Why restaurants and bars are charging eye-watering ‘cancellation’ fees

A growing number of restaurants and bars have cancellation fees because of people booking a table, not showing up and not even bothering to tell those who run the venue.

The issue was raised on 3AW Drive after one of Tom Elliott’s producers was recently asked for a $100 deposit, per person, as part of a restaurant’s cancellation policy.

Suresh Manickam, Chief Executive Officer of the Restaurant and Catering Industry Association, said there was no issue, as long as customers were notified in advance.

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