Card Guarantees: Zero-Commission No-Show Protection for Greek Restaurants

A card guarantee means the diner books for free but saves a card when reserving. Nothing is charged if they show up. If the restaurant marks a no-show, a clearly disclosed €10 fee is charged. This creates commitment without making booking expensive, and the restaurant pays no per-cover commission.

In July and August, many tourists hold bookings at several restaurants and choose one at the last minute. An empty table on a sunset terrace is revenue that cannot be recovered that night.

Cancellation policies written on a website rarely change behaviour, because nothing happens if the guest ignores them.

1. The guest picks a time and saves a card through secure EU payment processing. The booking itself is free.

2. If the guest arrives, nothing is charged.

3. If the guest does not show up, the restaurant marks a no-show in the dashboard and the €10 fee is charged once.

The fee is shown clearly before the guest confirms, so there are no surprises or awkward phone calls.

Large reservation marketplaces often charge restaurants a monthly subscription plus a fee per seated guest. Woltaro charges restaurants nothing for reservations, so protection against no-shows does not eat into your margin.

Keep a waitlist for cancellations, confirm large groups, and use the free no-show calculator to see how much empty tables cost you each season.