Every day, thousands of restaurants face the same frustration: customers who reserve a table and then don't show up, without even calling to cancel. This phenomenon, known as a “no-show”, has a significant economic impact on the restaurant industry, especially for gourmet restaurants with only a few seats. Although this is a practice that causes difficulties for restaurant owners, many customers seem indignant at the idea of having to leave a credit card as a guarantee of the reservation.
The opinion
Restaurant owners, however, see no alternative: resources wasted on empty tables, ingredients purchased and staff employed unnecessarily weigh on budgets and jeopardize the economic sustainability of many businesses. “We have a limited capacity for covers and every reservation not honored is a direct loss”, say numerous chefs in a special edition of La Vanguardia.
The prepayment paradox
The same customers who pay in advance for concerts, hotels, flights and shows, firmly oppose the idea of prepayment in restaurants. Chef Manu Núñez, co-owner of the Barcelona restaurants Besta and Batea, emphasizes the absurdity of the situation in an interview with the Spanish newspaper: “People have no problem paying for a hotel months in advance, but when it comes to dinner, they get upset about a penalty in case of a no-show. We chefs have to protect ourselves”. According to many professionals in the sector, reserving a table should be considered a real contractual commitment, just like other services. “We need more awareness from customers: reserving a restaurant means taking a place that someone else might have wanted”, adds Núñez.
Solutions adopted by restaurants
To protect themselves from “no-shows”, many restaurants have introduced strict cancellation policies. Chef Paulo Airaudo, of the Amelia restaurant in San Sebastián, has implemented a penalty of 291 euros per person for those who cancel their reservation with less than four days' notice or do not show up. “In 2023, we lost 56,000 euros due to fraudulent credit cards and recovered 64,000 euros thanks to the penalties for no-shows. This is equivalent to the salary of two employees per year," explains Airaudo.
Technologies to counter “no-shows”
Reservation management platforms are adopting increasingly sophisticated tools to counter the phenomenon. The Fork, for example, has introduced a system that identifies customers who have accumulated four “no-shows” in 12 months, excluding them from the platform. Cover Manager, on the other hand, alerts restaurateurs if a customer has made reservations at the same time and in the same restaurant. Thanks to these measures, the no-show rate in Spain has dropped to 3.6% in the last year, the lowest value since the pandemic began. Some restaurants are also experimenting with predictive models based on artificial intelligence to identify the most at-risk reservations. “Thanks to data analysis, we can assess the likelihood of a customer showing up or not and take appropriate countermeasures,” say industry experts.
Prepayment as a definitive solution?
Faced with continuous financial losses, many chefs are calling for the introduction of compulsory prepayment for reservations, just as is the case for other luxury experiences. "We need to change our mentality. If you agree to pay in advance for a concert or a hotel room, why not for a gourmet dinner?", asks Núñez. However, customer resistance is still strong, and many restaurateurs continue to receive criticism, threats and even blackmail when they apply penalties. The debate is still open, but one thing is certain: the restaurant industry can no longer afford to passively suffer the consequences of “no-shows”. Respect for the work of chefs and staff must go hand in hand with the habits of customers. The issue is no longer just economic, but cultural: restaurants must be valued and respected like any other form of entertainment or luxury.
