Restaurant no-shows: cancellation fee, deposit and card guarantee, and what the law allows

A restaurant may charge a cancellation fee for a no-show if it was clearly agreed before the reservation and the amount is reasonable. It can be secured with a card guarantee or a deposit. Austria and Germany follow similar principles with different details. This article describes the position on 11 October 2026 and does not replace legal advice.

What is allowed in Austria?

The Vorarlberg Economic Chamber sums up the position in its leaflet (May 2024): if the guest does not fulfil the contract for reasons within their own sphere, the business is entitled to the full price, less whatever it saves because the guest stayed away. This matches section 1168 of the Austrian Civil Code (ABGB). Under it, the business has to offset what it saved or earned elsewhere, for instance if the table was filled after all.

In practice, a simple table reservation has no agreed price, because the guest only orders on site. That is why a fixed amount per person, agreed in advance, is the simpler route. The chamber notes that a cancellation fee can be made a condition for releasing the reservation, that this does not require general terms and conditions of your own, and that the business is free to set the amount. It recommends fair fees and clear information before the reservation is confirmed.

There are three statutory limits you should know:

• Section 1336(2) ABGB: a court has to reduce an agreed lump sum that the guest shows to be excessive.
• Section 864a ABGB: unusual clauses in standard terms that the guest had no reason to expect do not apply unless you pointed them out specifically. A fee in the small print is therefore not enough.
• Section 6(3) of the Consumer Protection Act (KSchG): a clause in standard terms is void if it is unclear or hard to understand.

What applies in Germany?

The German hotel and restaurant association DEHOGA distinguishes two cases in its leaflet (September 2019). With a simple reservation, where guests order at the restaurant, there is no catering contract yet, only a pre-contractual relationship. The business can then claim only its wasted expenses, not the average bill, and has to prove them. If menu and price were agreed in advance, a contract exists and the business can claim the agreed price less saved expenses.

Because proof is hard in the first case, the association recommends cancellation terms as standard terms. For them to hold, the leaflet lists these points:

• Incorporation under section 305(2) of the German Civil Code (BGB): an explicit reference when reserving, the opportunity to read the terms, and the guest's consent. Online, the association recommends a box that must be ticked before completing the reservation.
• Amount under section 309 no. 5 a BGB: the lump sum must not exceed the loss to be expected in the ordinary course of events.
• Counter-proof under section 309 no. 5 b BGB: the guest must be expressly permitted to prove that no loss, or a substantially lower one, occurred. Without that sentence the lump sum is void.
• Wording: cancellation fee or no-show charge, not contractual penalty.
• Mitigation: you have to try to give the table to other guests.

What amount is reasonable?

Neither country has a statutory figure. As non-binding guidance, DEHOGA mentions € 10 to € 30 per person in a traditional country restaurant and € 50 to € 150 per person in a high-priced gourmet restaurant. What counts, it says, are the menu prices and the average preparation costs. For Austria, the chamber gives no amounts.

Worked example: an inn with an average bill of € 45 per person charges € 20 per person if a group of six or more stays away without cancelling. For a table of eight that is € 160. The lost revenue would be € 360. So the fee covers part of the preparation and staffing and stays well below the revenue. If the group arrives with six instead of eight people, the fee is € 40.

Card guarantee or deposit?

Since strong customer authentication was introduced in September 2019, DEHOGA has recommended securing the fee through a payment provider, ideally as a prepayment that is refunded on a timely cancellation and otherwise offset against the bill. Writing down card details on the phone is not a good solution: you have to protect them from unauthorised access and inform the guest under the GDPR.

How do you word the fee in your booking terms?

1. State the deadline for free cancellation in hours, for example up to 24 hours before the reservation, and the channel: link in the confirmation, email or phone.
2. State the amount in euros per person booked and say whether it also applies if fewer people turn up.
3. Add that nothing is charged to the extent that the table could be given to other guests.
4. For Germany: include the sentence that the guest is free to prove that no loss, or a substantially lower one, occurred.
5. Set how long you wait for latecomers, 15 minutes for instance.
6. Show the notice inside the reservation flow, before submitting, and repeat it in the confirmation. Have the guest agree.
7. Say the same sentence on the phone and follow up with the confirmation by email.

The chamber and the association both advise a sense of proportion. Regulars, an illness or a storm are good reasons for goodwill. A fee that comes back as a voucher for the next visit is a variant the Austrian chamber mentions explicitly.

How this works in EachVisit

In EachVisit you set for table reservations whether guests pay on site, pay a deposit or leave a card as a guarantee, along with the cancellation deadline and the no-show fee. Reminders go out by email, and guests can cancel on their own through a link. A no-show fee is never charged automatically: you mark the no-show, see the amount in a preview and release the charge deliberately. If the bank requires the guest's approval, there is no blind retry; you can then send a payment link or write the fee off. You need your own Stripe account, and Stripe's fees apply. EachVisit does not supply legal texts; you word the terms yourself.