The truth behind no-shows

What factors are causing consumers to no-show? How does hospitality compare to other sectors? Find out in this exclusive survey of 5,000 hospitality consumers.

No-shows remain an ongoing challenge for the hospitality industry, costing UK hospitality a collective £17.6bn a year in lost sales.

Previous research in 2024 revealed that 60% of consumers want to support the hospitality sector in light of the cost-of-living crisis, however despite this the rate of no-shows has risen from 12 to 14% over the course of the year. With increased cost pressures already presenting a difficult trading environment for hospitality, it’s vital for operators to understand why these no-shows are occurring, as well as exploring potential solutions to combat the issue.

In this report, we reveal the extent of the no-shows problem, including current consumer booking behaviours and the factors influencing no-show rates, as well as how likely consumers are to show up for their booking in hospitality compared to other sectors.

What's in the report?

  • Why consumers no show in hospitality
  • 2024 consumer booking habits
  • How no-shows in hospitality compare to other sectors
  • Five ways to combat no-shows in your venue

“No-Shows is a really big problem for the industry. At our restaurant Faber, we charge a £20 per head pre-authorisation (the money is only taken in the event of no show) on every booking, as we have to protect our business. Hospitality is unique in the sense that unlike many other industries, you pay after you’ve received the service. When people don’t show up, not only is the money from the booking lost, but the costs incurred from the stock which was ordered in that we now have to waste and the additional staff which were put in place to support the booking, all add up. It all has a negative effect on business.”
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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.

Learn about the campaign

    Brand loyalty in hospitality

    How likely are consumers to switch brands? What types of loyalty schemes keep them engaged, and how do customers want to hear from hospitality brands? Discover the answers from 5,000 hospitality consumers.

    With consumer spend tightening and visit frequency reduced, a loyal customer base providing that all-important repeat business is the holy grail for operators looking to succeed in today’s difficult trading landscape.

    Our previous research in partnership with CGA by NIQ revealed that consumers, on average, feel loyal to 2.1 hospitality brands – but how likely are their choices of preferred venues to change?

    In this exclusive survey of 5,000 British hospitality consumers, we reveal how likely consumers would be to switch their preference to a different hospitality brand, how hospitality stacks up against other sectors, and the role loyalty schemes play in ensuring customers keep coming back to you for more.

    What's in the report?

    • Which consumers are most likely to switch to a competitor?
    • How does loyalty in hospitality compare against other sectors?
    • Consumer communication preferences
    • What guests find appealing about loyalty schemes

      Fixing people's hospitality bugbears

      What are consumers' top frustrations in hospitality, and how can hospitality operators address them? Find out in this exclusive consumer research report in partnership with CGA by NIQ

      Our previous GO Technology research revealed that hospitality still plays an important role in people’s social lives despite cost pressures, but with 49% of consumers saying they’d become less loyal to a brand after a few bad experiences, it’s incredibly important for hospitality businesses to deliver frictionless experiences that meet guests’ expectations, without any frustration during the journey.

      This exclusive research of 5,000 hospitality consumers reveals the biggest frustrations guests encounter when engaging with venues, both in-venue and pre-visit, how these frustrations differ between demographics, and what actions they are likely to take following a frustrating experience.

      What's in the report?

      • Top 5 biggest bugbears
      • Frustrations by stage in the customer journey
      • How do these frustrations differ between demographics?
      • Where and when consumers vent their frustrations about their hospitality experiences

      Discover more useful content

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      What makes people loyal to hospitality and how venues can maintain their loyalty

      Discover the top reasons consumers choose to go out, the role hospitality plays in local communities, and what hospitality businesses can do to build and maintain customer loyalty in this blog – based on the findings from our recent ‘GO Technology: The value of hospitality’ research!
      Read more
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      insight

      Explore our virtual venues through the eyes of your customers

      Visit our virtual pub, restaurant and hotel to discover how Zonal’s ecosystem of hospitality technology works behind the scenes to provide you with the intelligence and insights you need to improve customer experiences, boost loyalty, and drive revenue.
      Learn more
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      Hospitality Tech Assessment: Improving the guest experience & driving loyalty

      Answer a few short questions to identify how well your tech helps you to deliver incredible guest experiences that keep your customers coming back time and time again. At the end you’ll get personalised guidance which explains how you can leverage your customer data to offer personalised customer experiences.
      Start the assessment

        The value of hospitality: Exploring consumer insights and perceptions

        Why do consumers still love restaurants, pubs and bars? What is it that makes hospitality special? Our exclusive research in partnership with UK Hospitality and CGA by NIQ reveals all.

