Dorsia
Congratulations, you snagged a table at one of the country’s most popular restaurants without spending months glued to your Resy notifications. Behave well or that might not happen again.
As reservations at top restaurants have gotten harder to secure — and become a more recognizable status symbol — some diners have turned to Dorsia, a members-only app that promises to get you a seat. Accepted members pay either $175, $5,175, or $25,175 a year to be on the app, and each reservation has a spending minimum.
But CEO Marc Lotenberg told Business Insider that money alone doesn’t guarantee you’ll get or keep a Dorsia membership.
“You could just be a rich person and be a total dick,” he said. “We don’t want that on the platform. We kick people off of the platform.”
Lotenberg said restaurants get to choose which reservations to accept, meaning diners who act poorly could be unofficially barred from returning. Though Lotenberg understands everyone has “bad days,” he doesn’t want users who treat hospitality workers poorly.
“Being rude to servers,” he said when asked about what can get a person removed. “Just feeling like you’re better than someone or being super entitled.” Dorsia didn’t disclose how many diners it has removed since its launch in 2022.
When it comes to getting onto Dorsia, it’s more about contacts than deep pockets.
“Our entire thing is based on who you know, who you’re connected to, and who knows you,” Lotenberg said. “It’s not a matter of how much money you have. It’s not a matter of your job title.”
He compared vetting applicants to running the door of a nightclub — the bouncer intuitively understands who to let in, “and either you know it or you don’t.” It’s more like an art than a science, he said.
The broader luxury sector is experiencing a slowdown, though Dorsia might be positioned in an emerging industry sweet spot. Consumers are increasingly interested in luxury experiences more than goods, according to a January report from McKinsey.
The app had raised $50.4 million in seed and Series A funding as of February, and was valued at $146 million, Dorsia confirmed. There are currently about 30,000 paying members.
Those who are well-behaved enough to keep their membership can expect some big changes in the coming months. Lotenberg didn’t give many details on what those might include, but they’ll likely be somewhat surprising. A self-described “intuitive founder,” he doesn’t rely on client surveys or spreadsheets for big business decisions.
“Our job is to create what the users don’t know they want,” he said.
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