Do you think restaurant ‘no-shows’ should be charged?

The issue of restaurant ‘no-shows’ – people who make bookings but fail to show up, leaving restaurateurs out of pocket with unsold tables – has returned to the spotlight as we enter the busy Christmas period.

This week the State’s competition watchdog opened a formal investigation into the Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI) over an industry campaign to encourage the charging of non-refundable deposits on no-show customers.

The RAI raised the issue in January media interviews, after many members complained that increasing numbers of no-shows over Christmas last year deprived them of revenues during a crucial period.

Adrian Cummins, chief executive of the RAI, suggested in a radio interview that restaurants take deposits at the time of booking and levy a charge on customers who don't show.