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Writing a fair no-show policy customers respect

Templates for cancellation, reschedule, and no-show policies that protect your time without driving customers away.

4 May 2026
4 min read
By the Bookerva team

Key takeaways

  • A clear policy is a kindness — it removes ambiguity, not trust.
  • Three time bands cover 95% of cases: >24h, 24h, no-show.
  • Display the policy on the booking page, not buried in T&Cs.

Three principles

  1. 1Be specific. 'Reasonable notice' isn't a policy. '24 hours' is.
  2. 2Be visible. Customers should see the policy before they book, not in a confirmation email after.
  3. 3Be consistent. Apply it to your sister, your best friend, and the new walk-in alike. The minute you flex on it, it stops being a policy.

A template that works

That's it. Three sentences. Drop it on your booking page (Bookerva supports this in the merchant settings) and link to it from your IG bio.

Handling edge cases

Genuine emergencies

Death, hospital, hurricane — refund the deposit, and don't ask for proof. The cost of being wrong twice a year is much less than the goodwill of being right.

Repeat offenders

Bookerva tracks no-show count per customer. If someone hits three, switch them to full pre-pay only. Most adjust their behaviour after that.

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