Yes — but the fee lives or dies entirely on whether you were told about it clearly before you booked, not on how empty the table looked that night.
Yes, generally — both US and UK law allow restaurants to charge a no-show fee or take a deposit, provided you were clearly told about it before you booked, and the amount is a reasonable estimate of the restaurant's actual loss rather than an arbitrary penalty. This is a legally enforceable contract term in both countries when done properly, which surprises people who assume "I just didn't show up" can't have real financial consequences. No-shows are a genuinely significant cost for restaurants — one widely cited UK industry report found the average restaurant lost over £1,300 to no-shows in a roughly six-week period — which is exactly why deposit systems have become common.
| United States | United Kingdom | |
|---|---|---|
| Core requirement for enforceability | Clear disclosure before booking; a growing number of states (e.g. California's Junk Fee Prevention Act) also require the fee not be hidden or added after the fact | Terms must be clearly communicated before booking is complete, under general contract law and Consumer Rights Act 2015 principles |
| Is there a cap on the amount? | No universal federal cap; state consumer protection law can still challenge an excessive fee as unreasonable | The fee/deposit should reflect the restaurant's genuine estimate of loss — courts have shown willingness to strike down excessive or disproportionate charges as an unfair penalty rather than a genuine pre-estimate of loss |
| What must happen before charging your card | You must have provided card details specifically for this purpose, with the policy disclosed at that time | Same principle — a card cannot be charged for a policy you weren't told about when you agreed to provide payment details |
| Cancellation window protections | Varies by restaurant/platform policy — no universal statutory minimum notice period | No universal statutory minimum either, though the policy's own stated notice window (e.g. "cancel by 3pm the day of") is what's actually enforced |
It's worth understanding the legal distinction between a genuine "deposit" and a discretionary "cancellation fee," because it affects your position if you dispute it. A true deposit, clearly agreed as security for the booking, is generally straightforward to forfeit if you're the one who breaches by not showing up. A cancellation fee charged after the fact, without having been clearly agreed at booking, is a weaker position for the restaurant — they'd need to show it reflects a genuine, unavoidable loss, not just an assumed one.
If the booking confirmation, website, or phone call clearly stated "a £15 per person deposit applies, non-refundable if cancelled within 24 hours," and you didn't cancel in time, this is generally a solid, enforceable term in both countries.
If the restaurant simply charges your card after a no-show without having disclosed this possibility clearly when you booked, this is a much weaker position for them — and in the US, an increasing number of states treat this specifically as an unlawful "junk fee" practice.
If the fee bears no reasonable relationship to the restaurant's likely loss — for example, a fee far exceeding what the table would have realistically brought in — this starts to look like a penalty rather than a genuine cost recovery, which is more vulnerable to challenge under both US state consumer protection law and UK unfair contract terms principles.
If you cancelled with the amount of notice the restaurant's own policy required, the fee shouldn't apply at all — this is one of the most straightforward disputes to win if you have any record (email, app confirmation, text) of your cancellation timestamp.
"A $20 per person deposit is required to confirm this reservation, refundable if you cancel more than 24 hours before your booking time" — stated clearly during the booking process, with the amount reasonably tied to the restaurant's likely cost of an empty table.
Charging a card on file for a no-show when no fee or deposit policy was ever mentioned at the time of booking, or setting a fee so high it functions as a penalty rather than a genuine estimate of lost revenue.
Use our Hospitality Billing Dispute Letter generator to formally challenge an undisclosed or excessive no-show fee.
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