Free template
Restaurant cancellation policy template
Ready-to-use cancellation policy wording (casual and formal), with cancellation windows, late-cancel fees and how to word the card-hold disclosure.
A cancellation policy answers two questions before the guest asks: until when is cancelling free, and what happens after that. Most restaurants set a window of 2 to 24 hours depending on how hard the table is to re-sell, and charge a late-cancel fee only inside that window.
Keep cancelling easy. A self-serve cancel link in the confirmation email fills more tables than a strict policy, because guests who cancel early give you time to re-book the slot.
Casual version
Need to change your plans? Cancel or move your reservation free up to [4] hours before your booking time, straight from the link in your confirmation email (no phone call needed). Inside [4] hours, we charge a late-cancellation fee of $[10] per guest, because the table is hard to re-fill on short notice. If you are running late, call us at [phone] and we will hold your table as long as we can.
Formal version
Reservations at [Restaurant Name] may be cancelled or amended without charge up to [24] hours prior to the booking time, using the manage link in your confirmation email or by telephone at [phone]. Cancellations made within [24] hours of the reservation, and reservations reduced in party size within that window, are subject to a fee of $[20] per affected guest, charged to the card on file. Tables are held for 15 minutes beyond the reserved time, after which the booking is treated as a no-show under our no-show policy.
Card-hold disclosure line
A card is required to complete this booking. Nothing is charged today; the card is only charged under our cancellation and no-show policy, shown above.
How to use this well
- Match the window to the table: 2 to 4 hours works for casual rooms with walk-in traffic; 24 to 48 hours for tasting menus and large formats you cannot re-sell.
- Cover party-size reductions, not just full cancellations. A 10-top arriving as 4 costs you six covers.
- Say what happens at the boundary: late arrival grace period, and when a late booking becomes a no-show.
- If you take deposits instead of holds, state whether the deposit transfers when a guest reschedules (it should).
Questions
Common questions
Between 2 and 24 hours for most rooms. The test: how much notice do you need to realistically re-sell the table? Casual rooms with walk-ins can run short windows; prix-fixe and large-format rooms need a day or two.
Want the system these templates plug into?
TableHelm is free for one location: booking page, floor plan, waitlist, guest book and email confirmations. The policies you just copied paste straight into it.