Every simulator bay that sits empty during a no-show is revenue you can’t get back. When we surveyed 40 Looper operators last quarter, the average venue was losing just over 11% of booked hours to no-shows — time that could’ve gone to a walk-in or a rebooking.
We rebuilt our reminder system from the ground up this spring. Here’s what changed, and what it did to no-show rates across the network.
What we changed
Instead of a single confirmation email at booking time, every reservation now gets a staged sequence:
- Instant confirmation with a one-tap reschedule link
- A 24-hour reminder text, timed to local hour
- A 2-hour reminder that includes bay number and door code
- An automatic waitlist release if no response 30 minutes out
“The 2-hour text alone cut our Friday-night no-shows in half. Guests just forget which bay they booked.”
The results
Across the 40 venues in the pilot, no-shows dropped from 11.2% to 6.7% of bookings over eight weeks — a 40% relative reduction. Waitlist fill rate on released slots rose from 22% to 61%, recovering roughly $1,800 in average monthly revenue per bay.
Staged reminders are rolling out to every Looper account this month. If you manage waitlists manually today, this is a good week to turn automation on.