How much money do no-shows and last-minute cancellations cost my restaurant every month?

Take the covers you book in a month, multiply by your no-show rate, take off the seats walk-ins refill, then multiply what is left by your average spend per head minus the food and drink cost of that spend. That is the money no-shows and late cancellations take off your month. Empty seats still carry your staff and rent, so the real hit is a little bigger than this figure.

Updated on 23 September 2026

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Covers you book in a month (one cover = one guest) covers Share of booked covers that never show up or cancel too late % Share of those empty seats you refill with walk-ins % Average spend per guest, food and drink together $ Food and drink cost as a share of that spend % No-show rate you aim for after taking a card hold or deposit %

Money lost to no-shows each month

1,764.00 $

This is cash that never reaches your till, after paying for the food you did not serve.

Seats left empty each month72 coversThat many chairs were promised, held for someone, and stayed cold.

Money lost over a full year21,168.00 $Look at this number next to what a new oven or an extra pair of hands would cost you.

Money you get back each month if the no-show rate drops to your target1,323.00 $This is what a card hold or a deposit is worth to you in a month, before any fee you pay for it.

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How it is calculated

Count the covers you book in a typical month, from your booking book or your booking software.
Work out how many of those never turned up or cancelled too late to resell the table. Divide by total booked covers to get your no-show rate.
Take off the seats you managed to refill with walk-ins, so you only count the ones that stayed empty.
Find your average spend per guest: total sales divided by total covers served.
Take off the food and drink cost of that spend. What is left is the money each lost guest would have contributed.
Multiply the empty covers by that contribution to get the monthly loss, then by twelve for the year.
Put in the no-show rate you want to reach with card holds or deposits and see what comes back to you.

Money lost to no-shows each month = Covers you book in a month (one cover = one guest) × (Share of booked covers that never show up or cancel too late ÷ 100) × (1 - Share of those empty seats you refill with walk-ins ÷ 100) × Average spend per guest, food and drink together × (1 - Food and drink cost as a share of that spend ÷ 100)
Seats left empty each month = Covers you book in a month (one cover = one guest) × (Share of booked covers that never show up or cancel too late ÷ 100) × (1 - Share of those empty seats you refill with walk-ins ÷ 100)
Money lost over a full year = Money lost to no-shows each month × 12
Money you get back each month if the no-show rate drops to your target = Covers you book in a month (one cover = one guest) × ((Share of booked covers that never show up or cancel too late - No-show rate you aim for after taking a card hold or deposit) ÷ 100) × (1 - Share of those empty seats you refill with walk-ins ÷ 100) × Average spend per guest, food and drink together × (1 - Food and drink cost as a share of that spend ÷ 100)

An example

Covers you book in a month (one cover = one guest): 1,200 covers · Share of booked covers that never show up or cancel too late: 8 % · Share of those empty seats you refill with walk-ins: 25 % · Average spend per guest, food and drink together: 35 $ · Food and drink cost as a share of that spend: 30 % · No-show rate you aim for after taking a card hold or deposit: 2 %.

Result: Money lost to no-shows each month: 1,764.00 $ · Seats left empty each month: 72 covers · Money lost over a full year: 21,168.00 $ · Money you get back each month if the no-show rate drops to your target: 1,323.00 $.

Worth keeping in mind

Use your own no-show rate from your booking records, not a guess. Restaurants with no measures in place often sit between ten and twenty percent.
Deposits and prepayments push the rate down sharply; card holds do less but ask less of the guest.
The refill share is easy to overstate. Only count walk-ins who took the seat in the same service.
This figure only takes off food and drink cost. Staff, rent and power still run while the table is empty, so the real hit is larger.
Busy Friday and Saturday nights lose more per empty seat than a quiet midweek lunch. Run the numbers again for peak services on their own.

Sources

Text drafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence, from the sources listed, and checked against the worked example. It is a tool for orientation: for tax or contractual decisions, your accountant has the last word.

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