Restaurateurs reeling as no shows cost sector £90 per missing head
Restaurateurs are reeling as punters not showing up for dinner costs businesses £90 per head, a new study has shown, leading many to consider throwing in the towel for good.
A rising number of diners cancelling at the last minute, or just not turning up, over the last year has led to almost a fifth of restaurant, pub and bar owners to consider closing permanently, research from Barclaycard Payments has shown.
Last minute cancellations and no-shows is one of the biggest issues the restaurant industry is facing right now, some 23 per cent of restaurant owners believe, adding a further pressure to the sector which is battling high inflation and energy bills.
As the summer months prove pivotal for hospitality businesses, a further three in 10 restaurants said they are worried about no shows negatively impacting profits over the warmer months.
Up to four in 10 restaurant owners and managers also said they have seen a rise in no shows and short notice cancellations over the last year, stating they’d seen increases of 40 and 35 per cent respectively.
The same research shows that 37 per cent per cent of UK adults who dine out regularly cancel on the day of the booking, typically providing less than six hours’ notice.
“The hospitality industry has faced many challenges in recent years and is continuing to feel the strain against the backdrop of the cost-of-living,” Kirsty Morris, managing director at Barclaycard Payments said.
“While diners are becoming increasingly picky about the venues they choose to spend their hard-earned cash at, it’s really important this doesn’t translate to indecisiveness and negatively impact restaurants through cancellations.”
It comes as separate Barcaly’s spending on restaurants in June plummeted to its lowest levels since January, following another month of decline down -8.2 per cent.
Some three in 10 (30 per cent) Brits said they plan to spend less on eating out in order to offset rising household bills, instead spending on specialist food and drink stores such as butchers.
In addition, almost a fifth (18 per cent) of consumers say that to save money when dining out this summer, they are opting to order just a main meal, with no starter or dessert.