What a no-show actually costs you
A table for two that never turns up at 8pm is not a €90 loss. The VAT on that meal was never yours, and the food you did not cook, you did not pay for. This tool goes from your bookings to the gross margin you genuinely miss — and prints the whole sum underneath so you can check it. No email address, nothing stored.
After VAT, and after the stock you never bought. One table in every 33 bookings never turns up.
The sum
Seven steps with your own figures. Check them — if a line does not match your venue, change that field.
- 80 bookings × 3%2.4 no-shows per week
- 2.4 × 2.5 guests6 seats
- 6 − 0% refilled6 seats stay empty
- 6 × €45.00€270.00 turnover incl. VAT
- €270.00 ÷ 1.12€241.07 turnover excl. VAT
- €241.07 × (100% − 30%)€168.75 gross margin per week
- €168.75 × 52 ÷ 12€731.25 per month
What is deliberately not in here
This figure is lower than the "lost revenue" you will see elsewhere, and that is the point. VAT on a meal that was never served was never your money. And the food you did not cook, you did not buy either.
The real cash cost of a no-show — mise en place and stock bought for a group menu that never arrives — is not counted. Only you know whether that particular table had been prepped for; putting a percentage on it would be an invented number. Add it yourself.
You will not read "your no-show rate is high" here. That needs an industry benchmark, and we have not measured one. The rate you type is your own.
So what does SuperHoreca do about it?
Three things, all of them checkable inside the app. What we do not say: that we cut your no-shows by some percentage. We have not measured that, so we do not claim it.
Taking reservations — free
A booking page in your venue’s name, the reservation book and the confirmation email to the guest are all in the free plan (up to 10 staff). No commission per cover and no fee per payment: we take no payments for your tables in the first place.
The reminder with a cancel link — Pro
Sent automatically 1, 2, 3, 4 or 24 hours before the booking, your choice. It carries a cancel link, so a guest who can no longer make it frees the table instead of simply not turning up. Pro is €19 a month, or €15 a month billed yearly. Prices exclude VAT.
Recording the no-show properly
A booking is set to "No-show" with one click in the reservation book. That way the rate you type above comes out of your own figures next year rather than out of a feeling — and yours is the only rate that says anything about your venue.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate the cost of a no-show?
In seven steps. Bookings per week × no-show rate = no-shows per week. Times average party size = empty seats. Minus the seats you still fill = seats that really stay empty. Times average spend = turnover lost including VAT. Divided by 1.12 (or 1.21 on drinks) = turnover excluding VAT. Times (100% − your purchase cost percentage) = gross margin per week. Times 52, divided by 12 = per month.
Why is this figure lower than the "lost revenue" I see elsewhere?
Because two parts of that revenue were never yours. VAT on a meal that was never served is money you would have collected for the state and paid straight back out — a table that does not sit down owes no VAT. And the food you did not cook, you did not buy. What is left is gross margin, and that is the hole you actually have to close. At 12% VAT and 30% purchase cost, "lost revenue" is roughly 1.6 times the real shortfall.
What is a normal no-show rate in hospitality?
We have no measured figure for that and we are not going to invent one. The only rate that means anything for your venue is in your own book: over one month, count the tables that neither arrived nor cancelled, and divide by that month’s bookings. In SuperHoreca a booking can be set to "No-show", so next time that number comes out of your own reservations instead of a guess.
Do reminder emails reduce no-shows?
We have not measured that effect, so we put no percentage on it. What the reminder does is checkable: it goes out 1, 2, 3, 4 or 24 hours before the booking — your choice — and it carries a cancel link. A guest who can no longer make it frees the table instead of simply not turning up. What you then do with that freed table decides the rest.
Does taking reservations with SuperHoreca cost anything?
Reservations are in the free plan (up to 10 staff): a booking page, the confirmation email to the guest, and the reservation book. No commission per cover and no fee per payment — we take no payments for your tables at all. Reminders, pacing and white-label are part of Pro (€19/month, or €15/month billed yearly). Prices exclude VAT.
Does the calculator work outside Belgium?
Yes — change the VAT field. It defaults to 12%, the Belgian rate on food eaten in; drinks are 21% and takeaway is 6%. If you trade elsewhere, type the rate that appears on your own bill. Everything else in the sum is country-agnostic arithmetic.