Small restaurant owners in Amsterdam are sounding the alarm over diners who book tables but fail to show up without cancelling. Operators report that the practice hurts daily revenue and dampens the atmosphere in dining rooms.
Ling Wu, owner of Café Wu on the Dappermarkt, now spends hours each day verifying whether guests plan to attend. Her team sends morning reminder messages, and she personally calls down the booking list every afternoon.
Wu notes that a list starting with 44 reserved names sometimes drops to 26 after calls. Despite charging a €20 deposit per booking, the restaurant still deals with no-shows at least once a week.
The cost for small venues
Timo de Beurs, head chef at Café Wu, explained that prepped food and empty tables directly threaten narrow margins. For small businesses, an empty table can mean the difference between breaking even and running at a loss.
Jonathan Sparber, who runs restaurant Remouillage in the Rivierenbuurt, faces similar issues with his nine tables and four bar seats. A single missing table immediately costs him about 10% of his evening turnover.
Sparber said that while last-minute cancellations due to illness or accidents are normal business risks, guests simply vanishing without word remains difficult to accept.
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