Personal booking confirmation calls key to tackling no-shows, research finds

Around 74% of consumers would be more likely to respond to a personal telephone message from the owner or manager of a business than a standard text message to confirm or cancel their booking, independent consumer insight by One Call to All has found.

Chris Smith, founder of One Call to All, commented: “Just imagine Tom Kerridge or Paul Ainsworth (who have both hit the headlines recently due to their experience with no-shows) calling with a message to welcome you to their restaurant and a polite request to let them know if you can’t make it for any reason, delivered from the heart.

"As our insight bears out, it’s certainly far more compelling than a text, as crucially it offers that personal connection. Plus, with the ability for guests to confirm or cancel when the call is live, or through a supporting SMS text, it covers all bases.”

The system can be set up in minutes and can help hospitality operators reach thousands of guests at once by sending a personal recorded message, as well as a text message, out to a database of numbers exported from operators’ existing booking systems. It can also contact those on waiting lists as and when spaces become available at short notice.

One Call to All is offering a free trial for hospitality businesses who register here before end of August.

Smith adds: “Having originally created the platform for the recruitment market, we saw how it could easily be used for hospitality businesses to counter the current pressing issue of no-shows, as well as offering them the ability to send discount codes, vouchers or promote advance bookings for special events – all helping to drive business at this difficult time. Indeed, with the industry having received such a body-blow from lockdown closures, we wanted to help out by offering a free trial so operators can use it with no commitment to see how it can work for their business.”