1 August 2014 – The Chope Group, Asia’s premier restaurant reservations provider, today announced it is now available in China in a high-profile partnership with the China arm of leading international media company Ringier. Already a popular service in Singapore and Hong Kong that has sat over 10 million diners, Chope provides instant online reservations free of cost to diners, and in turn provides digital marketing and reservation capabilities to its network of restaurants.
Initially, Chope will be rolling out its online reservation technology to the thousands of restaurants listed on Ringier’s flagship lifestyle property City Weekend. City Weekend is China’s largest English speaking online guide, with 5.8 million pageviews per month and 120,000 distribution of the printed version. With 16 years of established presence in China, City Weekend has become the definitive dining guide for expats and affluent English-speakers there. Diners will be able to instantly secure tables at China’s hottest restaurants for free, in a matter of seconds, via both City Weekend and Chope’s websites and apps. The partnership initially covers Shanghai and Beijing, but is expected to grow with City Weekends reach in China. The digital magazine is already available in Guangzhou and Suzhou, with more cities expected.
“Almost every English-speaking person in China’s largest cities uses City Weekend to discover restaurants,” said Chope CEO Arrif Ziaudeen, “And we believe those readers will also appreciate an easier way to make reservations that don’t require them to call repeatedly and shout down a phone line!”
City Weekend echoed the sentiment. “City Weekend is excited to forge this new partnership with Chope, making restaurant reservations faster and easier for all of our listed restaurants and for diners in China as a whole,” said Ringier China General Manager Kenny Zhou.
Chope first entered China as a reservation service for PizzaExpress, the global chain of popular pizza restaurants. Having powered PizzaExpress’s reservations for several years in Hong Kong, Chope now services their outlets in Shanghai, providing a solid start to gaining a stronghold in the China restaurant market. “As we showed with PizzaExpress and hundreds of other clients, online restaurant reservations is well received in Asia, and we look forward to making it available at more restaurants in Shanghai and beyond,” said Ziaudeen.
Chope grew out love of dining and a desire to make it more seamless for diners and restaurants alike. “We rapidly expanded from nine restaurants and a handful of users to over 400 restaurants in 4 cities, and nearly 100,000 diners per month,” said Ziaudeen, who set the company up from savings in 2011 shortly after graduating from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.
Chope is available online at www.chope.co and iPhone and Android apps.
About Chope
The Chope Group is Asia’s premier online restaurant reservations provider. With a range of products to meet the varying needs of restaurateurs, Chope helps restaurants use online booking channels, improve yield, and keep better track of their clients’ preferences. Chope’s website www.chope.co and apps www.app.lk/ChopeApp help diners discover the best and most popular restaurants, all while able to make reservations 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, from anywhere in the world. With over 400 restaurants on the network and millions of diners seated, Chope is committed to making restaurant dining and discovery easier than ever before.
About City Weekend & Ringier
City Weekend Guide has been operational for 16 years, with a strong digital presence in Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou and Guangzhou, with more China cities on the horizon. Available online (www.cityweekend.com.cn), and iOS and Android formats, City Weekend gains over 5 million page views monthly, providing its English-speaking readership with up-to-date lifestyle news. City Weekend is owned and operated by Ringier, the largest internationally operating Swiss media company, with over 120 newspapers and 80 web and mobile platforms.