No-shows remain a thorn in the side of the hospitality industry across the UK with the national no-shows rate rising to 14%, again costing the industry an estimated £17.59bn in lost revenue every year.
Changing the behaviour of customers for the long term will take a huge collective effort from the industry, and as operators, there are many things that you can do in the interim to reduce the impact of no-shows on your venue.
Our in-house team of bookings experts have put together a checklist of ideas on how you can eliminate no-shows in your hospitality business:
- Create a robust booking policy – cover all your terms and conditions surrounding cancellations and no-shows, and ensure it’s clearly communicated to your customers.
- Send multiple reminders to customers about their booking – a week before, a few days and the day of their booking. Each message can contain different information and gives you an opportunity to build loyalty.
- Consider all the channels of communication available to liaise with customers about their booking – email, SMS, WhatsApp, social media or phone call – to cover all demographics and the way they prefer to communicate.
- Educate customers on the impact of no-shows – explain in customer friendly terms how it impacts the business.
- Consider requesting deposits or a redeemable no-show fee if it’s relevant for your Previous research found that 55% of consumers say they are happy to pay a no-show fee and 51% are happy to pay a deposit to secure a booking.
- Implement effective booking incentives throughout your customer’s booking journey –special offers for bookings or discounts can be effective tools to ensure customers honor their bookings. Offering a voucher to try new menu items, or a free drink on arrival, will decrease the likelihood of no-show’s.
- Give them the option to cancel in the way they prefer – provide ample opportunity to cancel, across multiple communication channels. Make it as easy as possible!
By following these steps, you’ll be able to convert no-show-ers to always go-ers, meaning more revenue for your business and happier customers!
Join the conversation and help us make no-shows a thing of the past
No-shows cost the hospitality industry an estimated £17.59 billion in lost sales every year. Join our group of passionate industry supporters to help spread the message far and wide and encourage customers to #ShowUpForHospitality.
