More restaurants charge 'no-shows'

More restaurants are charging a fee to those who book a table and then don’t show up.

Many have been forced to introduce a ‘pay first, eat later’ due to the high number of no shows. 

The top restaurant, the Gertrudhof in Zurich, runs a policy that anyone who doesn’t turn up for a reservation will be charged CHF 50 for each person, foreign guests will be charged a CHF 50 deposit. 

Other restaurants are taking a harder line, one in Lucerne charges for a full menu if guests don’t arrive – that can run to CHF 320 a person. 

Restaurant owners say taking a deposit is cutting no-shows significantly.  

More from Bitesize News

  • Citizenship remains one of the hardest on continent

    The Council of States has rejected a popular initiative that would have let foreigners apply for citizenship after just five years, closing the parliamentary door on the biggest attempt in years to loosen one of Europe's strictest naturalisation regimes

  • More gun crime in Annemasse

    Seven people are in French police custody after a shooting Monday evening at a drug-dealing spot in Ville-la-Grand, on the edge of Annemasse

  • Geneva land ownership change

    The canton of Geneva is set to become the sole owner of the land beneath Stade de Genève, buying out a parcel held by federal railways CFF for CHF 15.84 million

  • Agriculture warning after record breaking summer

    Farmers warn that another summer like this one would eat through their remaining reserves and force cuts to herds and crops

  • SNB interest rate stable

    The Swiss National Bank has kept its key interest rate at zero, sticking with a policy that has held since June 2025 even as oil-driven inflation ticks higher

  • Phone company going to court

    A Swisscom technician who spent 38 years at the company says he was fired for helping his 80-year-old neighbour cancel a subscription she never wanted

Download our app

  • Available on the App Store
  • Available on Google Play