Online reservation platforms for restaurants, such as The Fork, are taking measures to combat the widespread problem of no-shows. The latest series of tools, powered by artificial intelligence, allows for reducing the number of no-shows by up to three times.
"If a client raises suspicions, we can activate automatic reminders and offer different solutions, such as requesting the credit card number," noted the company representative.
According to this data, 70% of restaurant owners face the problem of no-shows. Due to this situation, many companies have transitioned to stricter rules, eliminating accounts of clients who have missed reservations four times in a row.
The resolution of this problem has encountered resistance in France. Some business owners, such as Pascal Musy, believe that for restaurants with consistent loads, this decision can be effective. At the same time, Billy Faume, head of several restaurants in Paris, emphasized that when attempting to implement credit card fingerprint systems, he encountered a decrease in the number of reservations due to the low average ticket price.
Additionally, for those who forget about reservations, in recent years, practices such as sending reminders via email and SMS have resulted in a 30% reduction in no-shows.
Another method to combat no-shows has been the risk assessment system when visiting the client. Companies are striving to develop tools that will help predict the likelihood of no-shows and implement a waitlist system for empty tables during a cancellation of reservations.
The issue of no-shows is becoming relevant, especially under conditions of low profit margins. According to estimates, 70% of restaurants face no-shows, which account for up to 15% of total turnover. Such measures as implementing waitlist systems and forecasting tools for predicting no-shows help to tackle this problem.
