• As part of the new campaign, American Express and Resy are kicking-off ‘Every Resy Counts’ – a reservation drive to bring millions of diners to independent restaurants 
• Each millionth reservation completed on Resy in March will unlock financial support for restaurant relief including a $500,000 donation to Southern Smoke and covers costs* of meals for diners at select restaurants around the country
• This is American Express’ second dedicated campaign to support restaurants as they continue to recover during the pandemic, which includes its Backing Historic Small Restaurants grant program

Today, American Express (NYSE: AXP) and Resy announced the 'Every Resy Counts' reservation drive to encourage millions of consumers across the country to dine at independent restaurants throughout the month of March. The effort is part of the company’s broader ‘Let’s Grab a Table’ marketing campaign which is focused on bringing attention and support to independent restaurants throughout the United States. The first million completed reservations made on Resy will unlock a $500,000 charitable donation to Southern Smoke, a crisis relief organization supporting the food and beverage industry. For each subsequent completed million reservation milestone reached in March**, American Express and Resy will surprise hundreds of diners and cover the costs* of meals at select restaurants around the country***.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220224005326/en/

Amelie Kang, co-founder of MáLà Project in New York, NY (Photo: Business Wire)

“As we approach the two-year mark of the pandemic, restauranteurs continue to need community support to help make up for lost revenues,” said Elizabeth Rutledge, Chief Marketing Officer, American Express. “By rallying together, we hope to inspire consumers to grab a table at independent restaurants throughout March, and beyond, to help them continue to get back on their feet.”

This is American Express’ second dedicated campaign to support restaurants as they continue to recover during the pandemic. Last year’s campaign, “Order In, Help Out” encouraged consumers to order take out while in-restaurant dining was not an option. The campaign rallied to make #TakeoutTuesday a weekly occurrence on restaurants slowest day. American Express also launched its Backing Historic Small Restaurants Grant Program last year to help historic restaurants in the U.S. with $1 million in grants.

"What restaurants need is diners to dine and seats to be filled," said Alex Lee, Vice President and General Manager of Resy and the American Express Global Dining Network. “We have always been committed to connecting amazing restaurants and passionate diners, and now we're putting our full muscle and combined resources behind the campaign to support the restaurant community.”

To help independent restaurants rally their customers, Resy and American Express have created complementary toolkits with content, social media posts, signage and more, which can be downloaded here. Merchants can also access a suite of offers curated by American Express to help them get their business ready for diners here. Independent restaurant owners can also visit American Express’ Business Class site to access videos, articles and more from industry experts to help them grow and manage their businesses.

Just Grab A Table and Make Every Resy Count is part of Shop Small® year round efforts that support independent businesses and call attention to the distinct contributions they make to their communities and the economy. The Shop Small movement was spurred by the widespread participation in Small Business Saturday®, a day founded in 2010 by American Express.

To further support the initiative, Resy’s award-winning editorial team have put together a brand new package of stories entitled Why We Go, which includes essays from acclaimed writers, filmmakers, activists, and musicians.

*Amex and Resy will cover up to $99 per person and a maximum amount of $594 per table.

** The offer will be made available in March 2022 each time Resy reaches the following number of completed reservations: 2 million, 3 million, 4 million, 5 million and 6 million. This offer will end if/once 6 million completed reservations are made through Resy in March 2022.

***Terms and Conditions apply, which can be found here.

ABOUT AMERICAN EXPRESS

American Express is a globally integrated payments company, providing customers with access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build business success. Learn more at americanexpress.com and connect with us on facebook.com/americanexpress, instagram.com/americanexpress, linkedin.com/company/american-express, twitter.com/americanexpress, and youtube.com/americanexpress.

Key links to products, services and corporate responsibility information: personal cards, business cards, travel services, gift cards, prepaid cards, merchant services, Accertify, Kabbage, Resy, corporate card, business travel, diversity and inclusion, corporate responsibility and Environmental, Social, and Governance reports.

ABOUT RESY

Resy powers the world’s best restaurants, using technology to imagine the future of hospitality. Resy has revolutionized, elevated and enhanced dining experiences worldwide with its reservation management software and dynamic suite of tools for restaurants (waitlist and table management, web and app booking, ticketing, POS integration). In August 2019 Resy joined the American Express family and together they help restaurants’ businesses thrive. Resy also connects diners to the best restaurants in their cities and around the world through the Resy app and Resy.com. Diners get access to tables, events, curated content, and insider access to the amazing world of restaurants.

ABOUT SOUTHERN SMOKE

Created in 2015 by chef Chris Shepherd, Southern Smoke supports the food and beverage industry nationwide by distributing funds to workers in crisis, and by curating programs and partnering with organizations that represent the needs of those individuals. Since its founding, the 501c3 nonprofit established within the food and beverage industry has distributed more than $9.6 million to people in need across America. Simply put, we “take care of our own.”

Source: American Express Company

Location: U.S.

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