Associated Press
- Biometrics company Clear is partnering with OpenTable.
- Diners making reservations on Opentable will now be directed to create Clear's digital vaccine card.
- Clear has seen a "wild acceleration of inquiries" from employers and retailers.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Clear is best known for its airport kiosks that help passengers speed through checkout using their biometrics as identification. But during the pandemic, the company doubled down on other services including working with stadiums and businesses to verify COVID test results, and later, vaccination status.
Now, it's partnered with the largest restaurant reservation platform in the world – OpenTable.
OpenTable is just the latest company to partner for Clear. The emergence of the COVID-19 delta variant has sent employers, retailers, and restaurants scrambling for a solution to providing proof of vaccine verification. Technology that can offer easy and secure access to vaccination records has proven to be in hot demand.
"You're seeing, frankly, a bit of a realization that COVID is going to be here for a while, as much as we hoped that we were coming to the end," said Catesby Perrin, Executive Vice President of Growth at Clear, told Insider."We've seen a wild acceleration of inquiries."
Now, diners making reservations on Opentable with restaurants that require vaccination proof will be directed by the platform to instructions on how to create Clear's digital vaccine card. OpenTable currently works with about 60,000 restaurants and bars.
Union Square Hospitality CEO Danny Meyer, who invested in Clear before the company went public in late June, was one of the first restaurateurs to announce a vaccine mandate for his diners. In late July he announced that his restaurants, which include Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, and Blue Smoke, will be accepting Clear, among other forms of vaccination proof. Soon after, New York City became the first city to impose vaccination mandates on residents wanting to enjoy indoor dining, followed by San Francisco.
Clear's ambitions go beyond restaurants. Perrin said Clear can set up customizable tech for employers in as little as a week. Clear's modular tech has been helpful for those employers set on a post-Labor Day back-to-office schedule who have been caught off guard by the new delta variant.
Clear's Health Pass is used mainly by venues, like sports arenas, and enterprise customers. These clients often have more screening requirements. Clear works with a third of teams across the NBA, as well as various NHL and MLB teams.
"A lot of companies thought they could muscle through" without requiring vaccination proof, Perrin said. Now, many employers are turning to Clear, he said.
Although the Clear Pass app is free to download and use for diners, employees. and event-goers, analysts believe that its adoption could help drive brand awareness for its airport services, which do charge customers.
"Over time, the company has the opportunity to monetize platform solutions outside of aviation, with possible use cases within sports, entertainment, hospitality, healthcare, and location access," wrote Stifel analyst Scott Devitt in a note.
"Importantly, the introduction of additional use cases has tangible benefits on the company's core business in the form of brand awareness, higher Clear Plus retention rates, and stronger conversion among trial members."