Diners may have to pay deposit for bookings

By Denise McNamara  

Galway diners should expect to be asked for deposits when it comes to group bookings at peak times after new figures revealed that an average-sized restaurant is losing €10,000 over December due to no-shows.

Chief Executive of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, Adrian Cummins, said that Christmas 2011 is better than last year due to the favourable weather conditions and all restaurants are reporting increased levels of footfall.

However, the spend by diners is down, which can be attributed to the recession and the December Budget as well as a 30% rise in prices in restaurants over the past 18 months.

“Restaurants are losing 10 to 15% of business per night due to diners not showing up. Our research show that for December, a 60-seater restaurant is losing €10,000 because of that,” Mr Cummins said.

“It’s a particular issue in every county but more so in urban areas like Galway City. We’ve found that 50% of restaurants are insisting on booking deposits for groups of four or more. We’re saying because it’s escalated so much this Christmas that it should continue for all peak times.”

The association believes deposits should be requested for bookings at Christmas, Valentines night, Easter and during festivals or special events.

“I’ve had cases where a group of 20 book and only ten show up – €50 is the average spend per person between food and alcohol, that’s €500 gone down the drain that night. If that happens at 7.30pm it’s harder to refill that table in the likes of Galway where there is less of a critical mass than in Dublin.”

For more on this story, see the Galway City Tribune.