Knives out for no-shows

UP to $165 per person, that’s how much Queensland diners are being forced to fork out if they fail to show up to their restaurant booking.

In a bid to reduce the number of no-shows, which is estimated to cost the hospitality industry $75m per year, some eateries are now charging hefty fees to those who don’t turn up to their reservation, while other venues are taking payments upfront.

Restaurant Labart at Burleigh Heads introduced prepayment for their $125 per person set menu and an accompanying $125pp fee for cancellations within 24 hours just after the pandemic began to avoid last-minute cancellations that crippled the restaurant when Covid seating restrictions were in play.

The move sparked an initial backlash from diners unfamiliar with the concept that is used commonly overseas. However, almost two years on and restaurant owner Karla Munoz Labart said customers were now accepting of the rule.

“There is obviously leniency. We charge the upfront amount and it’s really more to get people to commit, not so much about the cancellation, more just getting away from that idea in the past of people, and I’m sure there’s still plenty of people who still do it, who will book a couple of restaurants for the same night and then see what they feel like,” she said.

“Like buying a flight ticket or tickets to a concert, it’s no different to that, you’ve got to have a level of commitment.”

Mrs Munoz Labart said they rarely had to charge diners the cancellation fee, and would normally offer a credit for a future booking instead.

“It’s not about keeping people’s money for no reason, it’s just having that commitment and people having the courtesy to let you know they aren’t coming,” she said. “So if you just don’t turn up, there would be no returning of that money if the table has just sat empty all night and the food’s gone in the bin and I think most people would think that’s reasonable.”

At hugely popular Brisbane grill restaurant SK Steak & Oyster, a $50 fee is charged for cancellations within 24 hours, while its sibling restaurant Sushi Room around the corner takes a $50 per person deposit for bookings that is then credited to your bill.

“With Sushi Room, it’s only a 50-seat restaurant so if we have a table of 10 no-show that’s a loss of thousands of dollars for us,” said co-owner Kelvin Andrews.

“We’ve already bought produce for it and everything is fresh on the day so we are buying already for that customer and then it’s food wasted.”

He said the restaurants took a sympathetic approach to lastminute cancellations for genuine reasons and would usually offer a credit for future booking. However, he said it was common for diners to book in at all three of his eateries, also including Hellenika at the Calile, and decide on the night where they wanted to go, leaving two restaurants at a loss.

“At Hellenika we do a booking fee for groups of eight to 10 or more just because a group will book in and then not show up … and that’s a loss of income for us and especially with the rising cost of everything, like fruit and veg, we can’t afford to keep losing tables,” he said.

In 2017 an online reservations company black-listed 38,000 diners across Australia for not showing up.