No-show diners cost Butterflies in Blaenavon thousands

Dayne Watkins is the head chef and owner at Butterflies Bar and Kitchen, which is a must-visit for foodies both local and from further afield,

So much so, that back in February, Butterflies was featured in our list of the best places to get a Sunday roast across the region.

However, things haven't all been positive in recent times, with Mr Watkins explaining the damage no-show diners can do to a business such as Butterflies.

"Since the Covid pandemic we’ve operated a strict policy of charging guests for no shows," he said.

Dayne Watkins, owner of Butterflies (Image: UGC)

"The charge is £10pp. While this has halved the amount of no shows, it is still a problem for us."

Just this week, bookings for two tables of two, a table of three, and a table of four failed to turn up - all on one night.

"If a guest has the decency to cancel beforehand we never, ever charge them," Mr Watkins said.

"We only ever charge if they physically fail to show up."

No-shows are especially frustrating for Butterflies when viewed alongside the struggle other diners have to even secure a table.

Butterflies in Blaenavon (Image: Google Streetview)

"We have a three-month waiting list for weekend tables as we are currently fully booked on weekends until November and weeknights are fully booked until mid-September," Mr Watkins said.

"We are one of the most popular and busiest restaurants in South Wales and welcome customers and tourists from all over the world.

"We are currently serving more than 110 guests every single evening and are turning away hundreds of bookings every week.

"We often have people begging us for tables that we physically can’t fit in."

Mr Watkins explained that, on average, Butterflies suffers from around 20 no-shows every week.

"It probably costs us on average of a £1,000 in lost revenue," he said.

To make matters worse, when the restaurant try to implement their no-show charge, the card details added online are often false.

This has a knock-on effect to staff too, with no-shows often resulting in staff being home early and a loss of wages for that individual.

"If the people that fail to show up had the common courtesy to cancel their table we could give it to someone else," Mr Watkins said.

"There are many avenues to cancel tables - email, Facebook, phone or even via the booking app that they booked with."