        Despite  many consumers tightening their purse strings, hospitality still has a vital role to play in the social lives of Britain’s consumers. But what is it about hospitality that consumers really and truly value?

        This exclusive consumer research of 5,000 GB consumers, conducted in partnership with UK Hospitality and CGA by NIQ , reveals what aspects of the industry consumers love the most; from why people choose to go out instead of staying in, to what aspects of a pub, bar or restaurant’s offering would keep making them come back for more.

        What's in the report?

        • Why hospitality matters to consumers – top 5 reasons
        • Why consumers choose to go out instead of staying in
        • The top factors that would make consumers return to a pub, bar or restaurant
        • Which consumers are still engaging regularly with hospitality despite cost pressures

        Discover more useful content

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        blog

        Loyalty schemes in hospitality: What top CEOs think

        Loyalty is currently a hot topic in the hospitality industry but there remains a lot of confusion. What do consumers mean when they say they are loyal to on-trade brands? Is it the same as for other retail brands? How can the sector create and maintain customer loyalty? Does it genuinely add value to the bottom line – or  does it really just boil down to discounting? To answer these – and more – questions, we gathered eight of the industry’s top operators for a chat about all things loyalty.
        Read more
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        case-study

        Liberation Group boosts sales with Zonal’s Loyalty solution

        Discover how Liberation Group utilised Zonal’s connected technology to overhaul their customer loyalty offering, boosting membership from 12,000 to over 28,000 and driving sales.
        Read more
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        tools

        Hospitality Tech Assessment: Improving the guest experience & driving loyalty

        Answer a few short questions to identify how well your tech helps you to deliver incredible guest experiences that keep your customers coming back time and time again. At the end you’ll get personalised guidance which explains how you can leverage your customer data to offer personalised customer experiences.
        Start the assessment

          Influence, loyalty and technology: Key guest trends from 2023

          An in-depth end-of-year review of the key findings from our 2023 GO Technology consumer research series

          Consumer expectations of the pubs, bars and restaurants they visit are ever-changing, and 2023 has proven to be no exception to the rule. This year, consumers have been quick to change their behaviours to match the tightening of budgets brought on by the cost-of-living crisis, and as more and more consumers become digital natives, the shift towards more digital-led touchpoints has continued to grow.

          In this in-depth review of our 2023 consumer research series, we explore the three key themes identified from our surveys of 5,000 hospitality consumers; from the influential consumers who make the decisions on where to eat and drink, to when guests prefer digital touchpoints to human interaction during the customer journey, and how guest loyalty has changed as a result of the cost of living crisis.

          Download this report to discover:

          • 2023’s key hospitality consumer trends
          • What factors most influence consumers’ decisions on when and where to go out to eat and drink
          • What makes consumers loyal to a brand or venue
          • How technology can help enhance the guest experience

          Explore our 2023 consumer research in full

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          GO Technology: The New Loyalty Landscape - How the cost-of-living crisis impacts hospitality

          Discover how guest loyalty has changed as a result of the cost-of-living crisis, what builds loyalty amongst consumers, and the role of loyalty schemes in maintaining loyalty.
          Download research
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          GO Technology: People vs Tech - What guests want in 2023

          Exclusive research identifying consumers’ latest attitudes to using technology in hospitality, and how venues can strike the right balance between tech and personal interaction.
          Download research
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          GO Technology: Identifying the Influencer - Reaching hospitality's decision makers

          Discover what factors are influencing where guests choose to eat and drink out in 2023, and who the decision-makers are, in this exclusive consumer research.
          Download research
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          GO Technology: What guests want from hotels in 2023

          Discover what people are looking for from hotel stays in 2023, and what can be done to enhance guest satisfaction and increase revenues.
          Download research

            The New Loyalty Landscape: How the cost-of-living crisis impacts hospitality

            Exclusive consumer research into guest loyalty towards hospitality brands, and how this has been affected by the rising cost of living

            Loyal customers are an incredibly valuable asset for any hospitality business, providing a lucrative source of repeat business and resulting revenue as well as brand advocacy that entices new guests in through your doors.

            Maintaining a loyal customer-base has always been a key objective for operators, however amidst a cost-of-living crisis resulting in tighter consumer budgets, the criteria leading to a customer becoming, and remaining, loyal have changed. How does loyalty differ between generations? And what role do loyalty schemes play in all of this?

            Produced in partnership with CGA by NIQ, we surveyed 5,000 GB hospitality consumers to find the answers.

