No-shows: what reminders can do, and how deposits and a clear policy protect you

Updated Oct 2026

Why people miss bookings

In healthcare, most missed appointments come down to simple reasons such as forgetting (Robotham et al., BMJ Open, 2016, citing earlier research). That's the problem reminders are meant to fix. This guide doesn't know how often forgetting explains missed bookings at B&Bs, tours, studios, salons or coaches: the studies it cites were all in healthcare.

1. Send automatic reminders

What the research says:

• A 2016 review in BMJ Open pooled 16 studies on no-shows. With a text reminder, 15% of people didn't show up. Without one, 21% didn't. That's 25% fewer no-shows (Robotham et al., BMJ Open, 2016, checked Oct 27, 2026). All the studies were in healthcare.
• In the same review, two or more reminders raised attendance "by as much as 19% over and above sending one notification". They didn't make a clear difference to no-shows on their own (same source).
• A Cochrane review found text reminders got more people to their appointments than no reminder, and worked about as well as a phone call (Cochrane, "Mobile phone messaging reminders for attendance at healthcare appointments", 2013, checked Oct 27, 2026). Once an automatic text is set up, you don't have to make the calls yourself.

When to send them: in nine of the studies, the reminder went out 48 hours or less before the appointment (Robotham et al.). A simple plan is one reminder two days before and one on the day. For a booking made months ahead, such as a stay or a trip, add one a week before, so the customer still has time to cancel and you have time to offer the slot again.

What to say: keep it short, and give an easy way out. The studies used messages like "You have an appointment on (date) at (time) … Please answer NO if you do not intend to come". For example (made up):

Hi Sam, a reminder of your booking on Sat Nov 14 at 10:00. Can't make it? Tap here to move or cancel it: [link]

Ask before you text. Add a "Send me text reminders" box to the booking form, so customers choose it. Email reminders cover the ones who don't tick it.

2. Make cancelling easy

Put a "move or cancel" link in every reminder and in the confirmation email. When a customer cancels ahead of time, you know the slot is free and can offer it to someone else, or to the next person on a waiting list if you keep one. Whether you fill it depends on your business and how much notice you get.

3. Take a deposit or keep a card on file

We looked for a published study that measures how much deposits change no-shows and didn't find one we could rely on, so this guide gives no number. What a deposit or a card on file does do is let you charge for a missed booking under your policy, instead of losing all of it. Here are three common ways, using Stripe (a card payment service) as the example. Other card processors have their own rules.

• Take a deposit when they book. The customer pays part of the price now and the rest later. Say in your policy whether the deposit comes back if they cancel, and until when.
• Hold the amount on their card. A hold reserves the money without taking it: the customer sees a pending charge, and no money moves (Stripe Docs, "Best practices for preventing fraud", checked Oct 27, 2026). The catch: for online card payments a hold usually lasts only 7 days. If you don't take the money in time, the hold is released. You can also take only part of the held amount, and the rest is released (Stripe Docs, "Place a hold on a payment method", checked Oct 27, 2026). So a hold suits bookings in the next few days, not one three months away.
• Save the card and charge only if they don't show. For bookings further ahead, the card can be saved at booking with no charge, and charged later only under your policy. You need the customer's permission for this. Stripe says your terms should cover their permission for you to charge them, how often you expect to charge, and how the amount is worked out, and that customers should opt in (Stripe Docs, "The Setup Intents API", checked Oct 27, 2026). For example (made up): "If you don't come and haven't cancelled 48 hours ahead, we'll charge the no-show fee to this card."

4. Show a clear cancellation policy before they pay

Stripe's advice is to show customers your whole policy and have them agree to it before they pay. That matters if a customer later disputes a no-show charge with their bank: Stripe says requiring customers to agree to your terms can "increase the likelihood that card issuers respect your policies in the event of a dispute".

• Write it in plain words. How late can they cancel for free? What happens to the deposit after that? What happens if they don't show? Can they move the date instead?
• Show the whole policy on the booking page, with a box they tick to agree. Stripe warns that a tick box that only contains a link may be rejected by the card issuer, and that you need "reasonable evidence that you presented your customer with a full copy of your policies prior to their purchase" (Stripe Docs, "Best practices for preventing fraud", checked Oct 27, 2026).
• Put the policy in the confirmation email and in each reminder, next to the cancel link.
• Use your business name on card statements. Stripe recommends a statement name customers will recognise, such as your business name or web address (same source).

Questions to ask whoever builds your booking system

1. Can it send reminders automatically, by email and text, and can I choose when?
2. Can customers move or cancel from a link in the reminder, and does that free the slot right away?
3. Can I take a deposit, hold a card, or save a card to charge for a no-show, and which suits how far ahead people book with me?
4. Will the full cancellation policy show on the booking page, with a box to tick, and in the confirmation email?
5. Can I see how many no-shows I had each month, so I know if it's working?

A simple no-show checklist

• Turn on automatic reminders: two days before and on the day (plus a week before for bookings made far ahead)
• Add a "move or cancel" link to every reminder and the confirmation email
• Add a "Send me text reminders" box to the booking form
• Choose one: a deposit, a card hold (bookings within a week), or a saved card with permission
• Show your whole cancellation policy on the booking page, with a box to tick
• Count your no-shows for a month before and after, and compare

Sources

1. Robotham D, Satkunanathan S, Reynolds J, Stahl D, Wykes T. "Using digital notifications to improve attendance in clinic: systematic review and meta-analysis". BMJ Open 2016;6(10):e012116: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5093388/ (no-shows pooled from 16 studies: 15% with notifications vs 21% without, risk ratio 0.75 (25% fewer); two or more notifications "increased attendance by as much as 19% over and above sending one notification", no significant difference for no-shows (p=0.91 in the multiple-vs-one table); in nine studies notifications were sent "48 hours (or less) before the appointment"; introduction, citing earlier work: "most appointments are missed due to simple reasons such as forgetfulness"; example message "Please answer NO if you do not intend to come"; healthcare settings; checked Oct 27, 2026).
2. Cochrane, "Mobile phone messaging reminders for attendance at healthcare appointments" (Gurol-Urganci et al., 2013): https://www.cochrane.org/evidence/CD007458_mobile-phone-messaging-reminders-attendance-healthcare-appointments (text reminders "improved the rate of attendance … compared to no reminders"; "similar impact to phone call reminders"; low to moderate quality evidence; checked Oct 27, 2026).
3. Stripe Docs, "Place a hold on a payment method": https://docs.stripe.com/payments/place-a-hold-on-a-payment-method (card amount "typically on hold for 7 days for online payments"; if the authorization expires, "the funds are released"; capture less than the authorized amount and "a partial capture automatically releases the remaining amount"; checked Oct 27, 2026).
4. Stripe Docs, "The Setup Intents API": https://docs.stripe.com/payments/setup-intents (save a payment method for future payments, "no charge is created"; for off-session payments "you need permission"; terms should cover the customer's permission, the anticipated frequency of payments and how the amount is determined; "let customers opt in"; checked Oct 27, 2026).
5. Stripe Docs, "Best practices for preventing fraud": https://docs.stripe.com/disputes/prevention/best-practices (a hold "appears on a customer's statement as a pending transaction, but doesn't actually move money out of their account"; a checkbox "that only contains a link" may be rejected; "reasonable evidence that you presented your customer with a full copy of your policies prior to their purchase"; use your website domain or business name as the statement descriptor; requiring agreement to your terms can "increase the likelihood that card issuers respect your policies in the event of a dispute"; checked Oct 27, 2026).

Payment rules and help pages change. Check the sources above before you set anything up.