restaurant-reservation

name	restaurant-reservation
description	Book reservations on OpenTable or Resy with explicit confirmations
compatibility	Designed for Vellum personal assistants
metadata	{"emoji":"🍽️","vellum":{"category":"commerce","display-name":"Restaurant Reservation Booking","includes":["vellum-browser-use"]}}

Book restaurant reservations on OpenTable or Resy using browser automation. All browser operations are executed through the assistant browser CLI, invoked via host_bash.

Anti-Loop Guardrails

Each step has a retry budget of 3 attempts. An attempt is one try at the step's primary action (e.g., clicking a button, filling a form, navigating a page). If a step fails after 3 attempts:

1. Stop trying. Do not continue retrying the same approach.
2. Fall back to manual. Tell the user what you were trying to do and ask them to complete that step manually in the browser. Give them the direct URL and clear instructions.
3. Resume automation at the next step once the user confirms the manual step is done.

If two or more steps require manual fallback, inform the user the automated flow is unreliable and offer to provide the remaining steps as text instructions with links.

Booking Flow - Follow These Steps IN ORDER

Step 1: Collect Reservation Details

Before doing anything, gather the following from the user:

• Party size (required)
• Date (required)
• Time or time window (required)
• Location / neighborhood / city (required)
• Restaurant name (optional - if not provided, will search)
• Any preferences (outdoor seating, dietary needs, etc.)

Do not proceed until all required details have been provided.

Step 2: Choose Provider

• If the user hasn't specified a provider, ask them to choose between OpenTable and Resy.
• Do NOT attempt to browse provider sites to check restaurant availability before signing in - authentication is required first. If the user names a specific restaurant but isn't sure which provider has it, pick the more common one (OpenTable) and fall back to the other if it's not found after searching in Step 4.

Step 3: Navigate and Sign In FIRST

This is the most important step. Reservation sites require authentication before booking.

1. Navigate directly to the sign-in page.

   • For OpenTable, navigate to: https://www.opentable.com/sign-in
   • For Resy, navigate to: https://resy.com/login

   assistant browser --session reservation navigate --url "https://www.opentable.com/sign-in"
   

2. Take a snapshot. If you see a sign-in form (email input), continue to sub-step 5 below (fill the email).

   assistant browser --session reservation --json snapshot
   

3. If the direct URL fails (404, redirect, or any error): fall back to the homepage approach - navigate to the service's homepage and click the "Sign In" / "Log In" button.

4. If already signed in (you see an account menu, the user's name, or other logged-in indicators), skip to the next step.

5. Fill the email using assistant browser fill-credential (e.g. service: "opentable" or "resy", field: "email"). Target the element by its element_id - NEVER type into the browser URL bar.

   assistant browser --session reservation fill-credential --service opentable --field email --element-id <id>
   

6. Click "Continue" / "Sign In" or equivalent submit button.

7. The site will send a verification code via SMS/email. Use ui_show with surface_type: "form" and await_action: true to ask the user for the code. Wait for the user to submit the form before proceeding - do NOT use any previously collected code. Verification codes expire quickly; only the code from the most recent form submission is valid. Type the freshly submitted code into the verification input on the page.

8. If the code is rejected, prompt the user again with a fresh ui_show form - never retry an old code.

9. For password-based login: If the site presents a password field instead of a verification code, fill the password using assistant browser fill-credential (e.g. service: "opentable" or "resy", field: "password").

   assistant browser --session reservation fill-credential --service opentable --field password --element-id <id>
   

EVERY snapshot: Dismiss modals FIRST

Before every other action, scan the snapshot for non-functional modal overlays and dismiss them. Modals block all interactions - clicking behind a modal silently fails.

• DO NOT dismiss sign-in/login modals - if you see an email input or sign-in form inside a modal, that IS the sign-in flow. Fill it in, don't close it.
• Dismiss only blocker modals: cookie banners, regulatory notices, promotional popups.
• Look for: "Got It", "Accept", "Close", "OK", "Dismiss" buttons on non-login modals.
• Take a fresh snapshot after dismissing to confirm the modal is gone.

Step 4: Search for Availability

1. For OpenTable, navigate directly to: https://www.opentable.com/s?covers=<party_size>&dateTime=<YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM>&term=<restaurant_or_location> Construct the URL from the details collected in Step 1. URL-encode the term parameter.

2. For Resy, navigate to https://resy.com/cities/<city> and use the search/filter UI to find available reservations matching the collected details.

3. If a specific restaurant was named, navigate directly to its page if possible (e.g. https://www.opentable.com/r/<restaurant-slug> or https://resy.com/cities/<city>/venues/<restaurant-slug>). After landing on the restaurant page, reapply the user's date, time, and party size filters - direct restaurant URLs often show default availability that may not match the user's request. Use the on-page date picker, time selector, and party size controls to set the correct values before reviewing slots.

