Channel Island restaurants losing hundreds from no show bookings

Restaurants across the Channel Islands are losing hundreds of pounds from no show bookings.

As we enter the festive period, restaurant owners have said they are frustrated as this time of year is the worst for no show bookings.

Several restaurants are now asking customers for deposits in advance to secure bookings and help cut down the number of wasted tables.

Monika Komala, who runs a restaurant in Guernsey, said: "It's easily anything between a few hundred to a few thousand a week.

"We were considering taking deposits, but again, how do we tackle it?

"How do we make, is it a table of two, is it a table of eight? Trying to create criteria for it, it might be a bit of an issue"

After a tough few years for restaurant owners, this year will be their first full year of uninterrupted service since Christmas 2019. Monika added: "Last year, it was an absolute disaster. We've lost three quarters of those bookings.

"So if it's going to be anything similar, it will have a really massive impact on me as a business. Festive parties, anything bigger groups, it has to be deposited.

"So we take 20% of the sort of the original accosting or kind of the minimum cost of, of the booking."

As businesses brace themselves for Christmas season, many are continuing with precautionary measures to ensure tables are used.

Martin Sayers said: "We phone all the bookings up to confirm the bookings, and we don't do it once, we do it several times, to make sure because we simply cannot afford to have empty tables over Christmas.

"Christmas is vital for this business to carry us forward through into the winter months which are very quiet."

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