On any given Friday night at North of Bourbon, Lawrence Weeks’ buzzy restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky, the reservation books are generally full. Like clockwork, a reservation for six guests will show up with only two people.
“People will book a bigger reservation so they can get in the door, because there aren’t any other reservations available,” Weeks says. “And then when they show up it’s ‘Oh, four people couldn’t come.’”
These days, North of Bourbon charges a $25 cancellation fee for each guest who doesn’t show up. It’s a deterrent, he says, but it still happens all the time. Some restaurants can fill these seats with walk-ins, but in a smaller city like Louisville with less foot traffic, Lawrence says the seats typically remain empty.
“I don’t think that people understand how much one seat in a restaurant costs,” he said. “When you cancel a reservation, that’s lost revenue on our end that we can’t get back.”
It’s harder than ever to book a table — even if the tech makes it simple
Anyone who eats in restaurants has likely noticed that reservations are getting harder to book. According to restaurant data released by Resy at the end of 2024, restaurant spending is one of the fastest-growing sectors within travel and entertainment in its parent company American Express’ consumer business. People with money to spend are increasingly eager to spend it in restaurants. It’s counterintuitive that this growth has led to increased cancellations and no-shows, but rather like online dating, there’s a sense that a better reservation is always around the corner.
Platforms like Appointment Trader allow guests to flat-out buy hot reservations, many of which are booked by bots. People who are able to make reservations are increasingly booking multiple tables to keep their options open.
As OpenTable and Resy compete to keep top restaurants on their platforms, it would make sense to see them innovating around this key pain point for restaurants. Instead, most restaurant owners I spoke with say the technological differences between the two are minimal. Instead, cash payments from the platforms and their perceived “cool factor” of each are the deciding factors in considering a switch. Restaurants are coming up with their own solutions to manage cancellations and no shows.
A representative from Resy explained that third-party reservation resale sites often lead to no-shows and late cancellations at in-demand restaurants. The representative said the platform’s security team has “ramped up tech solutions and protections to reduce the amount of no-shows caused by bots,” but didn’t specify what those solutions are or if they’re effective. Both Resy and OpenTable are publicly backing bills around the country to ban unauthorized reservation resale.
People will do anything to avoid a no-show fee
One chef I spoke with mentioned that when he was using Resy, he noticed that when charging a fee for a no-show, the credit card on file often wouldn’t work. There’s a general awareness among restaurateurs that guests sometimes use incorrect credit card information, but doesn’t get flagged until the reservation is cancelled. By the time they go to charge the card, which point it’s too late. An OpenTable representative said the platform is preparing to roll out enhancements to their deposits feature that seem to be a response to this issue.
Even if they are able to complete the charge, many restaurants find that there’s a reputational cost. When Alex Tewfik opened Mish Mish, a Mediterranean restaurant in Philadelphia, he didn’t initially implement a cancellation fee. People cancelled all the time, or just wouldn’t show up.
The restaurant implemented a $30 per person fee. “But that comes with its own host of problems,” Tewfik said. “People leave us shitty reviews without even coming to the restaurant, because they get mad that they’re charged.”
Coltivare, an Italian restaurant in Houston, also charges a $25 fee, but when guests reach out to complain, the restaurant offers a $25 gift card. The hope is that this helps assuage guests’ frustration, and brings their business back.
Committing to a minimum spend assures that guests will show
Companies have also popped up over the last five years to try to smooth the friction between high-end clients and the restaurants who want their business. One such company is Dorsia, a members-only platform that offers access to “impossible reservations, tables and invite-only cultural moments around the globe.”
When The Joyce, a high-end steakhouse in Miami Beach opened, it had already opened reservations up to Dorsia members months earlier.
The partnership between restaurants and diners is crucial in ensuring a successful dining experience for both parties. One such partnership that has proven to be beneficial is the one between a restaurant called The Joyce and its loyal diners. These diners often pre-commit to a specific minimum spend and rarely fail to show up for their reservations.
Jeff Lagowitz, a partner at The Joyce, highlighted the importance of this partnership by mentioning that the restaurant goes above and beyond to ensure that their diners are okay, even calling them to confirm their reservation if they fail to show up. This level of care and attention to detail has helped in building a strong relationship with their diners, leading to a high rate of attendance for reservations.
On the other hand, some restaurants like Voodoo Vin in Los Angeles have taken a different approach to deal with last-minute cancellations and no-shows. The owners, Natalie and Michael Hekmat, decided to stop taking reservations altogether and instead focus on serving their regular customers until they sold out. This strategy has helped them avoid the disappointment of empty tables and has allowed them to create a more intimate and exclusive dining experience for their loyal patrons.
As a result of these partnerships and strategic decisions, both The Joyce and Voodoo Vin have seen success in managing their reservations and ensuring a full dining room every night. By prioritizing their relationship with diners and adapting their approach to reservations, these restaurants have been able to create a positive and memorable dining experience for all.
