No-shows are down 6%, says OpenTable, and diners will accept a £35 card hold

UK restaurant no-shows fell 6% year on year, according to OpenTable's Restaurant Impact Report, covered by Restaurant Online. The figures are OpenTable's own.

What a no-show costs - An average of £55.70 for a table of two - 60% of operators say no-shows have made them turn away other bookings - 48% point to wasted stock, while 41% say staffing gets harder to forecast

Manchester and London are both in the top ten for the highest share of no-shows, alongside Leicester, Birmingham, Milton Keynes, Liverpool, Gloucester and Nottingham.

What diners say would work Almost half (48%) say knowing the cost to the restaurant would make them likelier to show up or cancel properly, and 44% say a small deposit or a hold on their card would. On average they'd accept a refundable hold of £35 a head, rising to £49 among Londoners and £58 among Gen Z.

Operators rate confirmation reminders as the most effective fix (43%), then cancellation windows (36%), deposits (32%) and SMS reminders (29%). OpenTable says restaurants taking deposits through its system globally saw no-shows drop by 60%.

What it means for your site: if you're in Manchester or London and still not taking card holds, guests may be readier than you think. Start with a reminder 24 hours out, an easy cancel link, and a card hold on larger tables and peak slots.