OpenTable tests global ambitions with new language capabilities

OpenTable is trying to ensure its place as the go-to platform for restaurant reservations around the world, first by adding new language capabilities. The online restaurant booking platform on Tuesday announced it would allow customers to use their local OpenTable account -- in their preferred language -- to make a reservation at any OpenTable restaurant, regardless of that restaurant's language. The feature will apply to OpenTable's English, Spanish, French, German and Japanese-language versions, allowing a Japanese tourist, for example, to make a restaurant reservation in Germany without any language barrier. Previously, OpenTable operated outside the US but required separate apps for its different versions. The update will allow users in those five languages to view menus, read and write reviews and search for restaurant information in their local language, in addition to managing all their own account and reservation information in one language.