Just past its five-year anniversary, corporate dining network Dinova is reporting increased client spending at its member restaurants and relaunching a redesigned version of its app, which allows users to find Dinova eateries by proximity or cuisine, or in a designated area.
Dinova charges restaurants for membership and pays rebates to corporate clients based on spending volume at network restaurants. Dinova now has roughly 12,000 U.S. restaurants in its network, and second-quarter spending in the network was up 13 percent year over year, according to the privately held company.
Dinova in the near term is focused on continuing that growth, not only in the number of its network restaurants and the amount of client spending but also in the types of corporate clients it signs, Dinova founder and CEO Vic Macchio recently told BTN.
"We've actually gotten a lot of interest of late from smaller businesses that are interested in our program as well," he said. "We are working on developing a [small and midsize business] channel."
Macchio noted that Dinova's business model to this point has focused on attracting the world's largest companies—he claimed "probably 33 percent of BTN's Corporate Travel 100 in our network"—but called the pursuit of small and midsize businesses "what Dinova's near-term future looks like."
He said that pursuit could include partnerships with travel management companies and an enhanced version of its app, released this year. Not restricted to Dinova clients, the app is available on Android and iOS platforms.
"The bigger we build our network, the better it is for everybody in the network," Macchio said. "The more clients we have, the more business can go to our restaurants. The more restaurants we have, the easier it is for the clients to comply and stay within the preferred network."
Still, large companies remain Dinova's bread and butter. One of them, electronics and technology firm Philips, increased its share of dining spending at Dinova restaurants by 7 percent since the end of 2011 (when Philips signed an agreement with Dinova), said Philips mobility commodity cluster leader John Guarneri.
Guarneri wouldn't disclose any other data regarding Philips' use of Dinova, including the company's rebate. ("Let's put it this way: Prior to doing it, I was receiving nothing. Today, I'm receiving something," he said.) However, he mentioned that communication with Philips travelers about the availability of Dinova and its app has helped to increase use. All of Dinova's network restaurants are in the United States, but Guarneri said he promotes the service globally.
"We not only push it through [the United States], but we also put out a global news campaign, so it covers EMEA, North America and Asia, and that's also in there, so people realize when you come into the States, this is something you can download on your [device] and do business there," Guarneri said.
Dinova automatically receives a monthly data feed of Philips' U.S. dining expenses based on corporate card data, Macchio said (though he noted that clients often prefer to do so on a quarterly basis). The rebate is determined by matching that dining spending data with Dinova's restaurant roster. (Travelers need not identify themselves at the restaurant as Dinova clients.) Then, Dinova cuts Philips a check.
"We do [Automated Clearing House] deposits for the most part, but it's cash money, tangible money, and we find this to be a very appealing part of our model [for] corporate travel managers," Macchio said. "There is no dispute about how much they've saved their company on dining as a result of this because you know how many variables there are. [In other supplier categories] it's very hard to quantify the savings. You may be saving money on airfare, but you're traveling more, so the CFO said, 'You spent $20 million last year. You spent $22 million this year. Where am I saving money?' You know that you are saving money here. The appeal is you're getting the check."
Kerry Montgomery, national director of sales and marketing at Earl Enterprises, a restaurant firm that owns establishments including the Buca di Beppo chain, said Dinova provides quarterly data that shows its members' average expenses at the restaurants, average total bill and average spending by day of the week, among other figures.
"We're seeing a trend where [business dining is] almost double our traditional transient dinner guests coming in with their family. That's really attractive to us," Montgomery said. "From a sales and marketing perspective, we're given access to some of these corporate clients and buyers that we would never really have access to unless they're just popping in."