“Hot Pepper Gourmet”, a restaurant reservation and gourmet information site with the highest satisfaction rating (*1), operated by Recruit Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, President and CEO: Keiichi Ushida), will be released on January 22, 2026 ( From Thursday), the Hot Pepper Gourmet app will allow you to check out the available seats at a glance and create a new dining out experience where you can quickly and easily decide on a restaurant.

(*1) As of June 2025, researched by Tokyo Shoko Research Co., Ltd.

1. Overview of the “seat hold” function

This feature is a feature that allows you to search for “restaurants that you can enter right now” on the map on the “Hot Pepper Gourmet” app, and instantly secure a seat on the spot.

[Flow of use]

1. When you start the app, restaurants in your area will be displayed on a map.
2. Of these, stores that currently have vacant seats will be clearly displayed as pins on the map as “stores nearby.”
3. Based on the current seat occupancy data sent from the store, the availability of available seats based on the user’s search criteria is displayed, and you can secure a seat at your desired store directly from the app.
4. Even after you have secured a seat, you can cancel up to 1 minute before the start time (*2), giving you flexibility in responding to last-minute schedule changes.

Function introduction site:https://www.hotpepper.jp/walkin/features/

(*2) Cancellation regulations do not apply to seat suspension cancellations, but function usage may be restricted depending on the number of cancellations from the app within a certain period of time or the number of unauthorized cancellations.

2. Background to the release of the “seat hold” function

A survey conducted when developing the function found that approximately 63% of customers visit without making a reservation, even at restaurants that accept reservations, and that more than 30% of those customers decide on a restaurant immediately before visiting (within an hour).
When there are many people who suddenly decide to eat out and want to find a restaurant right away, consumers can know in advance the availability of seats at a restaurant, and are forced to walk around town looking for a vacant seat, call multiple restaurants, or spend time searching for a restaurant.
“Hot Pepper Gourmet” utilizes temporary seat information obtained by linking with SaaS for stores such as “Air Register” and proposes “a nearby store that you can enter immediately” to consumers who are looking for a restaurant right now, aiming to realize a new store visit experience that eliminates the “disadvantages” of both restaurants and consumers.

(*3)Internet survey (conducted in July 2024). The survey was conducted on 10,000 men and women in their 20s to 60s (Hokkaido, Miyagi, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Aichi, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Nara, Hiroshima, and Fukuoka). Of the 5,869 people who had the experience of eating out at night, we tallied up to three visits (total of 13,392) from eating out.[Timing for deciding on a restaurant]Of the 1,000 people listed above who had the experience of eating out without making a reservation, we also tallied up to 3 visits (total of 1,904).

3. About special benefits

In order to allow more people to experience this feature, starting February 5, 2026 (Thursday), we will be offering a special benefit that will give you a total discount of up to 5,000 yen only for those who use “Seating Holder” for the first time. If you pre-register from January 22nd (Thursday), you will receive a 2000 yen discount ticket! You can save even more money. Please check the bonus site for details.
https://www.hotpepper.jp/campaign/lastminut_cp_202602/

4. Comments from the person in charge of “seating” function development

Shuhei Ishikawa
Recruit Co., Ltd.
Deputy Manager of Sales Promotion Area Product Management Office (Travel, Food and Beverage, Beauty, IDP)

Since its launch as a coupon magazine, “HOT ​​PEPPER” has changed its form in line with the spread of the Internet and smartphones, and changes in people’s behavioral habits.
This “seat hold” function was developed to solve the problem of consumers having difficulty in seeing the current availability of seats, and the structural problem of restaurants having difficulty making effective use of vacant seats on the same day. By combining the knowledge of “Hot Pepper Gourmet”, which has spent many years focused on reservations and attracting customers in the food and beverage field, and the data obtained from the “Air Register” SaaS platform, this is a new store visit experience that only Recruit has been able to create.
“Hot Pepper Gourmet” will continue to evolve, not only as an infinite reservation platform, but also as a service that allows consumers to easily find the restaurants they want to visit “anytime, anywhere.” Furthermore, we will contribute to the sustainability of the restaurant industry while enjoying the optimal matching of restaurants and individuals.