experience and develop practical skills while cooking for the
users of Gnammo in a series of public events
22
.
•
In October 2017, the Dutch platform Airdnd rebranded to
ShareDnD so as to avoid a legal dispute with Airbnb
23
. Earlier
on, the platform had also attracted strong criticism from
Koninklijke Horeca Nederland for organizing and facilitating
illegal practices during Amsterdam Restaurant Week
24
.