--- title: Can a restaurant charge a no-show fee? | NFCeez url: https://nfceez.de/en/blog/can-i-charge-a-no-show-fee/ language: en description: Can a restaurant in Germany charge a no-show fee? Yes, if the guest agreed first. What the clause needs and why billing afterwards rarely works. --- # Can I charge a no-show fee when guests don't turn up? In Germany, yes, as long as the guest agreed before booking. A bill sent afterwards almost never works. [Reservations](https://nfceez.de/en/blog/topic/reservations/) 3 min read Updated 2 November 2026 NFCeez editorial team The short answer Yes, a restaurant in Germany can charge a no-show fee if the guest expressly agreed before booking, for example by ticking a box. Without that agreement only a damages claim remains, and the restaurant would have to prove its actual loss. A flat fee must not exceed the typical loss. As of November 2026. This answer covers German law. Elsewhere the rules differ, though the practical logic is much the same: agree it first, in writing. ## What happens if nothing was agreed? You have a claim on paper and very little chance in practice. According to [HOGAPAGE](https://www.hogapage.de/nachrichten/arbeitswelt/ratgeber/no-shows-vermeiden/), the hospitality association DEHOGA Bayern treats a reservation as a pre-contractual obligation. You would still need to show that you turned other guests away and what specific business you lost. That proof is rarely available. Chasing an invoice after a quiet Tuesday mostly costs you time, and possibly a guest who would have come back. ## What does a fee need to hold up? Above all, active agreement before the booking. [Tageskarte](https://www.tageskarte.io/gastronomie/detail/no-show-gebuehren-in-der-gastronomie-worauf-wirte-achten-sollten.html) quotes the Bavarian consumer advice centre saying guests must be told clearly and in advance, and the article says silence doesn't count. For pre-written terms, [Section 309 of the German Civil Code (BGB)](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bgb/__309.html) adds its limits. Rule What it means for you Section 309 no. 5a A flat fee can't exceed the loss you would normally expect. Section 309 no. 5b Guests must be expressly allowed to show that your loss was smaller or didn't happen. Section 309 no. 6 A contractual penalty for not taking up the service is invalid in such terms. Call it a flat rate and base it on your loss. Cancellation window Guests need a fair window to cancel for free. Tageskarte names 24 or 48 hours as usual. Card details Holding a card as security needs GDPR consent, according to Tageskarte. Sample wording for your booking form You can cancel free of charge up to 24 hours before. If nobody comes after that, we charge a flat 20 euros per person for lost sales. You remain free to show that we suffered no loss or a much smaller one. [ ] I agree The 20 euros are made up. At the invented Restaurant Laterne it would work like this: 40 euros in sales per person, of which 12 euros goes on ingredients you don't use. That leaves 28 euros lost, so the fee sits below it. Run this with your own numbers. For your specific clause, the local chamber of commerce (IHK) can help. ## Is it worth doing at all? For a table for two in a café, usually not. For a party of twelve on a Saturday, often yes, because one missed group can sink the evening. Put the fee where the damage really happens and leave everything else free. Regulars accept a rule for big tables far more easily than one for every visit. For what helps before it comes to that, read [how to reduce no-shows](https://nfceez.de/en/blog/how-to-reduce-restaurant-no-shows/). ## How do you see in advance which booking matters most? With NFCeez, guests request their table on your Smart Page with the day, time, party size and occasion. The request appears on your phone straight away, and one tap confirms or declines it. Guests get a six-digit booking number and a confirmation by email. So before you confirm, you know whether it's two people or twelve. The limit: NFCeez takes no payments, holds no card and charges no fee. Any flat fee is agreed and billed by you separately. More on [table reservations](https://nfceez.de/en/features/table-reservations/). Your next step: for four weeks, count missed bookings by party size. You'll see from which size a clause is worth the trouble. [ How NFCeez does this The party size is right there in the request. Guests request a table on your Smart Page with party size and occasion, and you confirm in the app. NFCeez doesn't collect no-show fees; if you charge one, you agree it with the guest yourself. See how it works ](https://nfceez.de/en/features/table-reservations/) Sources - [§ 309 BGB, Klauselverbote](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bgb/__309.html) - [Tageskarte: No-Show-Gebühren in der Gastronomie, 29. April 2025](https://www.tageskarte.io/gastronomie/detail/no-show-gebuehren-in-der-gastronomie-worauf-wirte-achten-sollten.html) - [HOGAPAGE: No-Shows vermeiden, mit Verweis auf das DEHOGA-Bayern-Merkblatt](https://www.hogapage.de/nachrichten/arbeitswelt/ratgeber/no-shows-vermeiden/) ## No-show fee questions DEHOGA Bayern treats it as a pre-contractual obligation. Getting money out of it without an agreement is hard, because the specific loss has to be proven. Not if nobody agreed to it. Without an agreement you're left with a damages claim, which needs proof of your loss. That's not safe. Tageskarte says silence isn't agreement, so use a tick box in the form or a confirmed email reply. The law sets no fixed cap. A flat rate just can't exceed the loss you would normally expect. ## Keep reading. [All articles](https://nfceez.de/en/blog/) [ ### How do you reduce restaurant no-shows, and can you charge a fee? What works before the booking, what German law allows, and where there's still no clear answer. With texts to copy. - ](https://nfceez.de/en/blog/how-to-reduce-restaurant-no-shows/) [ ### Online table reservations: commission portal, phone or your own page? Three routes compared honestly, a calculation for your own place, and how to set it up in a day. As of November 2026. - ](https://nfceez.de/en/blog/online-table-reservations/) [ ### How do you turn normal guests into regulars? Discounts rarely make regulars. People come back because someone recognised them, they have a reason for the next visit and the way back is easy. - ](https://nfceez.de/en/blog/how-to-turn-guests-into-regulars/)