Being charged for "no shows" for dinner....

[twinmom430]

I'm sure this question has been beaten to death. But has anyone actually been charged?
I have always cancelled the night before for my ressies that I wasn't going to keep. But I've also had to drag sick kids, go to a park on a completely wash out, stormy day, etc just to keep a reservation and not get charged $80 for our party of 8.
Just wondering how "magical" disney is and if they are forgiving to families that cancel the day of their reservation. Anyone have experience? Thanks!

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) People are charged every day for "no shows".
2) LOTS of people are charged every day.
. . . fees are at eatery manager's discretion
. . . they review the "on hold" ADR designtions at the end of every day
. . . the manager then decides who gets charged and who doesn't

 

[BuddyThomas]

If they forgive you, then they have to forgive everyone. It's only fair.

 

[twinmom430]

If they forgive you, then they have to forgive everyone. It's only fair.

Point taken. Wasn't really thinking about it from that perspective. The policy just sucks...lol.

 

[BuddyThomas]

I agree, sort of, although I just read in the Unofficial Guide that the new charging policy had reduced "no shows" at those restaurants that charge to almost zero.

 

[minnie mum]

Point taken. Wasn't really thinking about it from that perspective. The policy just sucks...lol.

OTOH, the requirement for advance cancellation frees up those tables for people who actually want that ADR.

Not every restaurant has a no-show penalty. If your family is such that it frequently is unable to make their ADRs, then perhaps you should consider making ADRs at restaurants where you won't be faced with this problem.

 

[refillable mug]

One must ponder why this policy came about...

 

[twinmom430]

OTOH, the requirement for advance cancellation frees up those tables for people who actually want that ADR.

Not every restaurant has a no-show penalty. If your family is such that it frequently is unable to make their ADRs, then perhaps you should consider making ADRs at restaurants where you won't be faced with this problem.

i understand why the policy is in place, i know there are many families that abuse the policy...however it just stinks for those of us that actually need to cancel for a legitimate reason...such as a sick child, or not wanting to waste a park ticket on a rain out of a day just to attend a ressie at Crystal Palace. I was told before it was up to the cast member you call to cancel, if they will reverse the charge. For $80 its not a chance i'm willing to take, I was just looking for someone that had experience with doing this. Thanks for the opinions though.

 

[AuroraRora]

You're also only charged if no-one shows up. So if you have 8 people in your party and some of the kids are sick, you don't have to drag everyone there just to avoid being charged - one or two people in your party could just show up, have a drink or an appetizer and leave and you'd be fine. Cheaper than paying $80 for nothing!

 

[twinmom430]

You're also only charged if no-one shows up. So if you have 8 people in your party and some of the kids are sick, you don't have to drag everyone there just to avoid being charged - one or two people in your party could just show up, have a drink or an appetizer and leave and you'd be fine. Cheaper than paying $80 for nothing!

interesting, never knew this. Thanks for the tip!

 

[conandrob240]

Personally, with the disaster that was/is MDE, I think they should halt No Show fees for a period of time. I made a reservation while in MDE and it won't show up there. I have called twice to get it added/linked and it can't be done. Now, I wrote it down but hoping I don't forget it.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

. . . The policy just sucks . . .

One must ponder why this policy came about . . .

THE BACK STORY: (More TheRustyScupper Useless Trivia)
1) Epcot did two three-month-long studies two years ago.
2) They tracked no-shows for ADR's.
. . . the first study averaged eight pages of no-shows DAILY
. . . the second study averaged eleven pages of no-shows DAILY
3) This covered all the TS eateries in Epcot.
4) They did a trial of the $10 penalty.
5) No-Shows averaged less than three pages long DAILY.
6) Voilà !
7) Property-wide no-show policy for every popular TS.
8) Boma was excluded due to local management deciding not to do it.
9) Local managers
. . . can decide lots of policies/rules
. . . as long as profits remain, managers are golden
. . . if profits drop, the manager will move to supervising a parking lot

NOTE1: For every missed ADR, the restaurant loses money. An empty
table is like and empty airplane seat. That revenue is lost forever.
And, no, saying that a walk-in can take the table is not valid. Most
people don't try to walk-in because the ADR's typically showed sold
out eateries. Even if a couple of walk-ins came, there still are lots of
tables left empty. For no-show penalties, AT WDW, REVENUE TALKS,
EVERYTHING ELSE WALKS.

NOTE2: The longest list of no-shows came from LeCellier. That is
why it took so long to wait at the podium. Like an airline, LeCellier
always overbooked due to no-shows. When people showed during
any one hour, it was over capacity and people had to wait.

