SINGAPORE — HungryGoWhere will cease operations next month, the food-and-beverage (F&B) portal said on Tuesday (June 8). 

Founded in 2006 by Mr Wong Hoong An, Mr Dennis Goh and Mr Tan Yung Yih, HungryGoWhere gained popularity as a food review site, and grew to offer restaurant reservations, dining deals, dining rewards, and articles on food and drinks in Singapore.

“After serving Singapore’s diners for an amazing 15 years, HungryGoWhere.com will be ceasing operations, and our last day of service is July 11, 2021,” it said in a Facebook post.

“We hope that we’ve helped make dining out a better experience for you, and that you will continue to support the awesome restaurants, eateries and hawkers in Singapore.

"Thank you for being with us all these years and we are really proud to have served you."

The website and the related mobile application for the business are run by telecommunications firm Singtel.

In response to queries from CNA, Singtel said that the closure was a result of the "severe challenges" in the industry.

"In line with the group’s business refocus, we have conducted a detailed review of HungryGoWhere and explored various options for the business," it said.

"However, it has faced severe challenges posed by competitive pressure in the industry, which has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

"As a result, we have decided to exit the restaurant reservations market."

Most of HungryGoWhere’s 13-member team had been redeployed to other roles within the Singtel Group and re-employment assistance was offered to the rest, Singtel said.

"We thank the F&B community and diners for their support over the past 15 years," it added.

"We remain committed to innovating new digital products and services, as well as building and strengthening partnerships that enrich our customers’ lifestyles."

REWARDS PROGRAMME AND RESERVATIONS

As part of the closure, the HungryRewards programme will be discontinued on June 30. Users may transfer outstanding “Hungry$” into Singtel Dash credits. Hungry$ not transferred by June 30 will be voided.

"If you have made a reservation with us, the restaurant would have already received your information and the reservation is confirmed," HungryGoWhere said in an FAQ published for customers.

"If your reservation date falls on July 12, 2021, or later, please call the restaurant to re-confirm your booking."

The portal will continue to accept reservations for dates until July 11. Existing reservations may also be changed via the portal until then.

HungryGoWhere will not be charging its merchant partners any fees for June and July "to thank (them) for their support".

All content on HungryGoWhere will be taken offline at the end of the day on July 11, and the portal has advised users to save any content they would like to retain such as food reviews before then.

It has likewise advised merchants to download reservation information by July 11.

ACQUIRED FOR S$12 MILLION

HungryGoWhere’s parent company GTW Holdings was acquired for S$12 million by Singtel in May 2012 with the telco aiming “to re-shape culinary experiences across Asia”.

HungryGoWhere’s operations were merged with Singtel’s lifestyle, entertainment and search site inSing.com, “creating an audience of two million customers — the largest food and lifestyle audience in Singapore” the telco said at the time.

Singtel Digital Media, a subsidiary of the telco, was in charge of inSing.com, which has since shut down its operations. Its last post on Facebook was dated Aug 26, 2019.

In the month of its acquisition, HungryGoWhere had 4.1 million page views, and this had doubled to 8.2 million page views by May 2014, TODAY reported in October 2014. CNA

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