David López, owner of the Puente Tocinos Rehearsal Venue, never thought that he would be a pioneer in the Region of Murcia in applying a measure designed to counteract the cancellation of a table with little notice or even without the diners ending up notifying. A practice that is becoming more and more popular in restaurants due to the economic holes that it causes to hoteliers.
«One day they ordered a table of 14 people with a birthday cake included, a second of four and a third of two, they did not appear; They made us a break because we lost 20 customers out of the 30 covers that fit in our establishment, “says López from his other restaurant Ajo y Agua in Cabo de Palos, which is also not spared from what he describes as” gastronomic ignorance “. “This summer 50 people left us stranded,” continues the chef, because he assures that many clients tend to book in several places at the same time and decide at the last moment.
He has been charging at his restaurant in Murcia since 2017, a system that is becoming more and more common. In the Community there are already more than a dozen restaurants, of the more than 700 that already do so in Spanish territory, according to a study prepared by ‘The Fork’ (El tenedor, in English), a restaurant reservation application. There are two modes of payment. The first, by means of an advance signal of the cost of the menu and, the second, a determined amount per diner if the reservation is not presented when the restaurant is made with the card details.
López charges 30 euros per diner in the event that he detects a cancellation due to “bad faith” such as not answering the phone or hanging up directly without answering. But this system led to a decrease in reservations of up to 40% and many criticisms from customers because they do not want to enter their card details. “They don’t understand that they are getting into an independent application from which we do not have access to that information,” explains the restaurateur, who underlines the effort it takes to know that the premises will be full: “If I am going to have 30 reservations, I need to hire extra staff.”
They ask for the card details to be able to issue the payment of an amount for coverage in case you do not attend
At his Local de Ensayo restaurant, he requests bank details for a reservation every day, while at Ajo y Agua, only on Fridays and Saturdays. “The client with a gastronomic culture accepts entering his data because he is used to this type of restaurant, but the people who boast of their word in the end do not come,” López emphasizes. After his decision, others joined, such as Barahonda, in Yecla; The Buenavista Cabin, in El Palmar; and Magoga, in Cartagena.
The latter decided to implement such a system after many reservations were subsequently cancelled. “We work with fresh food, which we serve for that day, so we put it in to cover the cost generated by the customer deciding to leave at the last minute,” explains Gema Galindo, manager of the restaurant with a Michelin star. The client only has up to 24 hours in advance to reverse her reservation if she does not want to pay 40 euros. “We understand the unforeseen and we do not charge them,” adds Galindo, who points out that she tries to give diners all the facilities, such as leaving an advance payment at the restaurant in case they do not want to use their card.
The system begins to be common in many establishments, although it receives criticism from a part of the clientele
‘No show’
The Taúlla restaurant in Espinardo also includes this modality by which the client must enter the bank details. The website warns that the reservation includes a cancellation policy for which it would charge 20 euros if you do not attend. The practice of ‘no show’, as restaurateurs call it, can mean a loss of up to 20% of income. “Since last Christmas, we ask for the card numbers on Fridays and Saturdays,” reveals the chef of the Murcian restaurant, Rodrigo Fernández. “People end up going when your pocket is touched or, at least, they call you to notify you in advance,” says the manager of the establishment, who assures that “it hurts to leave out customers who really want to eat in your restaurant.”
For Juan José Nicolás, president of the Association of Restaurants of the Region of Murcia, belonging to the HoyTú Federation, it is a measure that would cut the bloody loss of income. “Last-minute cancellation leaves a significant ‘pufo’ in all restaurants, especially in small ones,” says Nicolás, who considers prepayment as a valid formula that only the establishment must decide if it assumes the risk of reducing the number of reservations or keep the free cancellation.
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