One in seven bookings failing to show up at restaurants

People who do not turn up to reservations they have made at pubs and restaurants are costing the hospitality sector £17.6bn a year, a report says.

Data from hospitality technology firm Zonal said one in seven customers have not turned up for a reservation without telling the venue since April.

It said 18-34-year-olds were the "worst offenders" for no-shows, with more than a quarter not honouring bookings.

Industry group UK Hospitality said no-shows were "deeply damaging to venues".

Jacob Georgallis, general manager at Toast Bar in Leeds, said punters not turning up and not cancelling bookings had "massively" affected the business during times when some coronavirus restrictions remained.

"We'd be fully booked but then no-shows would happen and you've turned away three or four groups who could have taken the space," he said.

"It was a really gutting feeling for us, and a nightmare for staffing and forecasting."

During Euro 2020, the bar took pre-orders on food and drinks and did not experience any no-shows, apart from customers unable to attend due to Covid-related reasons.

Mr Georgallis said he hoped there was a "big push" towards solving the problem and "finding ways to take money up front".

The research, conducted by Zonal and consultancy firm CGA, surveyed 5,000 people nationwide.

Although younger people were found to be the most likely out of the sample to fail to turn up to bookings, compared to just 1% of those aged 55 and over, younger adults were more frequent bookers and ate out more often.

In its report, researchers said Londoners were found to be the worst no-show offenders in the UK, with 24% of consumers in the capital admitting to not notifying a venue that they weren't planning to turn up.

The figure was higher than the national average of 14%. The report said customers in Scotland, the South West and the South East were most likely to honour their reservations, with just 10% failing to show up.

UK Hospitality said the £17.6bn loss from no-shows equated to 13.3% of the sector's £132bn in pre-pandemic revenue.

Source: Zonal and CGA's Technology survey

Vicky Liner, marketing director at West Midlands-based Suburban Inns, said no-shows had "calmed down a little bit" after the venue started asking patrons to hand over card details and put down deposits when making a booking.

"Taking deposits wasn't something we really wanted to do, but we've had to - and they're no bad thing if they help to change the culture," she said.

"We still want spontaneity in hospitality and give people the option to just walk in."

In response to the survey findings, Zonal and UK Hospitality have launched a campaign aimed at encouraging people to honour the bookings they make, or at least inform venues if they have to cancel a booking.

UK Hospitality's chief executive Kate Nicholls said no-shows had been a blight on the industry for "many, many years". Added to the difficulties businesses were experiencing due to the pandemic, they were "currently deeply damaging."

"Our pubs, bars and restaurants deserve our support and it's encouraging that this research shows there is a growing realisation among customers of the need to honour their booking or let the venue know they can't make it," she said.

"But it also highlights the fact that no shows still happen far too often, with younger customers particularly responsible, and that really can't go on."