App lets diners check the vibe of restaurants in real time

Dining app Dash has introduced its Venue Vibes feature, which lets customers get accurate and real-time info about the atmosphere of nearby restaurants.

There’s nothing that can spoil an evening more than arriving at a no-reservation restaurant to find it’s already full, or — even worse — finding that the romantic eatery you’ve booked for a date is completely empty. We’ve already seen Waitbot tackle the first issue by using crowdsourced data to estimate waiting times at any venue. Now dining app Dash has introduced its Venue Vibes feature, which lets customers get accurate and real-time info about the atmosphere of nearby restaurants.

The Dash app already has a range of functions to make eating out easier, including venue search, smartphone payments and splitting the bill with friends. The new feature uses the existing POS systems of restaurants to accurately gauge how busy each one is in comparison to its maximum capacity. When searching for a place to eat through the app, users will now see the Venue Vibes indicator on each one, which shows whether its Lively, Active, Relaxed or Quiet. For example, those looking for a bustling atmosphere can filter their results to show only Lively venues, while couples can browse Quiet spots for a romantic meal. The app is available for iOS and Android, and is currently available for around 100 different bars and places to eat in New York and Chicago.

Consumers can benefit by picking a place that suits their mood right now, while businesses can use the service to advertise their popularity or exclusivity. Are there other types of real-time data that could help customers make better decisions about the places they visit?