Credit Card Guarantee of Restaurant Reservation

[itsjb1]

I have tried to make a reservation by email at Moo in Barcelona for dinner for 2 people. They have asked me to guarantee the reservation by providing them with my credit card information. Is this normal in Europe?

[CruisinGerman]

I live in Barcelona and I have never heard of guaranteeing a reservation in a restaurant with a credit card. It is customary to give a telephone number or the name of the hotel where you are staying.

 

If you have the concierge or front desk clerk of the hotel you are staying at make the reservation on your behalf, I'm sure they will have a way of doing so without giving your credit card number as a guarantee.

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

[carlmm]

Well, restaurants used not to ask for any guarantee besides sometimes your phone number.

Yet with increasing numbers of especially foreign tourist not showing up without cancelling early enough, some restaurants started to request a guarantee and to charge for absense.

The reason is obvious: Especially first class restaurants with a high number of staff and a small number of tables have a tight calculation and are really hurt by a reserved but empty table.

[Globaliser]

Is this normal in Europe?

I wouldn't say it's normal, but it is increasingly common.

 

Before giving your credit card number, make sure you find out from the restaurant exactly what their cancellation policy is: What is the cancellation deadline? What will you be charged if you cancel late or no show?

 

Exactly the same questions you'd ask of a hotel before giving a credit card number to guarantee a room, so no surprises there.

 

The upside of this practice is that it reduces a restaurant's need to overbook, which otherwise restaurants always have to do on busy nights.

[CruisinGerman]

This is curious indeed. I just called and made a restaurant in the same restaurant and all I did was leave my telephone number. Maybe because I'm local.

 

In any case, I still say you should ask your hotel to make the reservation for you and they probably won't ask for your credit card number (or you might even want to stay at the hotel OMM where the restaurant is located, since it gets pretty decent reviews and is not overly expensive).

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

[itsjb1]

Thank you all for your advice and input.

[itsjb1]

Thank you all for your advice and input.

[itsjb1]

Thank you all for your advice and input.