            What's in the report?

            • What makes, and breaks, loyalty?
            • Differences in loyalty between generations
            • How guest loyalty to hospitality has changed as a result of the cost-of-living crisis
            • The role loyalty schemes play in maintaining guests’ loyalty to hospitality brands

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              Joe Form Test

              In today’s hyper-connected, always-on world, going online for many consumers is their first (and only) port of call when searching for pubs, bars and restaurants to visit.

              Social media has evolved from a place to keep in contact with friends and family, to an environment where people can also follow and engage with their favourite brands, and search engines have overwhelmingly become the place consumers to go find information about products and services. In more recent years, these platforms have also become the go-to place for customers to make bookings.

              But how do customers use social media platforms and search engines to find hospitality venues? What are they looking for? How do they want to book? And more importantly, where is their behaviour headed in the future?

              In our latest GO Technology research report, produced in association with hospitality insights company, CGA, and social bookings experts Mozrest, we discovered how 5,000 consumers are using social media and search engines. Download the report to discover how they’re engaging with their favourite hospitality brands on these platforms and the massive opportunities for savvy operators and marketers to leverage Google and social media to boost bookings and generate more revenue – not just now, but in the future.

              Why should I download this report?

              You’ll discover…

              • Key social media statistics for 2022 that affect the UK hospitality industry
              • How to leverage direct bookings through Facebook, Instagram and Google Reservations
              • How people are searching for venues using Google and virtual assistants like Alexa
              • The importance of social media channels used by 18 to 24-year-olds such as Snapchat and TikTok
              • Ideas for how to use social media to increase table bookings

              Download the full report to discover the future of bookings.

              Download your research report

                People vs Tech: What guests want in 2023

                Exclusive research into hospitality consumer attitudes towards technology as part of the overall guest experience

                The role of technology in hospitality is evolving – not only are guests used to seeing technology in-venue, they now expect it to be present. But the importance of human connection for which the hospitality industry is known and loved so well, is not to be underestimated.

                Produced in partnership with CGA by NielsenIQ, we asked 5,000 UK hospitality consumers to find out their views on technology in hospitality.

                With 55% of those surveyed believing that a balance between technology and a human touch delivers the best hospitality experiences, ensuring you’re meeting the expectations of ever-increasingly digitally-savvy guests, will be key for success now, and in the future.

                What's in the report?

                • When guests prefer to use technology versus interacting with staff
                • How guest preferences change at different stages of the customer journey
                • Average spend by tech natives versus those who prefer a human touch
                • How attitudes to tech may develop over time

                  Hospitality's hidden influencers: Discover the real decision-makers and how they choose where to eat and drink

                  Exclusive consumer research into factors that influence guests when choosing where to eat and drink out

                  As the cost-of-living crisis continues to squeeze consumer spending and budgets are more closely scrutinised, many guests are opting to leave the decision-making process for which venue to visit, to someone they trust.

                  These trusted ‘influencer’ consumers represent a significant opportunity for hospitality businesses able to convert them from regular guests into brand champions. But who are these ‘influencers’? What are their hospitality habits? And what do they look for when choosing a venue to visit for their friends, families and networks?

                  Produced in partnership with CGA by NielsenIQ and DataHawks, we surveyed 5,000 UK hospitality consumers to find out.

                  What's in the report?

                  • Who are the ‘influencers’, and how often do they eat/drink out?
                  • Where do guests get their knowledge from when choosing a venue to visit?
                  • The role of trust and recommendations in influencing guest behaviour
                  • The key influences behind consumers’ decision-making

                    Consumer Research: What Guests Want From Hotels in 2023

                    2023 is set to be another bumper year for the staycation, with 81% of British hotel guests looking to stay at a UK hotel in 2023, as financial pressures deter international travel and habits formed during the pandemic continue to draw consumers to making their holiday plans within the UK rather than travelling abroad.

                    But what are guests looking for when booking accommodation? How are they finding it? And what do they expect during their stay?

                    In our latest GO Technology research report, produced in partnership with hospitality insights firm CGA by NielsenIQ, we surveyed 2,000 hotel  guests who have stayed in UK hotels and accommodation in the past six months to find the answers!

                    Download the full report to discover:

                    • How far reviews go when influencing guests’ decisions
                    • The trustworthiness of different booking methods
                    • Top discovery tools guests use to find accommodation to book
                    • Guest demand for F&B facilities and room service
                    • The tech solutions guests want to see to make their stay seamless

                    Download your research report