Brisbane restaurants penalise no shows
by Leon Gettler
Brisbane restaurants have cracked down on diners who make big bookings and fail to show up, costing the restaurant plenty of business.
Under a new system being launched next week, patrons will have to either pay in advance or face a fine if they don’t turn up for dining reservations
The system, being put in place by online restaurant reservation service Dimmi, will require diners to pay for their food upfront and put up a deposit.
Or alternatively, they can have their credit card details taken and risk being charged for not honouring their booking.
Customer no-shows are hitting restaurant profits, costing hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars, a night. Combined with penalty rates and high rents, it leaves the average restaurant failing to turn a profit. Most are running break-even.
“It just doesn’t make sense that there’s no obligation between a customer making a booking and a restaurant owner,” Dimmi CEO Stevan Premutico told the Brisbane Courier Mail.
“It can end up with restaurants going home at the end of the night having not made a dollar.
“Restaurants need to stop being a charity and start being a business. No-shows are crippling the industry and we need to collectively take a stance.”
Eventbrite Australia head of marketing Laura Huddle told the paper that the service made sense.
She it would make it easier for all parties, especially big groups of friends or family trying to book restaurants.
“It makes sense, not only for the for the restaurant but the attendees because if you’re the social leader in your group you want to make sure your friends are going to show up so getting that financial commitment upfront can help the attendees. It also means individuals can pay ahead of time so there’s not the problem of splitting bills at the end of a meal,” she said.
22nd March 2016
