As the Spring Festival approaches, the booking period for Chinese New Year's Eve dinners has entered its peak season. Meituan has recently upgraded its reservation service guarantees for these dinners by introducing a deposit system to secure dining spots and VR technology for selecting private rooms. This upgrade transforms the traditional reservation process from a simple "intent registration" into a "confirmed transaction," helping to address consumer concerns such as "being turned away after booking" or "arriving to find no available seats." Under the new model, when consumers book a New Year's Eve dinner on Meituan, paying a deposit confirms their reservation. If the merchant fails to honor the booking, they are required to refund the customer double the deposit amount. To accommodate potential changes in consumers' plans, the product also includes flexibility. For example, merchants can set a "free cancellation period" themselves; if a customer cancels before this deadline, the deposit is automatically refunded in full. Cancellations after the deadline require negotiation and confirmation with the merchant.
Through a series of online product improvements and digital upgrades, Meituan has shifted the traditional vague agreement model of "phone reservations and verbal commitments" for New Year's Eve dinners to a clear, responsibility-defined, and mutually protected transaction model, making the booking service more reliable. Whether it is consumers worrying about not being accommodated after booking or merchants concerned about last-minute cancellations leading to vacant seats, the upgraded reservation service aims to alleviate issues for both parties.
Additionally, Meituan has simultaneously launched a VR feature that allows customers to view private rooms in realistic detail, addressing concerns about discrepancies between advertised and actual room conditions. Before placing an order, consumers can take an immersive 360-degree online tour to inspect the room's decor, lighting, table spacing, and other real environment factors, achieving a "what you see is what you get" experience. This feature is already available at key merchants in multiple cities across the country, enabling customers to select their time slot, choose a room, view the actual setting, and complete their booking with one click.
Taking "Xu Ji Seafood · MASTER (Qiaocheng One Store)" as an example, the outlet has fully integrated Meituan's VR room displays and the Spring Festival deposit system. The store manager noted that since the rules were implemented, customers have been making decisions more decisively and with greater confidence; currently, private rooms for New Year's Eve are almost fully booked.
It is reported that over 100,000 restaurants nationwide on Meituan are available for online New Year's Eve dinner reservations. As of now, there is still ample availability for both private rooms and regular tables on New Year's Eve. Data shows that in 2026, the number of New Year's Eve dinner bookings on Meituan and its platform Dianping surged by more than three times year-over-year. Some consumers locked in private rooms for large family gatherings two months in advance, while others made bookings for smaller family dinners just one week before the holiday.
At the same time, consumption scenarios for New Year's Eve dinners continue to diversify. Celebrating the holiday away from home or having meals while traveling have become new growth areas, with over 24% of merchants offering delivery or pick-up services for "Spring Festival feast dishes." The evolution from "scrambling for a table" to "smaller tables and multiple scenarios" indicates that New Year's Eve dinner consumption is entering a new phase, adapting to both the trend of smaller family sizes and varied celebration methods.
The relevant product manager for Meituan's in-store dining services stated that, in response to new trends in service consumption, this upgrade aims to leverage the platform's technological capabilities to create a more transparent and reliable consumption model. The goal is to ensure that everyone can book with confidence and enjoy their meals during the New Year reunion, while also helping more catering merchants seize the business opportunities of the Spring Festival peak season.