* § 391-w. Unauthorized restaurant reservations. 1. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
- (a) "Food service establishment" shall have the same meaning as that term is defined in section three hundred ninety-one-v of this article.
- (b) "Third-party restaurant reservation service" means any website, mobile application or other internet service that: (i) offers or arranges for reserving on-premises service for a customer at a food service establishment; and (ii) that is owned and operated by a person other than the person who owns such food service establishment. A third-party restaurant reservation service shall not include any reservation distribution channels that are authorized to distribute reservations by way of a contractual relationship with either the applicable food service establishment or a contractual designee of the food service establishment who obtained reservation distribution rights directly from the food service establishment.
- 2. A third-party restaurant reservation service shall not list, advertise, promote, or sell reservations for a food service establishment through the website, mobile application or other platform of such third-party restaurant reservation service without a written agreement between such third-party restaurant reservation service and such food service establishment to include reservations at the food service establishment on such website, mobile application or other platform.
- 3. Any person who violates, or causes another person to violate, a provision of this section or any rule promulgated pursuant thereto, shall be subject to a civil penalty that shall not exceed one thousand dollars for each violation. Violations by third-party restaurant reservation services under this section shall accrue on a daily basis for each day and for each food service establishment with respect to which a violation of this section or any rule promulgated pursuant to this section was committed. A proceeding to recover any civil penalty or restitution authorized pursuant to this section may be brought within any agency of the state designated to conduct such proceedings. * NB Effective February 17, 2025