 

[mrsclark]

Very interesting information from TheRustyScupper. Just a question out of curiosity - on restaurants that do NOT require credit card holds for an ADR it still says something like "must cancel 24 hours in advance" or "cancellations must be made 24 hours in advance." When I read that I always wonder why they say that because there isn't a penalty for missing it? I understand that if you do not plan to use an ADR you should cancel it right away so that someone else can use it, I am just asking from a rules standpoint, why is it stated that way if there isn't a punishment for not doing it? I wonder if it was stated as "as a courtesy to other guests, we ask that all cancellations be made 24 hours in advance." - would that get more guest cooperation or less? Finally, just of out curiosity, do the non-CC restaurants still get as many no shows as before or as a side effect of some restaurants having a cc policy have no shows across the board have dropped?

 

[TheRustyScupper]

When I read that I always wonder why they say that because there isn't a penalty for missing it?
. . . that is due to the local manager's decision

why is it stated that way if there isn't a punishment for not doing it?
. . . because it makes it SOUND like there is a penalty *

I wonder if it was stated as "as a courtesy to other guests, we ask that all cancellations be made 24 hours in advance." - would that get more guest cooperation or less?
. . . maybe, maybe not
. . . I would imagine WDW has looked at this option and dismissed it *

Finally, just of out curiosity, do the non-CC restaurants still get as many no shows as before or as a side effect of some restaurants having a cc policy have no shows across the board have dropped?
. . . there are not that many TS eateries without the penalty
. . . Boma is a good example of a no penalty eatery
. . . they more business than they can handle, and usually overbook
. . . that is also why people wait at the podium so long
. . . a few no-shows doesn't hurt much *

* My personal opinion, and based in fact(s) from any restaurant manager or engineering staff.
We have major interest in two eateries, so I can guess at these from personal experience.

 

[MouseMomx2]

. . . there are not that many TS eateries without the penalty

Actually, there are far more TS restaurants without the penalty than with. In Epcot alone i believe only 3 restaurants require the CC guaranty...Le Cellier, Akershus and, possibly, Garden Grill. That leaves 13 without it.

On our upcoming 14-day trip we only have two reservations with a cc guaranty. The other 12 did not require one.

 

[mrsclark]

Actually, there are far more TS restaurants without the penalty than with. In Epcot alone i believe only 3 restaurants require the CC guaranty...Le Cellier, Akershus and, possibly, Garden Grill. That leaves 13 without it.

On our upcoming 14-day trip we only have two reservations with a cc guaranty. The other 12 did not require one.

True and at MK three out of the six TS do not require a cc guarantee - guarantees required by BoG, CRT, and CP but not by The Plaza, LTT or TTS.

At DHS Mama Melrose, 50'sPT, and Sci-Fi do not require cc holds not sure about Hollywood and Vine - I would assume Brown Derby requires a hold...

 

[jimmysmom74]

Didn't realize the whole party didn't have to show up for adr not to get charged. That makes me not so nervous about if someone is sick the day of adr.

 

[Pats Dragon]

We make fewer adr's because of this policy. There are lots of glitches in the system which makes it likely someone (mainly worried about me!) will be charged incorrectly. I doubt if our decrease in TS meals is hurting the restaurant's pocket however.

 

[TisBit]

I have actually had pretty bad experiences with my reservations the last few trips. I think a total of three reservations were not in the system when we showed up and I had the confirmation emails and everything. Two of those were at O'hana's. And one of them actually somehow got moved to the wrong day, so we actually missed our reservations from the previous day and showed up the next day. I was charged a missed reservation fee on my CC, but it was refunded (took about two weeks to process though).

I agree it cuts down on no shows and helps the most popular restaurants run at capacity. But, I woudln't be surprised if they did it for all restaurants, reservations would actually decrease at less popular restaurants because people don't like the risk of a penalty (many of the reasons listed here) and would rather just try walk up, since the restaurant is not usually at capacity. That is actually what we did this year, we weren't doing any of the most popular restaurants, so we just did walk up at other places.

As for guests that have real reasons not to show up, I would be surprised if Disney charged them as long they gave sufficient notice to the restaurant or even called the dining number cancel. But, if you just no show or call 30 minutes before your reservation saying you can't make it for something preventable.....that is probably a different story.

 

[Nancyg56]

Point taken. Wasn't really thinking about it from that perspective. The policy just sucks...lol.

It only sucks if you do not cancel in time. It works quite well for those folks w were trying to plan their ADR"s and could not due to those folks who had multiple ADR's booked in order to ensure that they could decide at the last minute where they wanted to eat. And for all those folks who said that they always canceled the extras, do you really believe that they all did? With no penalty, there is no incentive.

I agree, sort of, although I just read in the Unofficial Guide that the new charging policy had reduced "no shows" at those restaurants that charge to almost zero.

I would think so. When there is no charge to scoop up multiple ADR's why not? When you will need a pay for that convenience, you make a call.