How to charge a no-show fee without charging someone who turned up.

Show the fee before the guest confirms

A fee is far easier to stand behind when the guest agreed to it in plain sight. Put the amount and the condition where they decide, not in a link to terms: "If you miss your visit or cancel late, a fee of $X may be charged to your card." In Gaplessly the booking page shows that line on the service and date steps and again at the card step, before the card is saved. The card is saved with a zero charge, so the guest pays nothing until, and unless, you charge it.

The Australian Consumer Law bans unfair terms in standard form contracts, and the ACCC's test asks whether a term is reasonably necessary to protect the business's legitimate interests. Keeping the fee close to what an empty table really costs you is the safest footing. This is general information, not legal advice.

Say the same thing everywhere

The guest who disputes a fee usually says "that is not what your website said". Avoid it by using one policy in every place a guest can read one: the booking page, the confirmation email, your own website, your Google listing and the sign on the door. In Gaplessly the policy is set once under Booking rules and the booking page reads it from there, so the page cannot drift from the setting. Your website and listing are the ones to check by hand.

Check, then charge

The worst outcome is a fee on a guest who sat down. Look at the booking before charging. In Gaplessly the fee is never charged on a timer or automatically. The Charge no-show fee button shows only on a booking that has been marked cancelled or no-show, never while it is confirmed or pending, and only an admin on your team can press it. Cancelling or marking a no-show waits a few seconds behind an Undo, so a mis-click is easy to take back before anything is recorded.

• Mark the booking a no-show only once service has passed and you are sure the party did not arrive. Ask whoever was on the door.
• Check for a message from the guest, in your inbox or on the phone, before you charge.
• Charge the amount the guest was shown, or less. A fee can never exceed the one disclosed.
• If a guest says they were charged in error, look into it and refund it if they are right. A refund is a click from the Transactions tab.

If a guest disputes the charge

Fees on a saved card go through your own Stripe account, so a dispute or chargeback is between you, the guest and Stripe, and you answer it through Stripe. Our payments terms say the same, and that you keep your records honest: only mark a booking as a no-show or late cancellation when it was one, because a fee is charged on that record.

A dispute is won on evidence. Keep the booking confirmation, a screenshot of the policy as the guest saw it, the date and time the booking was made, the cancelled or no-show mark with the date it was made, and any message between you and the guest. If the guest cancelled with notice, remember the fee is for late notice only. A declined card is not a dispute: the button reads Retry charge and can be tried again, for example after asking the guest to update their card.

Words that keep the guest

Tell the guest before you charge, name the amount and the reason, and leave room for a genuine emergency. Something like: "We held a table for four at 7pm on Friday and it was not used, so the fee you agreed to when booking has been charged. If something went wrong on your side, reply and we will look at it." Most guests who reply have a story, and a refund given gracefully is cheaper than a lost regular and a public review.

A fair amount, and fees on quiet nights

Start from what the empty table costs you, usually an amount per guest, and shape it by notice. A fee can rise as the notice gets shorter: nothing with a day's notice, part of the fee for a late cancellation, the full fee for not turning up. In Gaplessly that is up to 6 fee tiers inside the fee the guest was shown.

You need not ask for one on every night. A service period can carry its own deposit, so only Friday and Saturday dinner ask for one while a Tuesday lunch books freely. Guests can also be emailed an "are you still coming?" before the booking, which is often enough on a quiet night. Deposits and a saved card are exclusive: a venue uses one or the other.

Card on file and deposits come with Venue Growth and Venue Pro, or as an add-on for A$14.99 a month plus GST on Venue Starter.