Blog
How to reduce no-shows and last-minute cancellations
In short
Clients most often miss an appointment because they forget it, or because something comes up and cancelling by phone is awkward. Both have a simple answer. Right after booking, send a written confirmation with the exact time, the address and the service. Send a reminder the day before the appointment and, if you like, one hour before as well. According to a 2013 Cochrane review, for healthcare appointments 78.6% of those who got an SMS reminder attended, compared with 67.8% without a reminder. Make cancelling possible with one click, because a client who can cancel easily will let you know, and someone else can still book the freed-up slot.
Set a cancellation deadline, for example 24 hours, and put it in the confirmation too. For longer services, a longer deadline is worth it. If the cancelled slot goes straight back onto the booking page, a cancellation does not become a loss. Note the clients who regularly miss appointments on their client profile, and confirm with them before their next booking. These steps cost nothing, and in an online booking system most of them work by themselves once set up, for every booking.
Why do clients miss appointments?
The most common reason is that they forget. The second is that something comes up, and phoning to cancel is awkward, so they would rather say nothing. Both have a simple answer.
The third reason is booking far ahead. Someone who books six weeks in advance is sure of it when booking, less so on the day. The further away the appointment, the more important the reminder.
What does a missed appointment cost?
Work it out with your own numbers. The price of a missed appointment is the fee for the service, which you can no longer sell that day, plus the preparation: the mixed colour, the tools laid out, the booked court. If two clients a week miss a HUF 12,000 service, that is a loss of more than a hundred thousand forints a month.
This number helps you decide how much is worth spending on prevention. A paid reminder or a stricter cancellation rule is worth it if it costs less than the loss it prevents.
Immediate confirmation
After booking, the client should get a written confirmation with the exact time, the address and the service. If they also put it in their calendar, they are less likely to forget it.
Put in the confirmation what the client needs to know: where to park, which doorbell to ring, what to bring, and until when they can cancel. If these are in the email, you also get fewer questions by phone.
A reminder before the appointment
The reminder should arrive the day before the appointment or a few hours before it. A short email is enough: when, where, and how to cancel if they cannot come after all.
The best data on how much it matters comes from healthcare. A 2013 Cochrane review analysed eight randomised trials with 6,615 participants. 78.6% of those who got an SMS reminder attended their appointment, compared with 67.8% of those without a reminder. Reminder phone calls had a similar effect (80.3%), but cost more. There is no such measurement for salons, and the review rates the evidence as of low or moderate quality, but the direction of the effect is clear: people who get a reminder forget less often.
The two times do different things. The 24-hour reminder still leaves time to cancel, so the slot can be given to someone else. The reminder one hour before saves those who know about the appointment but forgot to set off.
Make cancelling easy
It seems contradictory, but easy cancellation reduces losses. If clients can cancel with one click, they will let you know, and someone else can still book the slot. If they had to phone, many would simply not turn up.
Cancellation deadline
Set a deadline, for example 24 hours before the appointment, and put it in the confirmation. After the deadline, the client cannot cancel online, and they see that it matters to you.
The length of the deadline depends on your service. A short barber appointment can be given to someone else within a few hours; a three-hour colouring or an evening court is harder. For longer services, a longer deadline is worth it.
Fill the freed-up slots again
A cancellation is only a loss if the slot stays empty. If the cancelled appointment goes straight back onto the booking page, clients who happen to be looking can book it. This is why it matters that cancelling happens online: a cancellation phoned in has to be deleted by you, by hand, and until then nobody sees the free slot.
It is also worth setting the minimum notice for a booking. If the minimum notice is too long, nobody can book a freshly freed afternoon slot that day; if it is too short, a client may arrive before you can prepare for them.
Watch for repeat cases
If someone regularly does not turn up, note it on their client profile. At their next booking you can decide to confirm with them in advance.
If you also ask for a phone number when booking, a short call can confirm the uncertain appointments. You do not need to do this with every client, only with those who have already missed one.
In FoglalGo
The confirmation email with a cancellation link comes with every plan. The reminder email is available from the Pro plan: one goes out 24 hours before the appointment, the other one hour before, and each can be switched off separately. You set the cancellation deadline, the minimum notice and whether the phone number is required in the booking rules. A cancelled slot goes straight back into the online offer. FoglalGo does not send SMS.
Sources
- Gurol-Urganci I. et al.: Mobile phone messaging reminders for attendance at healthcare appointments. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2013 (PubMed): attendance rates with and without reminders
- The same review in full text (PubMed Central): the number of studies and participants
Last checked: 12 October 2026