Pay a deposit to secure a table, VR select private room one-click booking, Meituan (03690) New Year's Eve dinner booking service upgrade.

As the Spring Festival approaches, the peak of booking for the New Year's Eve dinner has arrived. Recently, Meituan (03690) upgraded its New Year's Eve dinner booking service by introducing the "reservation deposit" system to secure dining seats, and VR technology for selecting private rooms, transforming the traditional New Year's Eve dinner reservation from a mere "intention registration" to a "definite transaction", helping consumers solve issues such as being turned away after booking or arriving at the restaurant without a seat. In the new model, consumers booking the New Year's Eve dinner on Meituan will pay a deposit to confirm the reservation. If the merchant is unable to fulfill the reservation, they will be required to refund double the deposit to the user. To address the possibility of consumers needing to cancel reservations due to changes in their schedule, the product also provides a buffer period. For example, merchants can set a "cancellation deadline" during which, if the consumer cancels the reservation, the deposit will be fully refunded automatically; after the deadline, they will need to consult with the merchant to confirm. Through a series of online product transformations and digital upgrades, Meituan has transformed the traditional New Year's Eve dinner reservation method of "reserving by phone and verbal agreement" into a clear and mutually protected transaction loop, making the reservation service more definitive. Whether consumers are worried about not being able to be accommodated after booking, or merchants are concerned about vacant seats due to last-minute cancellations, the upgraded reservation service aims to improve the concerns of both parties. In addition, Meituan has also launched the VR feature for viewing private rooms, helping consumers address concerns of discrepancies between the actual room and the online images. Before placing an order, consumers can view the room decor, lighting, table spacing, and other real environments in a 360 immersive way online, achieving "what you see is what you get". This feature has been implemented in key merchants across the country, allowing consumers to easily reserve based on their selected time slots, rooms, and virtual tours. For example, at "Xu Ji Seafood MASTER Master Store (Qiaocheng No.1 Store)", the store has fully adopted Meituan's VR room display and Spring Festival deposit system. The store manager stated that after the rules were implemented, consumers made decisions more decisively and confidently when placing orders, and the New Year's Eve private rooms have already been almost fully booked. According to reports, there are over 100,000 stores nationwide on Meituan where New Year's Eve dinners can be booked online. As of now, there is still sufficient availability for private rooms and tables on New Year's Eve. Data shows that in 2026, the volume of New Year's Eve dinner reservations on Meituan and Dianping has more than tripled compared to the previous year. Some consumers have already booked private rooms for family gatherings two months in advance, while others have only made reservations for a small family dinner a week before New Year's Eve. Meanwhile, the consumption scenarios for New Year's Eve dinners continue to diversify, with dining while traveling or celebrating from a distance becoming new trends. Over 24% of merchants are offering delivery or takeaway services for "Spring Festival dishes". From "difficult to secure a table" to "smaller tables and diverse scenarios", the New Year's Eve dinner consumption is entering a new stage due to the trend of smaller family structures and diverse ways of celebrating the New Year. The product manager responsible for Meituan's in-store dining-related products stated that in response to the new trend of service consumption, the upgrade of the booking service aims to leverage the platform's technological capabilities to create a more transparent and reliable consumer experience, allowing everyone to book comfortably and enjoy a relaxing meal during the New Year, while helping more restaurant owners seize the opportunity of the prosperous Spring Festival season.