Is the no-show rate enough to judge a policy?
The share of bookings where guests do not arrive can help explain unused table capacity. But even if no-shows fall after introducing prepayments, some potential guests may abandon their bookings before completing payment. One percentage cannot describe the whole result.
A prepayment should not be counted automatically as additional turnover: it may be an advance applied to the eventual check. A card preauthorization is not collected money at all. Keep sales, collections, authorizations and completed visits separate.
Likewise, a guest cancelling in advance and a guest failing to arrive without notice should not be combined into one measure when assessing the policy.
Which indicators help you decide?
Start by measuring bookings created, cancellations, no-shows and completed visits weekly and monthly, always using the same definitions. Also track requests that do not complete a required payment step, and compare them with otherwise similar services that do not require the same financial assurance.
For example, 12 no-shows out of 200 confirmed bookings represent 6%. In a later period, six no-shows out of 180 confirmed bookings represent 3%. The overall decline in confirmed bookings still needs investigation before attributing the change to one policy.
Break down the figures by meal period, party size, busy days and source. Large percentage swings in a sample of ten bookings should not be treated as strong statistical evidence. Compare similar periods and group sizes where possible.
- Which booking statuses are included in the no-show denominator?
- How many people failed to finish a required prepayment step?
- Are card authorizations, captures and refunds shown separately?
- Are guest complaints and reminder performance also reviewed?
How do Manager and Pay reports fit together?
Rezervem Manager provides operational context for bookings, cancellations, arrivals and recorded no-shows. Rezervem Pay adds the financial picture of prepayments, preauthorizations, successful collections, pending transactions and refunds.
Do not include Pay payment requests that have no associated reservation in the no-show denominator. Examine payments attached to visits that did not take place, and guests who arrived while a card hold remained open, as separate scenarios.
For further context, read what a no-show is and the Manager–Pay daily workflow guide.
