Restaurant Reservation No-Show Deposit Calculator
No-shows cost restaurants real money in empty tables and wasted prep. Enter your average party size, check amount, no-show rate, and deposit policy to see how much revenue a deposit requirement recovers monthly.
About this calculator
Estimate how much revenue a restaurant recovers by charging no-show deposits versus losing the table entirely, based on party size, average check, and historical no-show rate.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much should a no-show deposit be?
Many restaurants charge $10-25 per person or a flat fee for large parties, enough to discourage no-shows without deterring legitimate bookings.
Do deposits eliminate no-show losses entirely?
No — deposits typically only cover part of the lost revenue since deposit amounts are usually lower than a full average check, and not all deposits are successfully collected.
Does this account for rebooking the table?
This calculator assumes the table stays empty; if you can typically rebook no-show tables with walk-ins, actual losses would be lower.