61% of Americans pick destinations based on food; hotel restaurant dining up 13% YoY. OpenTable's AI Concierge now helps diners discover and book from its 2026 Top 100 list.
Alpha Score of 59 reflects moderate overall profile with moderate momentum, weak value, moderate quality, moderate sentiment.
Nearly two-thirds of Americans have chosen a vacation spot because of its food or restaurant scene, according to a new survey commissioned by OpenTable. The booking platform released its 2026 Top 100 Hotel Restaurants in America list Tuesday, timed with an update to its AI-powered Concierge tool.
Hotel restaurants are becoming a primary factor in travel planning. Among respondents planning a summer trip, 60% said they booked a hotel specifically for its restaurant. OpenTable dining data backs that up: seated diners at hotel restaurants through mid-April 2026 rose 13% year-over-year, and 7% across all diners.
“Restaurants aren’t just an itinerary line item anymore, they’re the anchor,” said Matt Davis, Head of North America Hotels at OpenTable. “This year’s Top 100 list spotlights the hotel hotspots worth traveling for.”
The survey, conducted by Ripple Research among 1,500 U.S. residents who had dined in a hotel restaurant within the last five years, also found that 48% of Americans spend more time researching where to eat and drink than any other part of a trip.
The Top 100 list is drawn from more than 10 million verified diner reviews on OpenTable between May 2025 and April 2026. Restaurants with a minimum review threshold were scored on diner ratings and the share of five-star reviews. The list is presented alphabetically, not ranked. Examples include SingleThread Restaurant & Inn in Healdsburg, California, and Compère Lapin in New Orleans.
OpenTable’s updated Concierge, now accessible from the company’s homepage, lets diners search via natural language – “a spot locals love” or “the perfect date night nearby” – and surfaces options from its network of more than 65,000 restaurants, using verified reviews, menus and real-time availability.
Kyle Connaughton, chef-owner of SingleThread Farm | Restaurant | Inn, said guests increasingly value disconnecting from screens. “A great hotel restaurant immerses guests in the local culture, telling the story of a destination through its seasons, local ingredients and customs,” he said in a statement.
The full list, along with city-specific guides and flight and hotel pricing data from KAYAK, is available on OpenTable’s website.
1 Ripple Research surveyed 1,500 U.S. residents in late May/early June 2026. 2 OpenTable compared seated diners at U.S. hotel restaurants from Jan. 1 to April 19, 2026, versus the same period in 2025. 3 The Top 100 list is based on reviews and dining metrics from May 2025 through April 2026.
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