With the hospitality industry trying to revive itself after nearly two years of pandemic-related closures, restaurants across Toronto have come up with a new way to ensure that people are not skipping out on their reservations. Cancellation fees have started to pop up across the city, with some restaurants, like Little Italy’s Giulietta and it’s sister restaurant Osteria Giulia charging as much as $75 to cancel a reservation. Alo, too, charges $50 cancellation fees. But, none of the restaurant’s patrons seem to have any issue with it.
Other restaurants are charging cancellation fees with a smaller price tag. “We are charging $20 per head with a 24 hour grace period. It’s essential for restaurants right now not to lose tables,” says DaiLo‘s Nick Liu. “Lots of people make multiple reservations at different restaurants and we just need people to be responsible for no-shows. If a table doesn’t show up, that’s a possible $200 loss in income.”
Liu says he settled on $20 as it was enough to make people not want to lose the cash, but not enough to seem greedy or offensive. “It’s really just an incentive for people to show up,” he says, noting that the 24 hour grace period gives people the opportunity to cancel for pandemic-related reasons. “Most people that cancelled because of Covid-19 have been within the 24 hours,” he says.
By and large, no one has given Liu and DaiLo any trouble for the $20 cancellation fees. “For the most part, our guests are understanding. We are pretty understanding that things change, people get sick, and life happens. All we ask for is 24 hours so we can rebook the table,” he says. “In my opinion, the only reason there would be any pushback is if they’re making a reservation with the intention of maybe not showing up.”
Conversely, other restaurants have decided to skip on the cancellation fees entirely. Petros82, for example, has opted against the reservation cancellation fee. “Everyone has been hit so hard by Covid-19, and it goes without saying that the hospitality industry was one of the hardest hit, however, we are so grateful for our clients support, so to charge people during these still uncertain times if they are unable to make a reservation or to secure a reservation seems simply like another restriction or obstacle we don’t need,” says owner Peter Eliopoulos.
“I want people to enjoy the simple pleasures again and feel freedom to dine as they once did with friends and family when they want,” he continued. “The apps we use like OpenTable have great reminders and cancellation notifications set up that allow proper notice, so we are easily able to rebook the table. I am confident our clients will rebook again and will appreciate our flexibility.”