Glossary

Walk-in

What is a walk-in?

A walk-in is a guest who arrives without a reservation. Healthy rooms usually run a deliberate mix: reservations guarantee a base of covers, walk-ins fill the gaps, absorb no-shows and keep the bar alive. Some operators hold a share of tables for walk-ins even on booked nights, both for regulars and because a visible queue markets the room. The walk-in's enemy is the fully committed book with a no-show problem: tables sit empty "waiting" while real guests are turned away, which is exactly the failure a card-hold policy and a live waitlist fix. Track your walk-in share by service; it should be a choice, not an accident.