|
Who and what is ZAGAT?
Tim and Nina Zagat established Zagat Survey® in 1979 by
inviting avid diners to rate and review the restaurants they visited.
Both native New Yorkers, these two successful Yale educated lawyers
applied a unique premise that rating a restaurant on the basis of
thousands of experiences was inherently more accurate than relying on
one reviewer. Starting with the first Zagat NYC Restaurant Survey,
that premise has proven true and Zagat Survey has continued to expand
over the last 26 years. The company now offers guides to dining for more
than 70 major markets, as well as guides for hotels, resorts and spas
worldwide, family travel, entertaining, shopping, nightlife, movies,
music, theater and golf.
Zagat Survey's unique approach separately rates the distinct qualities
of a restaurant (Food, Decor, Service and Cost), hotel (Rooms, Service,
Dining and Public Facilities) and other leisure categories based on a
30-point scale. Zagat Survey's format allows people to search for and
find the best places to meet their individual needs based on a variety
of criteria. That breadth and depth of information has made Zagat Survey
a name that consumers can trust — even if they aren't sure how to
pronounce it.
Besides becoming the world's best-selling publisher of restaurant
guides, Zagat Survey has developed business relationships with over
3,000 companies, including AOL, Chase, Citigroup, MasterCard
International, Merck, Merrill Lynch, MGM, Minute Maid, Microsoft, News
Corp., Sony, Toyota and Verizon. In addition, Zagat Survey has won
universal media applause from respected industry experts. Newhouse
Syndicate calls Zagat Survey "the most up-to-date, comprehensive and
reliable guides ever published," while The New York Times says it
is "a necessity second only to a valid credit card."
In 1999, with an infusion of $31 million of venture capital from a group
of investors led by General Atlantic Partners and Kleiner, Perkins,
Caufield, Byers, Zagat Survey moved to online voting, developed a
sophisticated digital content management system and launched
zagat.com. As one of the few profit-making subscription-based
sites, zagat.com offers access to all of Zagat Survey's restaurant
ratings and reviews, as well as maps, driving instructions, a monthly
e-newsletter called "ZagatWire" and the ability to vote and shop online.
Additionally, the company offers its "ZAGAT TO GO" product, which
enables consumers to access Zagat Survey information on their handheld
computers and cellular phones.
Initially started as a hobby, Zagat Survey is now the world's leading
provider of consumer survey—based dining, travel and leisure
information, with more than 250,000 voters participating worldwide. From
its inception until today, Zagat Survey has remained committed to
delivering consumers relevant leisure information they can use to make
smart decisions and act on those decisions.
|
