colincentrevr
When we first started we never required a payment ahead of time and it was rare that people didn't show up, but as we got busier it started happening more and more often especially on our busiest days where we were turning away walk ins then having our booking no-show so we started taking a 50% deposit. A lot of our regulars don't like having to pay deposit now because they were used to not having to but if we had started out charging I don't think it would be an issue.
We have people call to reserve rooms and when we ask for a deposit suddenly it's "well I'm not sure if that time is going to work" or "I better ask my wife first" and they don't put money down, so I have to wonder were those people going to show up. As soon as they have to put money down they have to actually commit to coming. I absolutely agree that a precedent should be at least a deposit if not full amount ahead of time. Anything else you buy tickets for - sporting events, movie theatres, etc you have to pay ahead so that should be the norm for us as well.
The only downside we've seen is teens who dont have credit cards can't book ahead since they usually only have cash, or occasionally we get adults that dont have credit cards- people going through bankruptcy and such or personal choice. But there is no way to make everyone happy unfortunately.
