Restaurants are prioritizing tables for big spenders and return customers through premium programs with SevenRooms and Resy Global Access

• Certain credit cardholders and frequent bookers are now the top of lists when it comes to booking restaurant reservations.
• SevenRooms says it shares data with restaurant clients to identify big spenders and offer premium reservations.

In a time when reservations are typically made through a third-party site rather than over the phone, restaurants are using data to target customers who spend more on dinner and regularly book tables.

If you've recently struggled to secure a reservation at a buzzy restaurant, it may be more than just bad luck stopping you from dining at the hottest spots in town. Booking sites like SevenRooms and Resy are strategizing with restaurants to promote premium reservations and give special access to diners who are willing to pay more, CNBC reported.

SevenRooms stands apart from Resy and OpenTable in the amount of customer data it shares with restaurants to identify diners who will spend more money for a more premium experience.

"It's not just about getting bodies in the door anymore,"Allison Page, SevenRooms co-founder and chief product officer, told CNBC. "It's making sure the restaurant is getting the right body in the doors, whether that's customers that visit frequently or have a higher average spend per cover."

The Danny Meyer-backed company's restaurant clients are selling premium experiences — like a rooftop table at sunset or a table seat a view — for an extra cost to consumers. And, members with gold status have access to exclusive reservations at popular restaurants.

"A lot of those reservations are being saved for top customers," Page said to CNBC.

American Express Platinum cardholders are often considered in the category of "top customers," and are able to secure tables at the world's hottest restaurants much easier than the average diner. Through partnerships with both SevenRooms and Resy's Global Dining Access program, Amex holders have special tables set aside for them.

So, that leaves average would-be diners seeking tables at iconic eateries toward the bottom of the list for bookings. One restaurant owner compared the premium programs to a Disney FastPass when talking to CNBC.

"I had some concerns about it, just having people basically pay for access to what should be a democratized situation in my mind," Kirk Estopinal, a partner at New Orleans restaurant Cane & Table told CNBC.

But, Estopinal also recognized the benefits of relying on Resy to bring in higher paying customers.

"The whole point is to catch a fish in the end, right? Whether that fish is a walk-in or from the Global Dining Access program," he said.