Restaurant no-show cost calculator
Put a number on the empty tables. Enter your booked covers, your no-show rate and your average spend to see what no-shows cost you each year, and what cutting the rate would be worth.
Walk-ins you seat in the empty space.
With reminders, card guarantees or deposits.
Result
- Revenue lost per year
- £59,904
- Gross profit lost per year
- £41,933
- Covers lost per week
- 32
- Revenue won back per year
- £37,440
- Gross profit won back per year
- £26,208
Results are estimates for planning, based only on the figures you enter. They are not financial, tax or legal advice. The calculation runs in your browser and TablePort does not save the figures you enter.
How the numbers are worked out
- Covers lost per week = booked covers × no-show rate
- Revenue lost = covers lost × average spend per head, minus the covers you manage to resell to walk-ins
- Gross profit lost = revenue lost × your GP %
Gross profit is the better measure of the real damage. The ingredients for a no-show are usually not cooked, but the rent, the staff on the rota and the prep time are already spent, so almost all of the lost gross profit comes straight off the bottom line.
Why the resell rate matters
A no-show at 7pm on a Saturday is rarely resold: the walk-in queue has gone elsewhere and the table was turned away hours ago. A no-show at 6pm on a Tuesday might be filled by someone walking past. Use a resell rate that reflects your busiest services, because that is where no-shows hurt.
What brings the rate down
- Reminders that ask for a reply. A text 24 hours before, with a one-tap confirm or cancel link, turns a silent no-show into a cancellation you can resell.
- Card guarantees. Taking card details with a clear no-show charge makes guests treat the booking as a commitment. Nothing is charged if they turn up.
- Deposits for high-risk bookings. Large groups, Friday and Saturday peaks and special dates are where a deposit pays for itself. See our deposit policy guide.
- Easy cancellation. Every barrier to cancelling (phone only, office hours) turns a cancellation into a no-show.
- A waitlist. When a table frees up, a waitlist gives you someone to offer it to straight away.
Frequently asked questions
- How do you calculate the cost of restaurant no-shows?
- Multiply your weekly booked covers by your no-show rate to get covers lost, multiply by average spend per head, subtract any covers resold to walk-ins, then multiply by 52 for a yearly figure. Apply your GP % to see the profit lost.
- What is a normal no-show rate for a restaurant?
- It varies widely by venue, booking channel and policy, and there is no reliable current UK benchmark. Measure your own rate from your booking system over several weeks before comparing or setting targets.
- Can UK restaurants charge a no-show fee?
- Yes, if the charge and the cancellation terms are clearly explained to the guest before they book and they agree to them. The fee should be a reasonable reflection of your loss, and the terms should be easy to find.
- Do deposits reduce no-shows?
- Deposits and card guarantees give the guest a reason to cancel instead of simply not turning up. Measure your own no-show rate before and after introducing them, and use them where the risk is highest, such as large groups and peak services.
Let the till do the maths.
TablePort reports sales, covers and tips from every order, and the stock module costs recipes against supplier prices, so these numbers stay current.