#ShowUpForHospitality
No-shows are on the rise again. The number of customers not turning up for bookings has doubled from 6% in September 2022 to 12% in 2023, costing the industry an estimated £17.59bn per year..
The latest figures from leading hospitality tech provider Zonal and data and insight firm CGA by NielsenIQ reveal the likelihood of no-shows has almost halved, from 11% to 6%.
The research also shows that the number of consumers making reservations and honouring them has increased by 15 percentage points, reducing the cost of no-shows to the hospitality sector to £12.6bn – saving the industry £5bn a year.
The new research marks the one-year anniversary of Zonal’s #ShowUpForHospitality campaign, which found that customers not showing up for bookings was costing the industry an estimated £17.6bn a year in lost revenue, with one in seven people not turning up to their reservations and not informing the venue.
“No shows have been a blight on the industry for many, many years, but with tens of thousands of hospitality businesses in such a fragile state following prolonged periods of closure and heavily-restricted trading, they are currently deeply damaging to venues. Our pubs, bars and restaurants deserve our support.”
The pandemic has highlighted the vital role pubs, bars and restaurants play in our communities and the affection with which they are held. As the sector begins to rebuild, we want to use this moment to highlight the harm no-shows have on these businesses and to educate consumers on the financial and operational impact caused by not turning up for a booking.
Our research has shown 60% of consumers have made a reservation since hospitality reopened in April – a movement which is very much welcomed by the industry. However, one in every eight customers is more likely to no-show than they were before the pandemic. This shows there is still more to be done in highlighting the damaging effects they have on operators, whilst encouraging them to always honour their booking or tell the venue in advance.
“No-shows have come into sharp focus since the pandemic: they’ve been a bugbear for years, and the sales and cost implications are especially painful now. Reducing no-shows will be a big priority in the months ahead, especially as Christmas nears.”
Now is the time to call for change in behaviour and a refreshed relationship between customers and hospitality venues. Join a coalition of industry leaders and businesses to increase awareness of the impact of no-shows and encourage consumers to always #ShowUpForHospitality.
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#ShowUpForHospitality Partners
“Pubs, bars and restaurants play a vital role in our communities and it’s important we continue to support them after this challenging time. While the pandemic has prompted a new-found appreciation and understanding of hospitality among many consumers, there is still more to be done in encouraging them to always honour their booking or tell the venue in advance”
“Pre pandemic the UK Hospitality Industry paid over £39bn in taxation, monies that went directly to local and national authorities for the betterment of our communities. No-shows don’t just harm the operators, during an extremely challenging time, but by costing our industry billions, they also harm our ability to contribute to our economy, and that affects every one of us. How to stop this? Simple, no more no shows!”
“I’ve conducted sales audits on businesses and in most cases the audit uncovers an incredibly high ‘no-show’ rate with few processes in place to minimise its impact. We all know the repercussions for our sector when this happens. For me it’s obvious. I’d rather have 50% less customers who all turn up than over inflated pre-booked sales where I’m lucky if 30% show up.”