A $10 penalty per customer starting July 17 for ghost reservations in Quebec

Restaurant owners will be able to impose a maximum penalty of $10 per person for ghost reservations starting July 17.

Minister of Justice Simon Jolin-Barrette and Minister for the Economy Christopher Skeete announced this in a press release Thursday morning. Quebec had announced its intention to address the issue of customers who do not show up after reserving a table in a restaurant (a “no-show”) last March.

Alain Creton, owner of the Montreal bistro restaurant Chez Alexandre, is relieved to hear about a tool that can help prevent last minute cancellations.

“If you have an even smaller restaurant with only 30 seats and you expect to have more people, it’s not because they don’t show,” Creton said, addressing the issue instead to the loss of walk-in customers who are turned away due to full bookings, only for the restaurant to receive last-minute cancellations moments later.

However, restaurants can decide whether or not they want to apply no-show fees.

“If you disappoint or if you frustrate your customers because there are six people — and you charge them $60 — maybe you’re going to lose the customer for the rest of the year. Maybe they won’t come ever at your restaurant again,” said Creton. Still, he thinks it is a good tool that will allow people to be more careful with their reservations.

Damião Santos, director at Montreal downtown’s often-busy Ferreira Cafe, said he has mixed feelings about the penalty.

“I never like to penalize people,” Santos said, believing the restaurant can make up for a table of two that doesn’t show up.

“I have a bigger issue when we have groups that may reserve for 20 people,” he added. “Next thing you know, they only show up 12 or 13. I can’t undo the table, and I lose six, seven, eight customers like that.”

Restaurant owners will be able to apply this penalty under certain conditions.

The establishment must inform the customer that fees may apply if they do not show up, the reservation must be for at least two people, and the restaurant owner must contact the customer six to 48 hours before the reservation to confirm it. Customers must also be able to cancel their reservation easily and at any time using technology.

The amount is applicable if no member of the group shows up at the scheduled reservation time, and fees cannot be charged to the customer if they cancel the reservation at least three hours before the agreed-upon time.

“The phenomenon of ghost reservations has increased significantly in recent years, and some restaurant owners have been charging fees to customers who do not show up. It has therefore become essential to establish clear guidelines to prevent customers from being charged unreasonable fees. This new framework is an opportunity to remind customers that if you are unable to honour your reservation, the least you can do is cancel it,” stated Minister Jolin-Barrette in a press release.

According to the Association Restauration Québec, the phenomenon of ghost reservations results in average financial losses of $49,000 per establishment each year.

The association’s vice-president of public and government affairs, Martin Vézina, attributes most no-shows to tables of two or four.

“With that kind of tool, with a simple penalty — a modest penalty of $10 — we believe that consumer behaviour will change,” said Vézina.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews