How to cut no-shows at a UK leisure venue

Why a no-show costs more than the ticket

When a group does not turn up, you lose more than their price. The slot was held back from everybody else who wanted it, the room was reset for them, and somebody was on the rota to run it. For a venue that sells a fixed number of rooms or lanes a day, a missed slot is gone for good.

So the aim is not to punish people who cannot come. It is to make sure you hear about it early enough to sell the slot again — and that the people who book have a reason to turn up.

Take money when they book

A booking that has been paid for, even in part, is a booking somebody intends to keep. Taking the full price at the time of booking is the simplest version. For big groups and parties, a deposit now and the balance a set number of days before the visit is often easier to sell.

• Keep a deposit in proportion to what you lose if they do not come.
• Say plainly, before they pay, when it is and is not refunded.
• Set the date the balance is due, and remind them before it.

UK consumer law expects the terms you sell on, cancellation terms included, to be fair and clear. The Competition and Markets Authority's guidance on unfair contract terms is the place to check yours.

Remind them, the day before

Plenty of no-shows are not decisions. People forget, or mix up the day, or do not realise how long it takes to park. A reminder the day before fixes most of that. Put the date and time in it, the time to arrive, where to park, and a link to move the booking if they cannot make it.

Email suits most people. A text reminder suits the ones who live on their phone; let them choose it rather than sending it to everybody.

Make moving the booking easier than not turning up

If moving a booking means ringing you during opening hours, some people will simply not come instead. Let customers move their own booking online, within rules you set: up to a certain time before the start, a set number of times, with or without a small fee. A customer who moves their booking is a customer who still comes — and you have the old slot back to sell.

Fill the gap when someone cancels

A cancellation is only a loss if the slot stays empty. Two things help:

• A waitlist. When a session is full, let people join a list. When a place frees up, offer it to the first person on it with a link to claim it, before you offer it to anyone else.
• A last-minute price. A session starting in a few hours that nobody has booked earns nothing. A small saving on those slots, online only, is money you would not otherwise have had.

Plan for late arrivals, not only missing ones

A group that arrives twenty minutes into a forty-five-minute session is half a no-show, and it pushes everything after it. Tell people a time to arrive, not just the start time, so the briefing and the waivers happen before the room is due. Decide in advance how long you will hold a session for a late group, and tell your team, so the answer is the same whoever is on the desk.

Know your own numbers

Mark a booking as a no-show at the end of the day, every day, and the pattern appears within a few weeks. It is rarely spread evenly. A particular time of day, a particular day of the week, or a kind of booking (large groups made a long way ahead, say) usually carries most of it — and that is where a deposit, a reminder or a change of policy will make the most difference.