Facebook mobile users in the U.S. will be mouthwatering the next time they visit the Facebook page of their favorite restaurant. Apart from browsing posts and photos, they will be able to book a table directly on the social network.
OpenTable, an online service for restaurant reservations, has integrated a new feature to allow users of the social network to make reservations at approximately 20,000 dining establishments in the U.S. Starting this week, the online booking service will roll out on the Facebook mobile site and updated Facebook apps for Android and iOS.
With the launch happening first on mobile, there are a number of device-specific benefits, such as the ability to use “Nearby Places” to look for restaurants in nearby areas.
Facebook said the OpenTable integration is smoother than other implementations of the online reservation service, such as integrations Google Maps and Yelp. While other OpenTable integrations use a browser window to close a booking, Facebook restaurant reservations will take place within the app itself. Moreover, Facebook users can make a reservation without an OpenTable account.
After completing a reservation, the social network will not post or share a story about it in the user’s News Feed.
Apart from OpenTable integration, Facebook has teamed with Rovi for a new feature, called “Airings on TV,” to show automatically viewing information, such as channels and schedules, on the Facebook pages of movies and TV shows.
