It’s one of the most frustrating moments for a tour operator. You have a full tour reserved, and you have even had to turn a few customers away.

It’s only a few minutes until the scheduled departure, and there are several customers who have not arrived yet. You wait, and wait. And they never show up.

A no show directly impacts your profit margins.

First and foremost, you don’t cover the cost of the original booking.

Second, you may have hired additional staff members to be available in order to guide the tour, or you may have used extra resources in order to accommodate the visitors. This all cuts into your bottom line, and it makes your business less efficient.

These tips will help you minimize no shows and maximize your booking potential.

1. Implement a cancellation policy

Implement a cancellation policy, and let your customers know that it will be enforced. Your cancellation policy should require that your customers are held responsible in the event of no-show, regardless of the reason why.

Provide your customers with a deadline for which they can cancel their tour. For example, you could tell your customers that they must cancel their reservation at least 24 hours in advance of the tour ticket time.

If they do not cancel by this time, they will be charged a cancellation fee. Your guests will be more likely to show up for their respective reservation if they know there is a consequence to blowing it off.

2. Continually remind them

Provide your customers with reminders regarding their reservations, and offer them an opportunity to check in with their mobile technology on the day of the tour.

Using an online booking system, you can set up automatic e-mails and SMSes that will continuously remind your customers about their upcoming tour or activity.

These e-mails can include your terms and conditions, and also can provide them with more information about the tour that they will enjoy.

In addition to reminding your customers regularly, you should also allow them to check-in for their tour on the day of the event using their mobile device.

This will help you get an accurate idea of who will be available for the tour prior to its departure.

3. Seek to improve the product

Understand which tours generate the most no shows, and adjust your business accordingly.

Begin by keeping track of your no shows, and marking them down in your online booking system. Then, you can generate a report that shows the rate of no shows per tour that you offer.

This can give you some clues as to how you can adjust and grow your business into the future.

You might find that by adjusting the time or content of the tour that you can reduce no shows, but you won’t be able to do this if you do not have an accurate idea of your no show rate.

Rezdy is an online booking platform that offers tour and activity operators all of the features they need in order to minimize no shows.

If you are interested in trying out Rezdy for your tour and activity company, then begin your free trial today.