How to reduce no-shows at your restaurant

To reduce no-shows, you need a system that confirms reservations, reminds guests, and creates accountability through deposits. Restaurants that implement these strategies typically see no-show rates drop from 15-20% to under 5% within the first month.

No-shows cost the average restaurant $1,500-$3,000 monthly in lost revenue. That’s not counting wasted food prep, overstaffed shifts, and turned-away walk-ins for tables that end up empty. The good news: no-shows are predictable and largely preventable with the right approach.

Key takeaways

• Main solution: Automated reminders + easy cancellation + strategic deposits for high-risk bookings
• Expected result: 50-70% reduction in no-show rate
• Time to implement: 30-60 minutes for initial setup
• Cost: Free with most reservation systems; deposit processing may have small fees

Before you start

You need to understand your current situation before making changes.

What you’ll need:

• Access to your reservation system’s settings and reports
• Your last 90 days of reservation data
• Authority to set or adjust policies
• 30-60 minutes for initial setup

Know your numbers first:

Pull your data and break it down by:

• Day of week (Saturdays often run higher)
• Party size (large parties no-show more)
• Booking source (third-party platforms vs. direct)
• Lead time (reservations made 2+ weeks out have higher rates)

You can’t improve what you don’t measure.

Step 1: Enable automated reminders

Reminders are your first line of defense. They catch guests who forgot they booked and prompt those whose plans changed to cancel properly.

What to do:

1. Turn on SMS reminders in your reservation system
2. Set timing: 24 hours before the reservation (add a 48-hour reminder for weekend bookings)
3. Include date, time, party size, and your restaurant name
4. Add one-click confirm and cancel links

Pro tip: SMS has a 98% open rate versus 20% for email. If you can only do one, choose SMS.

Step 2: Add confirmation requests

Don’t just remind guests. Ask them to confirm. This creates an active commitment and identifies problem bookings early.

What to do:

1. Send confirmation requests 48-72 hours before the reservation
2. Use language that asks for action: “Please confirm your reservation” beats “Reminder: you have a reservation”
3. Set up a follow-up system for non-responders
4. Call guests who haven’t confirmed 24 hours before

What good looks like:

• 70%+ of guests confirming within 24 hours of request
• Non-confirming reservations flagged for follow-up
• Tables released with notice when guests are unreachable

Step 3: Make cancellation frictionless

This seems counterintuitive, but making it easy to cancel reduces no-shows. Guests who can’t easily cancel often just don’t show up.

What to do:

1. Include one-click cancel links in all reminder messages
2. Don’t require phone calls during service hours
3. Send a brief confirmation when cancellation is received
4. Trigger your rebooking process immediately

What to avoid:

• Requiring guests to call (they won’t during your busy service)
• Guilt-tripping language that makes guests avoid the conversation
• Complicated processes that guests abandon

Step 4: Implement strategic deposits

Deposits change behavior. Even small amounts create commitment that dramatically reduces no-shows.

What to do:

1. Identify high-risk bookings: large parties (6+), peak times (Friday/Saturday dinner), special occasions
2. Set deposit amounts: $20-35 per person is typical for casual dining, $35-50 for fine dining
3. Make deposits refundable within your cancellation window (24-48 hours)
4. Apply deposits to the final bill for guests who arrive

When to require deposits:

• Large parties (6+ guests)
• Friday and Saturday prime time
• Holidays (Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, New Year’s Eve)
• Guests with previous no-show history

When to skip deposits:

• Weekday lunch
• Regular guests with strong track records
• Off-peak times when rebooking is easy

For a detailed guide on implementing deposits effectively, see prepayments and deposits.

Step 5: Track and flag repeat offenders

Not all no-shows are equal. Some guests are chronic offenders who cost you money repeatedly.

What to do:

1. Tag all no-shows in your reservation system
2. Track by guest to identify repeat patterns
3. Flag chronic no-shows for special handling
4. Review patterns weekly

Handling repeat offenders:

• First offense: Note in system, no action
• Second offense: Require deposit for future bookings
• Third offense: Polite conversation about the impact
• Chronic pattern: Consider declining future reservations

Step 6: Build a waitlist backup system

Your waitlist is insurance against no-shows. When a reservation falls through, you need a system to fill that table fast.

What to do:

1. Maintain an active waitlist for high-demand times
2. Set up instant alerts when cancellations or no-shows occur
3. Contact waitlist guests immediately when tables open
4. Train hosts to proactively offer released tables to walk-ins

Rebooking priority:

1. Waitlist guests for that time slot
2. Guests who called earlier and couldn’t get a table
3. Your regular guests (quick text or call)
4. Walk-ins as they arrive

For more on managing your waitlist effectively, see waitlist management.

Step 7: Consider strategic overbooking

If your no-show rate is consistently high, overbooking can recover lost revenue. But do it carefully.

What to do:

1. Calculate your historical no-show rate by day and time
2. Start conservative: if no-shows run 12%, overbook by 5%
3. Track results for 4 weeks before adjusting
4. Have a backup plan when everyone shows up

Safety nets:

• Maintain an active waitlist to absorb overflow gracefully
• Have bar seating available as a waiting area
• Script for guests: “Your table will be just a few more minutes”

Common mistakes to avoid

Skipping the data

Many restaurants guess at their no-show problem. Track your actual rate by day, time, party size, and source. The patterns will tell you where to focus.

Making cancellation difficult

Trapping guests doesn’t work. They’ll ghost you instead of jumping through hoops. Make cancelling as easy as booking.

Applying deposits everywhere

Deposits for Tuesday lunch at a half-empty restaurant creates friction without benefit. Match your policies to actual risk.

Inconsistent enforcement

A policy you don’t enforce teaches guests it doesn’t matter. If you’re not willing to charge the fee, don’t have one.

Forgetting the follow-through

Reminders without a system to act on non-responses waste everyone’s time. Build the full workflow.

How to measure success

Track these metrics weekly for the first month after implementing changes:

Tools that help

Modern reservation systems handle most no-show prevention automatically.

SMS and email reminders send messages at the right times with one-click confirm and cancel buttons. This alone reduces no-shows by 30-50%.

Deposit collection with built-in payment processing makes collecting and applying deposits seamless for guests and staff.

Guest history tracking flags repeat no-shows and lets you require deposits or have conversations before problems recur.

Waitlist management automatically notifies waitlisted guests when tables open up from cancellations or no-shows.

If your current system lacks these features, Resos’s reservation management includes all of them with no per-cover fees.

The bottom line

No-shows are a solvable problem, not an unavoidable cost of running a restaurant. Start with automated reminders this week. That single change often reduces no-shows by 30% or more. Then add confirmation requests, easy cancellation, and strategic deposits for high-risk bookings.

The restaurants that treat no-shows as a process problem rather than bad luck protect thousands in monthly revenue. You can too.

Related guides: How to reduce cancellations | Prepayments and deposits | Waitlist management