No-Shows At Restaurants Are Costing Hospitality Sector £17.6bn

Individuals who don't turn up to reservations they have made at bars, restaurants and cafés are costing the hospitality sector an estimated £17.6bn per year, a report says.

Information from hospitality tech firm Zonal said one out of seven punters have not turned up for a booking without telling the venue since April.

It stated that 18-34-year-olds were the "worst offenders" for flake-outs, with in excess of a quarter not respecting their bookings.

Jacob Georgallis, head supervisor at Toast Bar in Leeds, said people not turning up and cancelling their bookings had "greatly" influenced the business during times when some COVID limitations remained.

He said "We'd be fully booked but then no-shows would happen and you've turned away three or four groups who could have taken the space."

Younger individuals were observed to be the most likely to neglect bookings, contrasted with only 1% of those aged 55 and over.

In its report, scientists said Londoners were observed to be the worst in the UK, with a staggering 24% of customers in the capital conceding to not telling a venue that they weren't intending on turning up. This figure was higher than the public normal of 14%. The report said punters in Scotland, the South West and the South East were more likely to respect their reservations, with only 10% neglecting to appear.

UK Hospitality said the £17.6bn loss from no-shows equated to 13.3% of the sector's £132bn in pre-pandemic revenue.