Pubs, bars and restaurants have seen the number of customer no-shows double over the past year, according to new figures.
About one in eight reservations is not being honoured, with customers also not telling venues they need to cancel, research by industry experts from Zonal and CGA by NIQ has revealed.
It comes amid a challenging backdrop for hospitality businesses, which have experienced soaring energy bills and food costs and squeezed customer spending due to the cost-of-living crisis.
Many venues have also introduced or increased deposit payments over the past year to deter costly no-shows and recover some of the expense.
The latest figures, collected in September, show 12 per cent of reservations were not honoured or cancelled with notice by customers.
It is still slightly below levels seen during the pandemic in 2021 but double the 6 per cent of reservations with no-shows in September last year.
The UK’s hospitality industry misses out on £17.59 billion in lost revenues per year through these no-shows, according the research firms.
Olivia FitzGerald, chief sales and marketing officer at Zonal, said: “These latest insights show that no-shows are still very much an issue facing the industry and it is a costly one.
“It is important that we continue our efforts to educate customers on the impact that not honouring bookings has on the industry, as well as finding ways for businesses to help reduce the risk of these no-shows occurring.”
CGA by NIQ’s client director Andy Dean said: “This research is incredibly important in highlighting the impact no-shows are having on the hospitality sector.
“Whilst customers might think missing a reservation is only a minor inconvenience for the venue and staff, the wider connotations need to be emphasised to customers, so they appreciate the need to show up for hospitality, support the industry and the workers within it.”