Overview

A no-show occurs when a guest does not arrive on their scheduled check-in date and does not contact the property to cancel or reschedule. Marking a booking as a no-show is a necessary housekeeping step that frees up the room for other guests and applies the appropriate financial penalty based on your cancellation policy.

No-shows are different from cancellations. A cancellation is initiated by the guest (or staff on the guest’s behalf) before the arrival date, and the cancellation policy determines the penalty based on how much advance notice was given. A no-show is recorded after the fact when the guest simply does not show up, and it typically carries a stricter penalty — often the full first night’s charge or a higher percentage of the total booking.

When to Mark a No-Show

You should mark a booking as a no-show when:

• The guest’s check-in date has passed and they have not arrived
• The guest has not contacted the property to cancel or reschedule
• You have made reasonable attempts to reach the guest (if your property’s policy requires this)

:::tip Many properties wait until the end of the check-in day or early the next morning before marking no-shows. This gives late-arriving guests a chance to show up or call. Establish a consistent cutoff time with your team so no-shows are handled uniformly. :::

Requirements

• The booking must be in Confirmed status — only confirmed bookings can be marked as no-shows
• Pending bookings should be cancelled instead, since they were never confirmed
• Bookings that are already Checked In, Checked Out, or Cancelled cannot be marked as no-shows
• You cannot mark a booking as a no-show before its scheduled check-in date

Steps

1. Open Bookings from the sidebar
2. Filter by Confirmed status and look for bookings with a check-in date of today or earlier
3. Click the booking to open its detail page
4. Click the No-Show button
5. A confirmation dialog will explain the consequences of this action
6. Click Confirm to proceed

The booking status changes to No-Show immediately.

What Happens When You Mark a No-Show

Inventory Is Restored

The room type’s availability for the no-show booking’s dates is restored, just like a cancellation. Those dates become available for new bookings right away.

Cancellation Penalty Applies

Your property’s cancellation policy determines the financial penalty for no-shows. Since a no-show is essentially a same-day cancellation (or later), it almost always falls in the strictest penalty tier. Common no-show penalties include:

• First night charge — the guest is charged for one night
• Full stay charge — the guest is charged for the entire booking
• Percentage penalty — a percentage of the total booking amount

See Cancellation Policies for details on configuring no-show penalties.

:::info Vesta adjusts the booking’s folio so the total reflects the no-show penalty (free, partial, late, or no-show tier). If the guest already paid more than the penalty amount, Vesta records a refund amount for staff to process. :::

The Booking Is Finalized

No-Show is a terminal status. Once marked, the booking cannot be reverted to Confirmed, Checked In, or any other status. The booking remains in the system for record-keeping and reporting.

:::warning This action cannot be undone. Before marking a no-show, double-check that the guest has not arrived and that the booking is not being confused with another reservation. If a guest arrives after being marked as a no-show, you will need to create a new booking for them. :::

No-Show vs. Cancellation

:::permissions Required permission: bookings:delete

This is the same permission used for cancelling bookings, since both are terminal actions that finalize a booking. :::

Related Articles

• Cancelling a Booking — for guests who cancel before arrival
• Viewing Booking Details — review booking details before marking no-show
• Cancellation Policies — configure no-show penalty rules
• Checking In a Guest — the normal arrival flow for guests who do show up
• Creating a Booking — rebook if a no-show guest contacts you later