Online reservation no-shows hurting restaurants

For the first time since the pandemic, many restaurants are getting more online reservation bookings than walk-ins.

But some restaurant owners says that causes problems when people don’t show up for their bookings.

Amir Rahim owns Grounded Kitchen and Coffeehouse in downtown Ottawa. He says the shift to online reservations is making running a restaurant more convenient.

“As a restaurant, I prefer reservations. It really helps with planning,” says Rahim. “I love it. Personally, I think there’s a lot of things about automation in general that people need to get used to. And there’s no better time than now.”

More people are turning to websites like OpenTable to book a reservation. That makes it much easier than it used to be to take reservations, Rahim says.

“What’s your name. Let me find a pen. There’s someone at the cash. I need to write something down. Where’s the book. Try to find the right time.”

“In this day and age, pen and paper reservations are just not that feasible given the demand that we’re seeing,” says Matthew Davis, OpenTable Canada Country Director. “So online reservations have just been adopted and we’re just seeing the demand surge.”

OpenTable says while online bookings are easy, there can be a downside.

“Reservations are fantastic, and they make life so much easier for us and for restaurants,” says Davis. “But if you can’t make your reservation, please let the restaurant know. It’s so important that you don’t just not show up.”

Back at Grounded, Amir Rahim has had his own issues with no-shows.

“When things started to reopen, and there was a floodgate of people that wanted to go out, they were really hedging their bets by making reservations at multiple restaurants to see where they could get in,” says Rahim. “And then they would go to wherever would work, and we’d have tons of cancellations.”

Many restaurants can now request a credit card number when booking online, to deter no-shows. They only charge the card if customers bail at the last minute.

Rahim says he hasn’t had to charge anyone yet, making the dining out experience a pleasant one for both patrons and restaurant staff.