Restaurant booking deposits: card guarantee, prepaid seats, or neither
Three different things get called a deposit, and they don't behave the same way. Here is what each one does, which bookings it fits — and what it costs you.
- Normal table: a card is saved, nothing is charged
- Fixed sitting: the seat is paid for up front
- The money is paid straight to you
On a normal table Goboblo takes no deposit up front: the guest saves a card when booking, nothing is charged, and you take a per-guest fee only if the party doesn't show and didn't cancel. If you need the money before the night, sell seats to a fixed sitting at a price per seat instead. Whatever the guest pays inside the dining room is rung up in your own register, exactly as it is today.
- Card guarantee on a normal table
- Prepaid seats on a fixed sitting
- Paying in your own register
- You choose the amount and the cut-off
- 0 from Goboblo on a no-show charge
Which one fits the booking in front of you?
Choose by how committed you are before the guest arrives. If you have bought nothing special, a card guarantee is enough. If food and staff are already booked for a fixed sitting, take the money for the seat up front. The bill in the room stays where it is.
| Method | What the guest does at booking | When money moves | What Goboblo takes | Use it when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Card guarantee on a normal table | Saves a card — pays nothing | Only if the party doesn't show and didn't cancel | 0 | Large parties and guests who have no-showed before |
| Prepaid seat | Pays the full seat price by card | At the moment of booking | 3% on the seat portion (add-ons excluded) | Fixed sittings: tasting menus, wine nights, set feasts |
| Paying on the night | Nothing — just books the table | At the visit, in the room | Nothing — it runs through your register | Ordinary à la carte |
Your payment provider's card fee applies on top whenever money actually moves, in both card cases. The figures in the table are Goboblo's share and nothing else.
The guest leaves a card — you only charge if nobody arrives
Switch the card guarantee on and the guest saves a card inside the booking. Nothing is charged at booking. If the party doesn't show and didn't cancel, you can take a fee per guest at the amount you typed in yourself. You connect payouts once; after that it is a setting you run from the app.
- Nothing is charged at booking — the guest pays zero to reserve
- You set the amount per guest and the party size the requirement starts at
- No fee from Goboblo; the card fee applies only on an actual charge
- The money is paid straight to you, never through Goboblo
When the food is bought before the guest walks in
A tasting menu, a wine night, a quiz evening: the sitting has a fixed time, a fixed price and a fixed number of seats. Set it up as an experience with a price per seat, and the guest pays the full price by card when the seat is booked. The seat count holds, so the night cannot be oversold.
- The guest pays the full price by card when the seat is booked
- You set price per seat, number of seats and how long the sitting runs
- The guest can cancel or move to another sitting up to a cut-off you choose
- Goboblo takes 3% on the seat portion (add-ons excluded); the money lands in your own account
What the guest pays in the room belongs in your register
Goboblo takes money at a distance: the booking, seats on a sitting, gift cards and Order & collect. The bill a guest settles while sitting in your dining room is rung up in your own register. We do not build ordering and paying at the table, and that is a deliberate choice.
- Bookings, prepaid seats, gift cards and Order & collect run in Goboblo
- The bill in the room runs through your register, exactly as today
- Guests can view the menu on their phone via QR — the order goes to your staff
Setting the rules on a normal table
The whole card guarantee is four fields in settings. You change nothing in the booking flow — the guest meets the requirement only when your rule catches the booking.
-
Connect payouts
The card guarantee needs payouts connected, otherwise there is no account to pay into. You do it once, and the setting then shows “Payouts connected”.
-
Turn on the card at booking
The toggle reads “Ask the guest to save a card when they book”. The guest enters card details in the booking flow and pays nothing to reserve.
-
Set the amount and the party size
Type the amount per guest and the party size the requirement starts at. The weekday two-top is then left alone, while the party of twelve leaves a card.
-
Decide what guest history means
Enter how many previous no-shows should always require a card, whatever the party size. Leave the field empty and that rule is off, so regulars are never asked.
A card guarantee does not do the job alone
Most people who fail to turn up forgot the table; they did not decide to skip it. A confirmation at booking, a reminder before the sitting and a cancel link the guest can actually be bothered to tap carry most of the load. The card guarantee is there for the parties where an empty night costs the most, and a waitlist refills the seat that gets released anyway. The full walkthrough sits in the guide on how to reduce restaurant no-shows.
Goboblo's share, figure by figure
A deposit on everything, or a card where the risk sits
Same goal, two completely different nights in the dining room. The difference is not how hard you push — it is who meets the requirement.
- Even the Tuesday two-top has to pay before it can book
- Guests call to chase a refund after cancelling
- Staff keep track of who paid and who didn't
- Booking volume drops on the services that were already thin
- A card is saved only for large parties and previous no-showers
- Nothing is charged at booking, so there is nothing to refund
- The amount and the party size live in a setting, not in someone's head
- The everyday booking stays exactly as it was
Four mistakes that cost you bookings
- Asking every guest for a card. A requirement on every booking scares off people who would never have failed to show. Aim it at large parties and at guests who have no-showed before.
- Setting an amount you would never charge. A scary number you have no intention of taking protects nothing. Pick a level you will actually use and write it into your booking terms.
- Taking prepayment on ordinary à la carte. Prepayment belongs to sittings where the food and the staffing are already bought. A normal table is fine with a card guarantee.
- Forgetting the way out. A guest who cannot find the cancel button simply fails to turn up. The card requirement only bites if the guest had an easy way to hand the table back in time.
What operators ask about deposits
Is anything charged when a guest books a table?
No. The guest saves a card inside the booking and pays nothing to book. You can charge a per-guest fee only if the party doesn't show and didn't cancel. That is the difference from a classic deposit: the money stays with the guest until the table sits empty.
How much should a restaurant deposit be?
You choose the amount yourself, and it is counted per guest. Set it against what an empty table actually costs you that night, not against what feels strict — an amount you would never charge protects nothing. The demo venue in the screenshots uses 150 per guest in its own currency. Put the figure in your booking terms so the guest sees it before booking.
Can I require a card only on Friday nights?
No. The rules run on party size and on guest history, not on a particular service or weekday. You set the party size the card requirement starts at, and how many previous no-shows always trigger it. If you want the money up front on one specific night, turn that night into a fixed sitting with a price per seat instead.
Who gets the money if we charge a no-show?
You do. It is paid straight into your own account through your own card connection, never through Goboblo, and Goboblo takes no fee on a no-show charge. Your payment provider's card fee applies only if you actually charge — if nothing happens, the feature costs nothing.
What does it cost to keep the card guarantee switched on?
Nothing beyond the booking itself. The card guarantee is a setting inside booking, not a separate subscription. Booking is free for up to 25 bookings a month per venue, no card and no time limit, and then $29 a month for unlimited bookings.
Do deposits put guests off booking?
A blanket requirement does — the Tuesday two-top leaves the page. A requirement that only applies to large parties and to guests who have no-showed before never touches everyday bookings. The guest who meets it is the one booking twelve seats on a Saturday, and there a saved card is rarely what decides it.
Both routes sit in the same system
The card guarantee is a setting inside Goboblo's restaurant reservation software, not a separate subscription: connect payouts, set the amount and the cut-off, save. Prepayment lives on the other side of the same system — that is restaurant event booking, with a fixed price per seat, protection against overselling and a guest list per sitting. The figures on this page come from the demo venue; set your own before you switch anything on.
Want to see what the card guarantee looks like to a guest?
Book a short demo and we'll walk through the card guarantee on a normal table, prepaid seats, and exactly where the line to your own register sits — using your numbers.