No Show Cost Calculator
Calculate the true cost of restaurant no-shows. Enter seats lost, average spend and no-show % to see monthly and annual lost revenue.
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No-shows are one of the biggest hidden costs in hospitality. This calculator estimates monthly and annual lost revenue, and what you could recover with a 50% deposit policy.
What this calculator does
Converts your no-show rate into the revenue you actually lose each week, month and year, based on covers lost and your average spend.
Who it is for
- Restaurants and bars deciding whether to take deposits or card details.
- Reservations managers building a case for a booking policy change.
- Operators quantifying the cost of a problem everyone complains about but nobody measures.
How to use it
- Enter the number of covers you lose to no-shows in a typical day or week - use your booking system's data, not a feeling.
- Enter your average spend per cover, net of VAT.
- Enter how many days a week you trade.
- Read the weekly, monthly and annual revenue lost.
The formula
- Daily lost revenue = Covers lost per day x Average net spend
- Weekly = Daily x Trading days per week
- Annual = Weekly x 52
Worked example
A restaurant losing 6 covers a day to no-shows, trading 6 days a week, with a £32.00 average net spend.
- Daily = 6 x £32.00 = £192
- Weekly = £192 x 6 = £1,152
- Annual = £1,152 x 52 = £59,904, roughly £4,992 a month
Just under £60,000 of lost revenue a year from six empty seats a day.
How to read your result
- This is lost revenue, not lost profit. The profit impact is the contribution you would have earned - typically a large share, because the staff were already rostered.
- The annual figure is what justifies a deposit policy or a booking platform fee.
- If your no-show covers are concentrated on peak sessions, the real cost is higher because those seats had a queue behind them.
What to do next
- Take card details or a deposit for peak sessions and larger tables.
- Send a confirmation and a same-day reminder - the majority of recovered covers come from reminders, not penalties.
- Hold a short waiting list for prime slots so a cancellation can be resold.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Counting cancellations you resold as no-shows.
- Using gross average spend against a net revenue target.
- Assuming every no-show cover would definitely have been filled - apply your own judgement on walk-in demand.
Assumptions and limitations
- Assumes a consistent no-show rate across the year; most sites see it spike in December and in bad weather.
- Does not model the cost of over-rostered staff on a quiet night.
Dumb Bambi provides general business information, not accounting, tax or legal advice. Read our calculation methodology or tell us about a mistake.
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Frequently asked questions
What's a typical no-show rate?+
5–10% is common for casual restaurants; busy weekends can spike to 15%+.
Do deposits stop no-shows?+
They significantly reduce them. Many venues see no-shows drop by 50–80% after introducing a card hold or deposit.