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Committee Approves Amendment to Bar Unauthorized Third‑Party Restaurant Reservation Services
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Summary
The Committee on Commerce and Economic Development approved an amendment to bill 250888 and voted to report it from committee with a favorable recommendation, directing first reading at the next council session.
The Committee on Commerce and Economic Development of the Philadelphia City Council approved an amendment to bill 250888 requiring third‑party restaurant reservation services to obtain written authorization from food service establishments before charging or collecting fees and directed the bill be reported from committee with a favorable recommendation and first reading suspended to the next council session.
The Department of Licenses and Inspections’ zoning and legislation director, Sarah Adamo, testified the department intends to enforce the measure through a complaint‑driven system that would allow a restaurant to submit documentation that a third‑party service arranged unauthorized reservations. "This legislation requires that third‑party reservation services obtain written authorization from food service establishments prior to charging or collecting a fee for a reservation," Adamo said, and L&I would be the enforcing agency. She recommended an amendment to require third‑party services to keep written records of authorizations and said failure to retain records should itself be a violation.
Representatives from the Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association urged passage. Ben Folechin, PRLA vice president for strategy and engagement, said unauthorized listings mislead diners and harm restaurants’ reputations and operations. "These services sell or resell reservations, profiting off restaurant inventory they don't control," Folechin said. Local restaurateur Chris D’Ambro described concrete harms: guests arriving without a restaurant record of the reservation, lost revenue and reputational damage, and recent incidents of rapid‑fire negative online reviews and alleged extortion tied to third‑party listings.
Committee members discussed working with the administration and stakeholders on technical amendments; the committee approved the circulated amendment and then voted verbally to report the bill as amended with a favorable recommendation and to suspend council rules so the bill may receive first reading at the next council session.
The amendment and the committee’s action do not themselves change the city code beyond the committee recommendation; final enactment will require council passage and mayoral approval. The Department of Licenses and Inspections indicated it will draft the proposed record‑keeping amendment for the committee and staff to review.
Votes at a glance: the committee recorded verbal "ayes" for both the amendment to bill 250888 and the motion to report the bill as amended; the transcript records the motion and verbal approval but does not include numerical roll‑call tallies in the committee session.
Next steps: the bill will be placed on the council docket for first reading at the next council session, subject to any further amendments on the floor.
