The latest findings highlight the financial impact that not turning up has on the industry – costing the sector £17.59bn per year in lost revenue alone and the damage is even greater once wasted food and staff costs are taken into account. Unsurprisingly, restaurants are the most severely impacted, as they experience 27% of the cancellations across the industry.
Following the launch of the industry-wide #ShowUpForHospitality campaign that was spearheaded by Zonal in September 2021, the percentage of hospitality customers booking but simply not turning up dropped from 14% at launch to 6% by September 2022. A further 12-months on again, however, and consumers appear to have fallen back into old habits and rates of no-shows have significantly increased once more.
Commenting on the findings, Olivia FitzGerald, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Zonal said: “These latest insights show that no-shows are still very much an issue facing the industry and it is a costly one. It is important that we continue our efforts to educate customers on the impact that not honouring bookings has on the industry, as well as find ways for businesses to help reduce the risk of these no-shows occurring.
“We launched our #ShowUpForHospitality campaign in 2021 in order to shine a light on this issue, change consumer behaviours, as well as start an industry discussion as to how best to combat this long-standing problem. Whilst the industry has made significant steps to reduce these figures, there is still more work to be done. We want to again bring the industry together to raise awareness of the issue, to share knowledge on how to mitigate the problem, as well as encourage customers to always show up for hospitality and help support their local pubs, bars and restaurants.”
CGA by NIQ’s Client Director, Andy Dean said “This research is incredibly important in highlighting the impact no-shows are having on the hospitality sector, whilst customers might think missing a reservation is only a minor inconvenience for the venue and staff, the wider connotations need to be emphasised to customers so they appreciate the need to show up for hospitality, support the industry and the workers within it.”
CGA by NIQ’s Client Director, Andy Dean said “This research is incredibly important in highlighting the impact no-shows are having on the hospitality sector, whilst customers might think missing a reservation is only a minor inconvenience for the venue and staff, the wider connotations need to be emphasised to customers so they appreciate the need to show up for hospitality, support the industry and the workers within it.”
Visit the campaign page to learn more, join the conversation and help spread the message far and wide in order to encourage customers to #ShowUpForHospitality.
The GO Technology research from CGA by NIQ and Zonal is based on an exclusive survey of 5,000 nationally representative British consumers, and unlocks many more insights into the use of tech to improve experiences in restaurants, pubs and bars. Click here to access all the latest reports. To discuss the research, email CGA by NIQ client director Andy Dean at andy.dean@nielseniq.com.
