The holidays are just around the corner, and that means a full house for those of us who own or manage a lodging facility. Daycare services are often in higher demand as well. By October, my facility is usually booked for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year. And there’s that wonderful late fall holiday: Fall Break. The kids started school in August, so around mid-October, they get a week off from school. That means road trip! That almost always equates to a full house for us.

It is a great feeling to look at your lodging book (yes, I still use a “for real” book!) and see every slot filled. You almost want to add up the numbers (money) right now, but there’s a reason for the saying, “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.” The inevitable will happen. Ms. Smith with the four Labs is a no-show. Did I mention Ms. Smith’s Labs always stay in separate luxury suites? Let’s count them: four open luxury suites. Of course she had reserved four luxury suites beginning Christmas Eve through January 2nd!

I love to visit and chat with other groomers, lodging facility owners, and doggie daycare operators. (Folks, if you don’t go to seminars or trade shows, shame on you. You’re missing a wonderful opportunity to network within the industry and gather so much helpful information.) By virtue of being blessed enough to often be a speaker, I’m asked lots of questions on a variety of topics. Over and over in both the grooming and lodging industry, I’m asked, “How do you handle no-shows?”

I’ve been in this industry since the late ‘90s. (Yes, that’s right. I was about 5 years old when I started! NOT!) The industry has changed and grown so much since then. We’ve worked hard to prove we’re pet care professionals. Our facilities are, for the most part, very modern with lots of amenities. I personally have seen lodging and daycare facilities that were nicer than lots of childcare facilities (for the two-legged kids). This got me to thinking about how childcare centers handled their no-shows.

I began grooming many years ago and struggled with how to handle no-shows. For several years, I’ve had a no-show policy that works well for me as far as grooming is concerned. I finally instituted some policies for the lodging side of my business about five years ago. There’s no perfect way to handle no-shows, but let’s look at some options.

I always make reminder calls the day before to my grooming clients. Why it took me so long to do the same for the lodging clients, I know not. (We call three to four days before their stay is to begin for the lodging side.) I’m a small facility, so calling works well for us. If you’re too big for calling to be feasible, there’s texting or emails. I like to call so I know I either spoke with them or left a message. I indicate this on the books, so we know whether we spoke to them (x) or left a message (LM). By the way, if they have more than one phone number, I leave messages on both numbers. Is it a foolproof method? Nope, but it sure helps.

If I call and Mr. Frugal says, “Oh, we got the neighbors to watch the dogs. I was going to call you and cancel,” I at least have the chance to fill that opening. I also note that conversation on his card (you know, the real paper card). If this happens again, I very politely explain to Mr. Frugal our lodging policy. If he cancels again at the last minute, he’ll have to come in and prepay the entire stay before he can book again. I also let him know it is a nonrefundable payment. I take the time to assure him we value him as a “member of our family,” and then I explain how his last-minute cancellations affect our bottom line.

I had one client who would call and book four- to seven-day stays for his two large dogs well in advance and then call and move the dates around at least twice. Because he was a friend of a friend and new in town, I bent over backwards to try and accommodate this guy. He did lodge with us infrequently for about a year and a half, and then he would go through the same routine of moving dates. During the reminder call, he stated, “Oh, those were just tentative dates. I didn’t mean for sure.” I restated the lodging policy and the scenario repeated itself. When he called the next time and was informed he would have to prepay, let’s just say he was offended. Did I lose a client? Yes, one that cost me money. It was past time to lose that client. By the way, this was the same client who sent long-stem matches with instructions to insert one into his dogs’ rectums to help them “go poo.”

Reminder calls and prepaying help cut down on no-shows. However, no one rule fits every situation. Dogs or people do get sick, travel plans get changed or cancelled, and deaths in the family do occur. However, if Granny dies three times in one year, you still have to prepay. I make notes on the client’s card when they no-show or cancel stating the reason. If it’s a first-time offense with a legitimate reason, well, life does happen. One of our clients has a very sick child, and their trip plans often change. That I can live with.

So someone cancelled at the last minute. What now? We usually have a waiting list of folks who are hoping to get a suite. This helps to fill those spots. Occasionally we’ll have a last minute cancellation or no-show, but it’s rare.

What about daycares? I only have a set number of suites for daycare guests. The majority of my daycare “family” buys packages of 10, 20, or 30 days. Those that don’t come every day have set days typically two or three days a week. Those days are set aside for them, so I know how many are coming each day. I’ve had very few problems with guests that don’t show up for daycare.

I spoke with one daycare owner whose policy is similar to a childcare facility’s policy. Let’s say you buy a three-day-a-week package and only come two days. That extra day is not transferrable to the next week. You’ve paid for it whether you choose to use it or not. She said it works great for her.

Reminder calls, prepay policies, and keeping good records that indicate who might be a problem all work together to help eliminate those nasty dollar-stealing no-shows. In the future, we’ll discuss how to deal with destructive dogs in the kennel/lodging facility.

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