Spain restaurants ‘take a stand’ and begin crackdown with UK tourists warned

Crackdown across establishments

Spain bars and restaurants are “taking a stand” against brazen UK tourists who may no-show bookings. The phenomenon of no-shows continues to be one of the main challenges facing the restaurant sector.

The Majorca Daily Bulletin reports how Palma eateries are taking a stand amid huge losses. In its Restaurant Results in Summer 2025 report, Delectatech, a company which specialises in data for the hospitality sector, warned over the bleak landscape for restaurants.

It cited a combination of no-shows and a “prolonged rise in prices”. In 2025, the average rate of ghost bookings in Spain fell to 3.3 per cent, an improvement on the 3.6 per cent recorded in 2024, according to the Fork.

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Now, though, restaurants are implementing strict measures. 21 per cent of restaurants use a bank footprint as a reservation guarantee, a figure that has doubled compared to 2023.

And seven per cent apply card prepayment, tripling its implementation in just two years. There is also the predictive anti-no-show tool, which proactively identifies high-risk reservations based on diners’ history on TheFork platform.

This feature analyses variables such as customers’ booking history, their behaviour on restaurant pages and the type of establishment chosen.

“Closing 2025 with a no-show rate of 3.3%, compared to 3.6% the previous year, shows that the measures taken are working and that the sector is moving in the right direction to end this practice. At TheFork, we will continue to actively combat this practice in order to offer restaurateurs effective solutions that enable them to protect their profitability and manage their business with greater security,” says Jay Kim, Country Manager Iberia at TheFork.

In reply to the crackdown, one tourist commented: “It is so fascinating how Spanish restaurants are fighting this phenomenon. Which literally in every other place in the world is a thing.”

A second said: “I will NOT ever pay or use my credit card to reserve a table. If I like the restaurant and made the booking, it means I wish to eat there knowing i will get the food and service i expect.

“I use the FORK as much as possible and restaurants know i can be trusted when using the Fork reservation service.

“Sadly I know of people who book 3 to 5 restaurants on the same date and time and decide on the night which to go to and I find this disrespectful.”