Missed appointments, commonly known as "no-shows", are the bane of service professionals and leisure facilities. Every forgotten spot or late cancellation is a direct loss of revenue and disrupts your schedule.
1. Set up automated appointment reminders
Most no-shows are not malicious: they are simply forgotten. Sending an automatic reminder via SMS and email 24 to 48 hours before the appointment divides the rate of missed appointments by 4. This is an essential feature built into Reservatoo by default.
2. Request online payments (deposit and clear conditions)
Asking for a deposit (e.g., 20% or 30% of the total amount) when booking online creates a direct financial commitment. Stripe's integration in Reservatoo allows you to collect deposits with zero commission from us. Couple this with a clear cancellation policy (e.g., 24 hours prior) displayed on your booking widget: it encourages responsibility from the moment of booking and outlines transparent refund rules. To learn more, check out our complete online payment methods comparison.
3. Use credit card holds
If you do not want your clients to pay in advance, you can request a simple credit card guarantee (Stripe hold). The client is not charged when booking, but you retain the right to charge a penalty fee if they fail to show up and did not cancel in time. Read our payment provider comparison to choose the best option for your business.
4. Activate an automated waiting list
If a client has a last-minute conflict, it is crucial to make cancellation and rescheduling effortless (in 2 clicks from their confirmation email, without having to call you). It is always better to know that a client won't show up than to discover it at the last minute. This is where the waiting list comes in: it instantly fills the newly freed slot and prevents planning gaps.
Reservatoo offers a 100% automated waiting list. As soon as a client cancels their appointment, the system automatically sends an SMS to people on the waiting list to offer them the slot. The first one to confirm gets the spot. It's the perfect way to protect your revenue, and even increase it: if you collect a non-refundable deposit from the late cancellation, and a new client books and pays in turn, you monetize that single slot twice!
