If you want to feel a little thrill in everyday life, go out to eat in Munich without a reservation: looking for a free table can be exciting and upsetting. At the Levantine restaurant Maria in the Glockenbachviertel, the motto is: If you don’t have a reservation, you have to wait in line. It is therefore a little surprising that the restaurant has been requiring a credit card deposit for reservations for the evening for several months – if guests do not show up or cancel too late, a cancellation fee of 35 euros per person is due.
The decision was made because they are struggling with “an ever-increasing percentage of no-show guests,” explains managing director Nadja Najib. Although the restaurant was officially fully booked, often only two thirds of the tables were occupied. This is usually not a problem during the day, as passers-by compensate for this. But that is not the case in the evening. Before they introduced the cancellation fee, so many guests didn’t come that it had a noticeable negative impact on the result, says Nadja Najib.
The Maria in Munich is not alone with this development. “We see that more and more service providers are introducing such a fee,” says Sonja Neumann from the Bavarian Consumer Center. Until now, this approach was primarily known for high-priced restaurants with fixed menus, but Neumann reports a cross-industry trend, from restaurants to hairdressing salons.
In principle, there is no objection to this, says Neumann. This fee may be charged because the reservation creates a pre-contractual obligation. “The landlord keeps the place free and cannot give it away.” The amount of the default payment is at the discretion of the managing directors, says Neumann. In case of doubt, however, it must be proven that this amount of damage actually occurred. However, the consumer advice center had little contact with angry guests. “We are only aware of very isolated complaints about this,” reports Neumann.
Open from morning to evening, and breakfast until 5 p.m.: the Maria on Klenzestrasse.
(Photo: Catherina Hess)
So far there have been few problems at Maria because of this. Although the default fee was introduced a few months ago, it only had to be paid in exceptional cases, says Nadja Najib. “The 35 euros are based on our minimum turnover per person in an evening. However, if a table can be filled spontaneously, we do not charge it,” says the managing director. “We don’t want to take money out of people’s pockets, we just want to avoid standing in front of an empty restaurant. Sales are our only source of income.”
In many Munich restaurants, reservations that go unnoticed are an issue. “The issue of no-shows in the catering industry keeps popping up,” reports Thomas Geppert. As managing director of the Bavarian Hotel and Restaurant Association, he knows that this issue can have dramatic effects on businesses. “Of course it depends on the core business, but as a rule all costs have to be covered by the sale of food and drinks. No sales immediately cause problems,” he says.
In addition, all restaurants are struggling with increased costs. Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, energy and food prices have risen, and the temporary reduction in VAT has been abolished since the beginning of the year. The shortage of skilled workers is also causing problems for the industry. “Any leeway in terms of earnings has been taken away,” sums up Geppert.
It sounds similar in Maria. The cancellation fee is intended to provide a certain level of planning security. “According to the reservations, we buy food and divide up our team. Guests who simply don’t show up seem to have no awareness of the fact that jobs ultimately depend on lost sales,” says Nadja Najib. But she also emphasizes that she is happy to accommodate visitors even with short-term cancellations – provided they let you know. Sonja Neumann from the consumer advice center also appeals to regular eaters out to treat bookings as binding. “Rejections should be a given,” she says.
The only people who benefit when Munich residents let their reservations expire are those who look for a free table in the evening – but only when the restaurants have released the reserved tables again.