A Bristol bar owner has urged people to cut out no shows after his venue suffered 14 in one night.
Charlie Taylor, who runs Kask with his wife Natalie and their friends Henry and Sophie Poultney, said it was a "frustrating" evening yesterday (October 22) as three groups of people failed to show up without cancelling.
The two groups of six and pair who did not attend having booked tables meant the North Street wine bar failed to break even on the night, at a time when the hospitality industry is in a perilous position.
"Since the 10pm curfew was brought in our takings are down by a third as we're losing out on two hours of business every night," said Charlie.
"So when people don't turn up without letting us know as they did last night, it's very frustrating.
"As we were fully booked for last night we decided to put an extra member of staff on, which is an additional cost on top of missing out on takings.
"We're also proud of the atmosphere we've created in here since opening a year ago, but when you have a bar full of empty tables it makes it feel flat.
"We're lucky that we have incredible customers who let us know if they can't turn up having made a booking 99 per cent of the time, but last night we were unlucky."
A number of other business owners across Bristol have hit out at no shows since reopening after lockdown.
Cargo tapas restaurant Gambas suffered 30 in one night, while Chandos Road restaurant Snobby's introduced a deposit system after seeing a spike after reopening.
Charlie said he's reluctant to introduce such a scheme at Kask, but wants people to be made aware of how harmful it can be to a business when people don't show up without warning.
"As a bar first and foremost we don't want to go down the road of taking deposits at the booking stage, but we'll have to consider it if this keeps on happening" he added.
"It would be good if people knew this can have a serious impact on businesses and ultimately livelihoods, at what is a very trying time for everyone.
"We completely understand if people can't make their booking, but we just ask that they give us a quick call or email to let us know so we can offer their table to others who want it."
During lockdown Kask launched an online shop and delivery service with merchandise and wine on offer.
The bar has also increased its food offering in recent months which will allow it to continue trading should Bristol enter into tier 2 or tier 3 or coronavirus restrictions.
