Ghosting Appointments? That’ll Cost You

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The price of being a no-show just went up.

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More service businesses are charging cancellation fees than ever before:

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• Restaurants on reservation platform Resy that charged at least one cancellation fee 4x’ed from 2019 to 2024
• Beauty professionals on Square charging cancellation fees reached 16% in 2023, up from 5% in 2021

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In the past, it wasn’t worth the effort for businesses to chase down customers who skipped out on their appointments, but it’s now as simple as pushing a button on platforms like Square, Squire, and Resy:

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Some businesses are charging as much as 200% for no-shows.

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While businesses may receive negative reviews or lose customers for their no-show policies, anecdotal evidence shows that it dramatically reduces no-shows. Since Jan 2020, barbershops on Squire have seen 45% fewer cancellations and 82% fewer no-shows when they charge.

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It’s never been more expensive to be flakey.