Dubai Restaurants Are Charging Hundreds Of Dirhams For Customer No-Shows

In the throws of COVID-19, when customer capacity at restaurants was seriously limited, an upscale restaurant in Dubai called guests out for not showing up.

LOWE at Legends said 37 people did not show up for one sitting. At that point, the restaurant was operating at reduced capacity and no-shows were ‘rubbing salt into the wound’ for a nearly empty restaurant.

Fast forward a couple of months, Dubai restaurants are permitted to be open with a limited number of guests per table, and a practice designed by high-end restaurants is getting eyeballs.

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High-end restaurants in Dubai’s glittering DIFC are charging up to AED300 for restaurant no-shows. And last-minute cancellations could set you back AED120 at Zuma, according to the Khaleej Times. 

Dubai restaurants taking credit card details to guarantee payment is a safety net for the f&b industry at a struggling time

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This is common all over the world and it’s born out of necessity

The restaurant industry continues to face unique challenges in a post COVID world. Due to safety measures, restaurant bookings are now a must and many restaurants don’t accept walk-ins any more.

Your booking is the bread and butter of a restaurant. If your table is a no-show, the options to refill those seats are limited. And so the practice of taking a security fee at the time of booking guarantees restaurants will break even on your table. It happens at fancy restaurants all the time, it’s also common for brunch bookings at many outlets.

Will we see the practice trickle down to cafes? If no-shows affect the bottom line for a restaurant, at the fault of the customer, taking a guarantee in advance makes a world of sense.

If you can’t make a booking, do the decent thing and let the restaurant know in advance