The law takes aim at a new practice that restaurants gripe can lead to canceled reservations and lost revenue. (Photo by Dana DiFilippo/New Jersey Monitor)
Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed bipartisan legislation Thursday barring third-party services from listing or selling reservations at New Jersey restaurants without the eateries’ consent, a measure lawmakers had pushed to finalize before the state begins hosting matches for the World Cup next month.
Under the new law, any website or app that advertises, lists, promotes, or sells restaurant reservations without a formal agreement with the restaurant will be subject to civil penalties of up to $500 per violation, with fines accruing daily.
The bill passed both chambers of the Legislature with overwhelming support in March.
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The legislation takes aim at a practice that has become more popular in recent years. Third parties make reservations at popular restaurants and resell them, often at steep markups, without the knowledge of the businesses involved. If no one purchases the reservation, it can often be canceled at the last minute, potentially leaving restaurants with empty tables and lost revenue.
During the 2025 Super Bowl in New Orleans, a third-party service sold a restaurant reservation for more than $2,000.
New Jersey lawmakers like Sen. Kristin Corrado (R-Passaic), a chief sponsor of the bill, said they were eager to eliminate reservation scalping before tens of thousands of tourists are expected to visit the region for the World Cup at MetLife Stadium.
“Third-party reservation brokers have sold tables that they do not own for outrageous prices, often without the knowledge of a restaurant or small business. This new law protects patrons from price-gouging and ensures that the benefit of major events goes to our local businesses, not opportunistic middlemen,” Corrado said in a statement.
On reservation website AppointmentTrader.com, a table for two on Saturday at popular Montclair eatery Pasta Ramen goes for $78. A reservation for two patrons at Razza in Jersey City would cost $121 for Saturday night, but could go for over $400.
A website spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on the new law.
The law does not apply to reservation platforms like OpenTable and Resy, which have contractual relationships with restaurants and don’t allow patrons to buy other people’s reservations.
“When someone makes a dining reservation, they are placing their trust in the restaurant and in whoever facilitates that booking that their table will be available,” Assemblyman Clinton Calabrese (D-Bergen) said in a statement. “But when an unauthorized third party makes promises it has no obligation to honor, it is the patron who is left without a table, and the restaurant that is left to manage a situation entirely outside of its control.”
The law goes into effect immediately.
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