HRS §489J-2
Unauthorized restaurant reservations are banned
This law stops outside booking services from selling or listing restaurant reservations unless the restaurant (or its authorized agent) agrees in writing. If they break this rule, the restaurant or a charged customer can sue for a court order, damages, and legal costs. Lawsuits must start within one year.
businesses
The statute, as written — Unauthorized restaurant reservations; prohibited
(a) No third-party restaurant reservation service shall advertise, list, promote, facilitate, enable, or sell reservations for a restaurant through the third-party restaurant reservation service's website, mobile application, or other digital platform unless the restaurant, or a contractual designee of the restaurant expressly authorized by the restaurant to distribute reservations to a third party, agrees in writing for the third-party restaurant reservation service to advertise, list, promote, facilitate, enable, or sell reservations for that restaurant. (b) Any person who is charged a fee or price by or through a third-party restaurant reservation service for a reservation that is advertised, listed, promoted, facilitated, enabled, or sold in violation of this section; any restaurant for which a third-party restaurant reservation service has advertised, listed, promoted, facilitated, enabled, or sold a reservation in violation of this section; or any restaurant's contractual designee who obtained reservation distribution rights directly from the restaurant, with respect to a reservation advertised, listed, promoted, facilitated, enabled, or sold in violation of this section, may bring a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction for the following: (1) Injunctive relief to restrain or enjoin any activity in violation of this section; (2) Actual damages; provided that the actual damages shall not exceed the total fees collected by the third-party restaurant reservation service for the subject violation; and (3) Attorneys' fees and costs and any other remedies that the court deems appropriate. (c) Any action alleging a violation of this section shall be brought within one year of the occurrence of the acts alleged to have violated this section. (d) For the purposes of this section: "Restaurant" means a food establishment in which food is provided free of charge or sold to consumers for consumption on or off the premises. "Restaurant" includes dine-in establishments, pushcarts, food stands, and vehicles. "Third-party restaurant reservation service" means any website, mobile application, or other digital platform that: (1) Offers or arranges for reserving on-premises service for a customer at a restaurant; and (2) Is owned and operated by an entity other than the entity that owns the applicable restaurant.
LawTrove is not legal advice. The summary above is a computer-generated restatement — the authoritative text is the official version linked above.