4. Take a snapshot and review the results:

   assistant browser --session reservation --json snapshot
   

5. If the named restaurant is not found on this provider, tell the user and offer to try the other provider (OpenTable <-> Resy). If they agree, go back to Step 3 to sign in to the other provider.

Step 5: Present Available Slots

1. Extract available time slots from the page.

2. Present them to the user in a clear, organized format.

3. If NO slots match the requested time:

   • Offer nearby times on the same date.
   • Offer the same time on adjacent dates.
   • Suggest trying the other provider (OpenTable <-> Resy).

4. Let the user choose a slot.

5. Click the chosen slot on the page to select it. Take a fresh snapshot to confirm the slot is selected and the booking/confirmation form is now visible. Do not proceed to confirmation steps until the slot is actively selected in the site UI.

   assistant browser --session reservation click --element-id <slot-id>
   assistant browser --session reservation --json snapshot
   

Step 6: First Confirmation - Reservation Details + Policies

Before proceeding to book, show the user a summary:

• Restaurant name
• Date and time
• Party size
• Any special notes

CRITICAL: Surface cancellation policies and fees prominently. Look for and extract:

• Cancellation deadlines (e.g., "Cancel by 4 hours before")
• No-show fees (e.g., "$25 per person no-show fee")
• Deposit requirements
• Credit card hold amounts

If the restaurant charges a cancellation or no-show fee, call it out explicitly in a separate line - do not bury it in other details. Example: "This restaurant charges a $25/person no-show fee."

Ask the user to confirm they want to proceed.

Step 7: Final Confirmation - Pre-Submit Approval

Immediately before clicking the final "Complete Reservation" / "Confirm" button, ask one more time:

• "Ready to submit this reservation? This action cannot be undone."

Only proceed after explicit user approval.

Step 8: Submit and Confirm

1. Click the final reservation submit button.

2. Take a snapshot and screenshot to confirm success:

   assistant browser --session reservation --json snapshot
   assistant browser --session reservation screenshot --output /tmp/reservation-confirm.jpg
   

3. Extract and present to the user:

   • Confirmation number / reference ID (if visible)
   • Confirmation page link
   • Final reservation details as shown on the confirmation page

4. If the submission fails, take a fresh snapshot and report the error:

   assistant browser --session reservation --json snapshot
   

Critical Rules

• ALWAYS sign in first. Do not attempt to search or browse availability before signing in.
• NEVER tell the user to sign in themselves. You handle ALL authentication using assistant browser fill-credential and ui_show for verification codes.
• NEVER give up. If an interaction fails, take a fresh assistant browser --session reservation --json snapshot and retry with updated element IDs - within the 3-attempt budget per step.
• Target elements by element_id from assistant browser snapshot. Never fabricate CSS selectors.
• Use assistant browser select-option for native <select> dropdowns (e.g., party size selectors). For non-native dropdowns, ARIA listboxes, and date/time pickers, use ArrowDown/ArrowUp + Enter via assistant browser press-key.
• Use assistant browser scroll to reveal off-screen time slots or search results before interacting with them.
• Handle CAPTCHAs: If a Cloudflare/CAPTCHA challenge appears, wait a few seconds - it often auto-resolves. If it persists, the system will hand off to the user automatically.
• Fresh snapshots after every action that changes the page (assistant browser --session reservation --json snapshot). Element IDs go stale after navigation or DOM updates.
• Conserve context. Browser flows are token-heavy. Avoid unnecessary snapshots - only take one when the page changes. Combine multiple actions efficiently. Do not narrate every step in detail.
• ALWAYS surface cancellation and no-show fees. Before confirming any reservation, check for cancellation policies, no-show fees, deposits, and credit card holds. If the restaurant charges any fee, call it out explicitly - do not bury it in other details. The user must acknowledge fees before you proceed.
• Two confirmations required. Never submit a reservation without both the policy confirmation (Step 6) and the final pre-submit confirmation (Step 7).

Error Handling

• Search returns no results: Try alternate search terms, broaden the location, or check spelling. If still nothing, suggest the other provider (OpenTable <-> Resy).
• Expired OTP: Never retry an old verification code. Always prompt the user for a fresh code via ui_show with await_action: true.
• Login fails repeatedly: After 3 failed attempts, inform the user and ask if they want to try the other provider or handle login manually.
• Reservation submit fails: Take a fresh snapshot (assistant browser --session reservation --json snapshot), read the error message, and report it to the user. Common causes: credit card required, party size changed, slot no longer available. Suggest rebooking if the slot was taken.
• Page unresponsive or stuck: Wait up to 10 seconds, then try refreshing (assistant browser --session reservation navigate --url <current-url>). If still stuck, report to the user.
• Provider-specific errors: If one provider consistently errors, suggest switching to the other.