How to stop no-shows

Take a card hold on busy-night bookings

A hold on Friday and Saturday nights and any party of six-plus makes no-shows collapse — operators report them going effectively to zero — while the fee itself is rarely charged. The card is the commitment device; the policy in the booking flow does the awkward conversation for you.

OpenTable / SevenRooms booking policies·$0 — included (Stripe required)

Sell event nights as prepaid tickets

Set menus, wine dinners and holiday services sold as ticketed, prepaid bookings — revenue locked before a plate is fired, and the no-show problem deleted rather than managed for the nights that hurt most.

OpenTable / SevenRooms booking policies·$0 — included

Send confirmations and same-day reminders automatically

Automated confirmation and same-day still-coming texts replace the afternoon of confirmation calls — and every early cancellation they harvest is a table back on sale.

Restaurants · Restaurants

Your reservation platform·$0 — included·Setup guide ↗

Take a card hold when they book

Card holds and paid deposits built into the booking flow (Stripe required), with automatic reminder texts — OpenTable's own data has card-hold bookings up to 16% less likely to no-show. Configured under Policies, and most venues never set one.

OpenTable·$0 — included·Setup guide ↗

Take a deposit on long appointments

A deposit on anything over ninety minutes filters the flaky booking at the moment it's made and funds the gap if they still vanish. The machinery is included; the awkwardness disappears once it's policy rather than judgement.

Fresha no-show protection·$0 — included

Use the free text reminders already in your plan

Confirmation at booking, reminder the day before — from the allowance already in your plan, before you spend a dollar on a separate SMS tool.

Salons & Beauty · Salons & Beauty

Fresha no-show protection·$0 — included quota·Setup guide ↗

Charge cancellation fees automatically

Card-on-file means the policy enforces itself — no invoice, no awkward call, no small-claims fantasy over a missed blow-dry.

Fresha no-show protection·$0 — included

Take deposits and keep a card on file

Upfront deposits and enforceable cancellation fees on stored cards, included at no extra platform charge — the protection for the three-hour colour that a no-show would otherwise vaporise. Requires Fresha's payments to be enabled, and off until you set the policy.

Fresha·$0 — included·Setup guide ↗

Confirm surgery bookings with a deposit

A no-show on a dental or desexing slot is the day's margin gone. Confirmation at booking, reminder with fasting instructions the day before, and a deposit policy on the longest procedures — the same perishable-inventory logic as any operating theatre.

ezyVet reminders + deposit policy·$0 — included

Send booking confirmations and day-before reminders

Booking confirmation, day-before reminder, reply-to-confirm — from the PMS's own communication system, with procedure-specific templates carrying the fasting and admission instructions.

ezyVet reminders + deposit policy·$0 — included

Send appointment reminders by text

Confirmation at booking, text the day before, at 10¢ a message. The cancellation report then tells you whether it's working and where the remaining no-shows cluster.

Cliniko SMS·$0 + 10¢/SMS

Text reminders, plus a report on who cancels

Reminder texts at 10¢ a message — no subscription, no add-on tier — plus the cancellations and no-shows report that tells you which day, practitioner and appointment type your DNAs cluster on.

Cliniko·$0 + 10¢/SMS·Setup guide ↗

Send booking confirmations and day-before reminders

Booking confirmation at scheduling, reminder text 1–2 days out, with a reply-to-confirm status the front desk can see at a glance. Already in the PMS; the setup is an afternoon.

Your PMS reminder module·$0 — included

Send the class reminders

Booked-class reminders cut the no-shows that make full classes run half-empty — and the no-show policy only works if the reminder gave them a fair chance to cancel.

Gymdesk reminders·$0 — included

Send tune-up reminders so people show up

A tune-up booked in April for May is forgotten by May. Automatic confirmation and day-before reminder texts are included in the plan and off by default.

Jobber / your job software·$0 — included

Send booking reminders and 'on my way' texts

Pest visits need someone home and pets inside. Confirmation at booking, reminder the day before, on-my-way with an arrival window — all included, all off by default.

ServiceM8·$0 — included