With many businesses in the hospitality industry putting all their efforts in to reopening safely and surviving the pandemic, diners failing to turn up to their reservations can have a crippling impact on operators.
Tom Kerridge initiated the conversation on Instagram yesterday, writing “to the 27 people that booked Kerridge’s Bar & Grill and then failed to turn up on a Saturday night… This industry like many others is on the verge of collapse. Your behaviour is disgraceful, shortsighted and down right unhelpful.” He added “all of you no shows in all restaurants up and down the country are adding to the issues already being faced… YOU are putting peoples jobs more at risk.”
It is clear that many operators share the same sentiment. Charlie Mellor of The Laughing Heart says “every penny truly counts right now, but so do vibes – if three tables in a restaurant of 9 tables just don’t show up, what impact do those giant, already ‘distanced’ holes have on atmosphere for the guests? What about the workers who are putting themselves out there and deserve to be considered, or the person at home who couldn’t book that in-demand space to celebrate a special occasion?”
Similarly, Western Laundry put the impact of no-shows into perspective, writing “a no-show typically costs the restaurant around £240. We had 12 no shows last night in just one restaurant.”
TOKii’s Tugend Demir stated that strategies to reduce no shows are necessary, including taking credit card details and cancellation fees, confirming bookings in the morning of each day, and using platforms like Opentable which allow you to block previous No-Shows.
In response, hospitality recruitment consultancy Sixty Eight People and Antonia Lallement from Gusto Italian have revealed their #NOMORENOSHOWS campaign in Greater Manchester in an attempt to spread awareness of the issue amongst consumers. With latest figures revealing it costs the industry £16bn a year, the campaign wants to highlight that whilst British people tend to feel embarrassed about cancelling, this needs to be changed. They’re asking diners to follow three simple steps:
1. Plans change. That’s cool. Just let us know.
2. Rebook – we still love you.
3. Encourage friends and family to do the same.
Now more than ever, restaurants need our support, so we hope to see this conversation spark real change for the industry.
We’d love to hear from you. Let us know your thoughts on restaurant no-shows by emailing [email protected]
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