Paying a deposit when making a restaurant reservation: risk or necessity?
I’m no longer surprised: at most restaurants where I’ve made reservations since the coronavirus restrictions were lifted, I have to pay a deposit. Do you recognize this? Some people are a little put off by it, but for many restaurant owners it is still a necessary ‘guarantee’.
Earlier, we wrote an article about the headaches a no-show causes for the hospitality industry. If a large group or two tables fail to show up, that can genuinely make the difference between profit and loss on a given day, especially now that many establishments still haven’t really rebuilt their financial reserves after the pandemic. A close call, in other words. A deposit should ensure that people think twice before staying away without a reason. But is this going to be the norm forever?
Lots of double reservations made
Nu.nl reports that hospitality trade magazine Misset Horeca stated in February that, due to no-shows, business owners lose an average of €1,800 in revenue per month. According to Raymond Wilders of reservation platform Formitable (which has around three thousand restaurants affiliated with it), the data even shows that ten percent of reservations in Amsterdam on a Saturday evening are double bookings.
Ten percent! That would mean these people simply leave it until the last minute to decide which establishment they want to dine at, without caring about the other hospitality business owner or the staff? A deposit probably really does help prevent that.
Always a risk
Still, not everyone is entirely enthusiastic about this deposit trend, which now seems to be becoming the norm at many restaurants. According to Saskia Bierling, spokesperson for the Netherlands Authority for Consumers & Markets, paying a deposit always carries risks. If a business goes bankrupt in the meantime, there is no mandatory guarantee scheme for the hospitality industry, she says. In that case, as a consumer you will generally lose your deposit, and if it concerns a large amount for, for example, a large group, that is a bitter pill to swallow.
Flexibility both ways
Still, many guests seem to be dealing with this new ‘requirement’ understandingly. Personally, I find it fairly impressive how quickly the systems have been set up, with plenty of flexibility options. Moving a reservation to another date often goes smoothly through the reservation platforms, cancellation is generally possible up to 24 hours in advance, and I get the impression that if something really does come up at very short notice, such as illness or other circumstances, it can often simply be resolved with a phone call to the restaurant.
Read also:
- Paying a fortune for the last available table in a restaurant: the future?
- Be kind to the hospitality industry and don’t do this when you go out to eat
- Recipe for the famous Toast kannibaal from restaurant Rijsel
Source: Nu.nl
