Greater Manchester pub hit by fake bookings reports 42 no-shows in one day

The Black Ladd pub in Oldham (pictured) saw 42 no-shows in one day last week after the venue claimed seven tables, each for six diners, were booked using false data and telephone numbers.

“This was done for no other reason that this person or persons wanted to disrupt our business financially,” the pub posted on its Facebook page, adding that it had to turn away 47 legitimate customers that day, losing out on vital revenue.

The business said it now has additional measures in place through its online system to stop this from happening. The post added that no staff would be out of pocket due to the “malicious” act.

Just two days later, the pub was forced to close for a week due to a staff member contracting Covid-19 and is due to reopen on Wednesday (7 July).

Separately, research by restaurant booking platform TheFork found that no-shows could cost UK restaurants owners £6.2m over the next four weeks.

Since the return of indoor dining in England on 17 May, TheFork measured a 237% rise in bookings across the site, but in a survey almost one in five (19%) Brits admitted to failing to arrive for a restaurant reservation over the past four weeks.

The survey also found 30% of respondents who failed to show up for a recent booking had made more than one reservation for a restaurant at the exact same time slot, called ‘spread booking’, where consumers make reservations at multiple restaurants to ensure they have options to choose from, but only intend to honour one of them.