Restaurant Reservations May Require A Health Screening After Coronavirus

While some notable establishments have closed permanently, other restaurants across the U.S. are beginning to reopen after coronavirus closures. With certain protective measures still in effect, some spots may require diners to answer questionnaires about their health history before they're awarded a table.

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Although these virtual screenings will not be made mandatory by reservation platforms including Resy, OpenTable and Tock, some platforms do include features that allow each individual restaurant to check in with guests before they come in to eat.

Resy, for example, has custom communications tools including two-way SMS text and personalized confirmation emails built into restaurants' operating systems. These can be used to exchange health and safety protocols if the restaurant chooses to use them this way, but it's completely up to the restaurant, a Resy spokesperson told The Daily Meal in an email.

For added safety, the platform recently launched a mobile waitlist for customers to join if they're in proximity of a restaurant to avoid crowding communal waiting areas and a capacity monitor to regulate occupancy. Resy at Home, a meal ordering and contactless pickup tool, is launching in June.

OpenTable will not be integrating any sort of survey feature, and a spokesperson for Tock — co-founded by Chicago restaurateur Nick Kokonas — said that each restaurant is in complete control of any questions they'd like to ask guests before dining.

A lot has changed since COVID-19 began to spread in America months ago, and mandatory health screenings are just one way the restaurant experience will look different after coronavirus.