Restaurants charging up to Dh300 for no-show

Restaurants are cracking down on patrons who fail to show up after booking reservations by charging up to Dh300 per guest.

Restaurateurs in Dubai have said the pre-existing policy had to be re-enforced as new Covid-19 restrictions limit capacity at outlets to 50 per cent, suspend brunches and close by 1am.

Restaurant owners told Khaleej Times it is common practice to take credit card details from customers once they have made bookings, in the event of a noshow. Nicolas Budzynski, global operations director of French restaurant LPM, said: “The practice is not new. We have had it in place since we opened in Dubai 11 years ago. It is also standard practice in cities like London, where our restaurants are originally from.”

However, the current regulations are forcing restaurants like LPM to strictly reinforce the policy as guests making last-minute cancellations or not turning up at all can affect restaurant reputation and revenue. Budzynski said LPM only takes credit card information from patrons who have made a booking for a table of four or above. Guests who do not turn up or make a last-minute cancellation may be fined a penalty of Dh200 per person.

Budzynski explained: “However, if the table is taken by other guests, we do not charge for it. We believe there is a much higher commitment when people provide their credit card details. The number of no-shows is relatively lesser. A no-show is different because they did not let us know that they will not be able to make it.” Other restaurants in Dubai have also adopted a similar approach to ensure guest commitment. Japanese restaurant Zuma is asking for credit card details if the booking was for seven or more people. In that case, guests who did not turn up faced a charge of Dh300 per person or Dh120 for last-minute cancellations.

Peruvian venue Coya charged Dh100 per person for no shows and late cancellations if the group was just two or three guests and went up to Dh200 per person for larger groups. Fees were waived if the restaurant was notified at least 24 hours in advance. Greek diner Opa could expect to be charged Dh80 if they did not cancel by 3pm on the day of their booking. If they failed to show up at all that fee would be Dh120.

However, not all restaurants are adopting the fine for no-show approach. Naim Maadad, chief executive of Gates Hospitality, said: “Our approach has been to hold the table reservations for 30 minutes from the time of reservation and then have it released for other guests. However, for special occasions, we have the facility of pre-booking the table with an advance down payment well ahead of the event date.”