--- title: "The rise and fall of #FreeRezy, a group chat that unlocked NYC’s hottest reservations - The Hustle" description: A trio of finance workers gamed the system for exclusive reservations — then they got caught. image: https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/259823658-News-Brief_2022-02-16T012517.116Z.webp --- # The rise and fall of #FreeRezy, a group chat that unlocked NYC’s hottest reservations ![Rob Litterst](https://thehustle.co/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Rob-Litterst-pic.png?width=48&height=48&name=Rob-Litterst-pic.png) [Rob Litterst](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/rob-litterst) [Rob Litterst Twitter profile ](https://twitter.com/robbylit) Published: February 16, 2022 Updated: October 11, 2023 Finance bros in New York take dinner reservations *seriously*. ![The rise and fall of #FreeRezy, a group chat that unlocked NYC’s hottest reservations](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/259823658-News-Brief_2022-02-16T012517.116Z.webp?width=595&height=400&name=259823658-News-Brief_2022-02-16T012517.116Z.webp) If you don’t believe me, just watch *American Psycho*, where a reservation at the right restaurant is the ultimate status symbol. While not everything in that movie is realistic (thankfully), the reservation struggle is spot-on. The best restaurants in NYC often release a small batch of reservations, months in advance, and are fully booked in seconds. So what’s a finance bro with fine dining tastes to do? #### **Enter #FreeRezy** A trio of finance workers created #FreeRezy — a group chat on Telegram where aspiring diners could snag reservations at NYC’s hottest spots. Here’s how it worked: - The trio searched online to find out when the best restaurants release new reservations - They set alarms at those times and would book tables from multiple Resy accounts - They listed the reservations in the group chat where members could claim them on a first-come, first-served basis Per *Eater*, the trio [booked](https://ny.eater.com/2022/2/15/22910632/free-rezy-reservation-booking-telegram-group-manhattan-restaurants-nyc) 1k+ reservations in the last 3 months, growing the group chat from a few people to 700+ members. #### **Then they got caught** Resy’s [terms of service](https://resy.com/terms?date=2022-02-15&seats=2) state that the app is for personal use — meaning #FreeRezy was clearly in violation. After discovering the group, Resy promptly banned all 3 members, leading to the swift demise of the group chat. The craziest part? #FreeRezy never even made any money. The trio planned to monetize a premium tier eventually but never made it that far. If you feel so inclined to revive #FreeRezy, there’s a [petition](https://www.change.org/p/resy-bring-freerezy-back) on Change.org for that — but with 36 signatures so far, it seems unlikely we’ll be seeing a comeback any time soon. Topics: [Food](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/food) ## Follow us on social media prev next - ![Holy smokes, there may actually be a limit to Texans’ love of barbecue](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1244337807-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-Texas-BBQ_20230928210924.webp) ### Holy smokes, there may actually be a limit to Texans’ love of barbecue - ![Think your industry is weird? Get a load of the beaded ice cream business](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/908447747-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-dippindots_20231002233115.webp) ### Think your industry is weird? 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