The hospitality industry believes the solution to one of its biggest problems: people who book a table and then don’t come to the restaurant is to get a penalty. According to the information received from the hoteliers federation of Pontevedra province, It is already a common practice. especially restaurants author’s kitchenAs reported yesterday by FARO DE VIGO of the Prensa Ibérica group, special appointments such as Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, Christmas Eve dinners or other occasions, such as closed menus that represent a significant expenditure for the venue and have no final. Continuing without notifying diners means heavy economic losses.
“But what is normal is that it starts to generalize in restaurants.. They are already being made in many of them in Vigo. It’s simple, the customer’s credit card is requested at the time of booking, and if it’s not visible, a fee is charged. Rubén Pérez, president of the Vigo Provincial Hoteliers Federation (Feprohos), explains that like everything else, with flights or hotels, if you do not cancel in advance, the normal thing is that you will be charged.” Association of hoteliers and traders Maritime area. The ultimate goal is to avoid stopping billing because a table reserved for several restaurants will be empty if they don’t show up.
More and more restaurants in Vigo are choosing to “punish” this absence in reservations. And the idea is that this practice is becoming generic. The formula is simple. When making a reservation and entering your details, you’ll also be asked for your credit card details, though normally via the web or by phone: if you don’t show up for your appointment or cancel 24 hours in advance, you’ll be penalized with a fine that varies depending on the restaurant, but is usually around forty euros on average. But in some cases, up to twenty euros is charged for each restaurant: that is, a table of eight that does not attend will be penalized with 160 euros. Thanks to this formula, there was hardly anyone who did not book Christmas dinners and leave without canceling later, because they knew that if they did, they would have to pay a fine.
Restaurants have other ways to stop the show, such as triple confirmation (by phone, a text message to a cell phone, and an email) or even customer trust lists (whoever puts the tough chef will do). twice).
The lack of customers with reservations is being led by chefs who are increasingly willing to fence off systems to make reservations, which has long been common in Vigo outside of Galicia and above all in high cuisine. or restaurants with signature cuisine. More than anything else, because in most cases it is the latter that suffers the most when the menus are closed and besides not entering, the expected customers do not show up. The money for the advance product is forfeited.
Most restaurants usually have the courtesy to hold the table fifteen minutes ahead of the reservation time. From there, it is made available to other customers. Normally, most establishments now offer two shifts for lunch and dinner, one early and one late. In the first, diners are asked to leave the table at a certain time for those who have a reservation for the next return.
Tourists are ‘forced’ to dine in their hotel room on New Year’s Eve as restaurants are full
Finding a table in Vigo to dine at restaurants on New Year’s Eve was indeed a complex task. There were many families who came to Vigo to spend that special night and stayed in a hotel, but in some cases the accommodation did not offer dinner service that night, and in some it was directly impossible to find a table in a restaurant. “There were guests who bought seafood and ate it in their own room”Says Rubén Pérez. Entrepreneurs in the industry are therefore committed to expanding the offer for next year.
Mayor Abel Caballero spoke about the success of the tourist invasion last weekend. Abel Caballero pointed out that despite the rain and storm, the hotel occupancy rate of the city exceeded 85 percent. “Despite the rains, we are experiencing an unbelievable occupation. We continue to be the center of attention in the field of tourism in the city.” Hotels and tourist apartments register almost 100% occupancy in Vigo during the busiest time of Christmas dates.
Another phenomenon that has emerged this year is the made-to-order menus during the New Year holidays. Many families and tourists choose to order their Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve menus from restaurants in Vigo that offer this service. go shopping.