Survey Reveals Over 86 Percent of Respondents Feel Stressed When Trying to Find a Restaurant for a Date and that more feel it's acceptable to kiss on the first date than to share food

TORONTO, Oct. 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- As temperatures drop, relationships tend to heat up. With fall in full leafy swing, that can only mean one thing: cuffing season is upon us. OpenTable, the world's leading provider of online restaurant reservations and part of Booking Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG), has partnered with Hinge, the dating app designed to be deleted, part of Match Group Inc. (NASDAQ: MTCH), to help people find the perfect date spot just in time for cuffing season as singletons start looking to couple up.

A new survey commissioned by OpenTable* revealed that 86 per cent of Canadian respondents feel some level of stress when finding a restaurant reservation for a date, and 81 per cent of Hinge users agree, wishing it were less stressful.

To take the angst out of planning, Hinge and OpenTable are launching the ultimate Date Night guide. Daters will find fun and useful tools to help plan the perfect date, including lists of the best restaurants for a date and top cafes, plus, the Date Night Matchmaker feature. The recently updated feature, available via desktop and mobile, allows users to simply answer a few questions about their date and dining preferences, and, in turn, receive personalized, bookable date spot recommendations.

"We know it can feel daunting to look for the perfect restaurant for a first date," said Anna Besse, Marketing Director at OpenTable. "Our date night Matchmaker offers recommendations catered to each diner's personal preferences, making it easy to find and book the right spot for any date. Between the new feature and our first-ever Best Restaurants for a Date list, daters can easily find the perfect restaurant for a first date or thousandth."

"We recently uncovered that most Hinge members spend over an hour trying to find the perfect date spot and are hungry for recommendations," says Nathan Roth, CMO at Hinge. "Our goal at Hinge is to help our members get off the app and out on a great date. With Date Night Matchmaker, we hope to help even more members plan a date they'll never forget."

Additional key trends revealed by the OpenTable survey include:

Canadians would sooner swap saliva than share their food: If your priority is to snag some of your date's meal, you might be out of luck. However, you might still get lucky. Nearly forty per cent of Canadian respondents feel it's acceptable to kiss on the first date, but only 24 per cent of Canadians would share their meal with someone they're seeing for the first time.

Italian food lovers are more likely to lock lips: Of the 40 per cent of respondents who said they would kiss on the first date; the majority are more likely to love Italian cuisine. Italian was the preferred date night choice, with one third of respondents saying they would choose an Italian restaurant for a date.

Canadians prefer to keep first dates low key and personal: Getting to know your date over a hot drink is a great way to spark a connection once temperatures drop, and most Canadians agree. Almost 70 per cent of Canadians say they prefer going out for coffee or tea over drinks for a first date.

Dating Dining Don'ts: More than half of Canadians hate when their date orders for them. Sixty-four per cent of Canadians hate when their date chews with their mouth open. When thinking of some conversation starters, steer clear of politics and exes, with 58 per cent stating political discussions are off the table and 65 per cent saying talking about an ex should definitely be avoided.

You can learn more and check out the matchmaker tool at https://www.opentable.ca/date-night. Additionally, OpenTable has released their 50 Best Restaurants for a Date in Canada for 2019list as part of its dedication to helping diners plan the perfect evening with their significant other.

*Methodology for survey:This survey was conducted using the online survey platform Pollfish, and compiled by DKC Analytics. The sample of 1,000 21 to 34 year-olds in Canada was surveyed between September 11 and September 14, 2019.

The Hinge survey was conducted on a sample of 300 active Hinge members.

About OpenTableOpenTable, OpenTable, part of Booking Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG), is the world's leading provider of online restaurant reservations, with more than 52,000 restaurants globally using its software to seat over 128 million diners monthly. OpenTable helps diners discover and book the perfect table and helps restaurants deliver personalized hospitality to grow their business.

About HingeHinge is the dating app for meaningful, lasting connections among millennials. Hinge, headquartered in New York City, is now the #1 mobile-first dating app mentioned in the NY Times Wedding section. It is available in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and India.

SOURCE OpenTable, Inc.