Restaurant owners welcome blacklist for no shows

A restaurant owner has created a website that blacklists people who make bookings and don’t turn up.

Chef and restaurant owner Mark Diels has set up a website black-listing diners who don't show up after making reservations.

Coast restaurant owners say they would welcome a new website that blacklists diners who make bookings and don’t turn up.

Hospitality industry veteran Mark Diels has come up with a plan to help tackle diner no shows, a trend plaguing restaurant owners nationwide.

A new website called no-shows is a database that saves the phone numbers of customers who habitually book at restaurants to reserve a table, but then don’t show up – and don’t tell the restaurant they won’t be coming.

The national database of no-shows is intended to protect restaurants from the financial and emotional expense of preparing for a booking that never eventuates.

The new website is a good idea as far as Coast restaurateur Carlos Vanselow is concerned.

The owner of multiple restaurants in Noosa and Coolum, Mr Vanselow said people who didn’t honour their bookings were“pretty common” and “pretty annoying”.

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He welcomed the website and said he would “definitely” be joining up.

“Some people really have no consideration for the business,” he said.

“People just don’t care and don’t show up and don’t say anything.”

On the other hand, Harry’s on Buderim owner Lisa Bell said they would probably not get involved.

She said their booking procedure of emailing diners to confirm their table meant she had little problems with no shows.

“We want to guarantee they are going to come in,” she said.

The Buderim restaurant has a policy of taking a credit card deposit over the phone for larger tables to deter diners from not honouring their booking.

Despite not having an interest in joining the no show website, Ms Bell understood why other restaurant owners would want to sign up.

“I completely understand why people would want to do that,” she said.

“You still have to pay staff and food and rent.”

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