A client who does not come and does not let you know looks like a minor annoyance. But an empty chair cannot be sold retroactively, and the materials are already prepared. The good news: there is a graduated defence against no-shows \u2013 reminders for those who forget, and deposits or a card guarantee for those who do not take bookings seriously. Below is both in numbers, with ready-made message templates and cancellation rules that stand up to consumer law<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let’s start with the maths, because the decision about deposits and reminders is financial, not emotional. Take an average \u20ac30 service. One unexcused absence a day over twenty working days is \u20ac600 a month and \u20ac7,200 a year \u2013 quietly, with no invoice, no trace in the books. The prices are a model, as of September 2026: substitute your price list and your attendance, the order of magnitude stays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your real number is easy to find: the share of no-show bookings over the last month times the average service price. Salons with no protection at all commonly sit between single digits and the low tens of percent \u2013 and that share is exactly what you will be pushing down. What an hour of your chair costs and why an empty one can never be sold again, we covered in the piece on time management in a salon<\/a>; here we focus on no-shows only.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before reaching for sanctions, it helps to distinguish two completely different kinds of no-shows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first and largest group are the forgetful: they booked three weeks ago, the date slipped their mind and they are honestly sorry. Reminders work on them \u2013 cheap, friendly and conflict-free. The second, smaller group are clients who hold bookings “just in case” in several places, cancel at the last minute or simply fail to come repeatedly. A reminder is not enough for them; that is where a deposit, a card guarantee and clear cancellation rules come in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The order matters: whoever starts with a deposit for all clients adds a needless hurdle for the nine out of ten who show up honestly. Escalate step by step \u2013 that is exactly what the ladder below is for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reminders are the cheapest tool with the biggest effect, because they target the largest group \u2013 the forgetful. They work in two waves. The first a day ahead: the client still has time to rebook, and if they cancel, you can offer the slot onwards. The second two to three hours before the visit: the last rescue for those who forgot even after yesterday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Order the channels from the cheapest: email and push notifications cost nothing, an SMS costs cents. In Altegio the channels can be set up as a cascade \u2013 the message goes by email or push, and only when the client has nowhere to read it does the system fall back to SMS. Even if every reminder went the expensive route, compare the costs: an SMS for a few cents against a \u20ac30 service you would otherwise lose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What to write? Short, concrete, with a way out. Two ready-made templates:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The day before: “Hello, a reminder of your visit tomorrow at {salon} at {time}. If it no longer suits you, rebook by this evening here: {link}. Looking forward!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the day: “We are expecting you today at {time} at {salon}. If anything comes up, let us know at {phone}.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reminders go out from the system by themselves, with no reception; you set once when and what, and never think about them again. Setup details are with online booking<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A deposit is an advance payment that counts towards the price of the service. Its job is not to punish \u2013 it aligns motivation: a client who has already paid something almost always comes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When a deposit makes sense: for long and expensive services (colouring, lash extensions, permanent make-up), where a no-show costs you a whole afternoon; for the first visit of a new client you do not know yet; and for clients who have already failed to come once or twice. Conversely, for a regular coming for a \u20ac30 haircut, a deposit breaks more than it protects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How much to ask: common practice is 20\u201350% of the price, more for highly demanded slots. Example: colouring at \u20ac60, a 30% deposit = \u20ac18 \u2013 enough to make the client think, too little to scare them away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Technically this is handled in Altegio by the online booking payment policy<\/a>, and it has two modes. Deposit: the client pays upfront in the widget and the amount counts towards the visit at checkout. And card guarantee: the client only links a payment card at booking and pays nothing \u2013 a fee is charged only if they do not come, or cancel after the free cancellation window closes. You set both fees \u2013 for late cancellation and for a no-show \u2013 as a percentage or a fixed amount, and the client sees both sums in black and white already at booking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The strength of the policy is in its aim. It does not apply across the board, but only where you point it: at selected services or whole categories, at selected team members, at new clients only \u2013 letting regulars book freely \u2013 or from a minimum visit value. And a human always has the last word: the receptionist can charge the fee or waive it with one click right in the visit window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The card guarantee is the softer of the two modes: it costs an honest client nothing and adds no hurdle at booking, yet it motivates almost as well as a deposit. It suits mid-range services and regular clientele, while for the most expensive procedures a deposit paid upfront remains the safer bet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is where most of the uncertainty lives, yet the frame across the EU is fairly uniform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First: the client has no automatic right to cancel a booking “within 14 days” as with an online shop. The EU Consumer Rights Directive (2011\/83\/EU<\/a>, Art. 16(l)) excludes leisure-related services provided for a specific date from the right of withdrawal, and national laws implement this exception \u2013 in Czechia, for instance, as \u00a7 1837(j) of the Civil Code. A salon appointment booked for a specific time falls under it, so cancellation is governed by your cancellation terms, not by a statutory cooling-off period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Second: a deposit is an advance payment that counts towards the price, while a cancellation or no-show fee works as a contractual penalty \u2013 and the same principle applies everywhere: it is enforceable only when it was agreed in advance and the client could see it at booking time. A clause hidden in the website footer does not stand, a court can reduce a disproportionate fee, and consumer authorities check exactly this. The precise paragraphs differ by country \u2013 check your national implementation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In practice this means three sentences in your T&C and in the appointment confirmation: until when cancellation is free (common practice is 24 hours ahead), what happens after that (the deposit is kept or the announced fee is charged from the guaranteed card), and how to cancel. Whoever has this in writing and visible has enforceable rules; whoever does not has just an argument for a quarrel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do not introduce everything at once. Go step by step and reach for the next step only when the previous one is not enough:<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhy clients don’t show up<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Reminders: when, through which channel, and what to write<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Deposits and card guarantee: payment policy scenarios<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Cancellation terms and the law<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The escalation ladder: from a reminder to a deposit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n