I’m a self-proclaimed foodie – I love dining out with family and friends, discovering new restaurants or hosting a dinner party.
That means I’ve made a lot of dinner reservations and restaurant bookings in my time.
So, you can you only imagine my surprise when an unusual detail appeared on the form for my most recent online restaurant booking.
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An uncommon detail on the online booking form for Via Napoli Surry Hills caught my eye. Pictured is their delicious food. (Chloe Longhetti/ 9honey)
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I made a booking for a Saturday night dinner at Via Napoli Pizzeria in Sydney’s Surry Hills.
The venue has great Italian food, it’s fast and delicious and has two locations in Sydney – Surry Hills and Lane Cove.
But when I made the booking, I noticed something I have never seen before in the special requirements section – a tickbox for “influencer”.
I saw something I have never seen before in the special requirements section – a tickbox for “influencer”. (Via Napoli)
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I will preface this to say I do often love food blogger reviews and restaurant recommendations.
When I lived in London, the food blogging scene was huge and really helpful when deciding where to go and eat as a newcomer in town.
I contacted the team at Via Napoli out of curiosity, with one staff member explaining they have seen a rise of influencers coming in lately and it’s good for their team to know in case questions about the food or dishes arise.
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“I have added the tag for our managers as we have a few influencers coming in. I decided to leave it as an option,” they said.
They added that Via Napoli “loves” food influencers coming in and that dishes are usually complimentary.
“We have no problems, we love it,” they said about influencers and their potential reviews.
When asked if they look for a certain number of followers before accepting the “influencer” request, they said: “Yes, mostly also interaction and personality.”
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Some Australian venues, however, have had clashes in the past with food bloggers and influencers – or are not as tolerant of their requests – as the trend continues.
A few years ago, influencer and model Jasmine Rollason made headlines when she contacted a Noosa restaurant and appeared to ask for free meals in exchange for online content, which restaurant critic John Lethlean shared online.
“I would love to have the privilege to help your business grow and share on my Instagram,” she wrote in part.
She also spoke about modelling and added: “I have lots of experience and I am more than happy to help out xx.”
Another cafe owner once issued a scathing reply to an influencer who wanted to collaborate with them; asking to collaborate in exchange for free meals.
“Reaching out blind to a venue you know nothing about looking for free stuff is a sh—y thing to do at the best of times. But it’s even worse when COVID is still very much a thing, affecting small businesses like us devastatingly for two years now,” they said, in private messages to a blogger named Elle, shared in a post again by Lethlean.
“We have never asked companies for free food, it is always left open to them to what they want to offer,” Elle’s @twoteaspoons said in response, according to The Daily Mail.
“We have dined at 99 per cent of restaurants featured on our page paying full price.”
“We only wanted to offer this professional exchange based off the amazing feedback we received from the companies that approached us.”
There’s no doubt food influencing and blogging will continue its hold on dining in Australia – so keep an eye out when you next book.
*It appears Via Napoli have since taken the “influencer” option off their booking form as of Monday.
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Dining and Cooking