Glossary
No-show rate
Routinely a fifth to a third, and highest on the busy days that matter most.
The no-show rate is the share of bookings that are made and then not used, measured by comparing the booking record against what was actually observed in the space. It is commonly between a fifth and a third, and it is highest on the busiest days — exactly when a desk or room released in time is worth the most.
Also called Ghost bookings, Booking waste
How it is calculated
No-show rate = bookings not used ÷ bookings made × 100
- Bookings not used
- Reservations with no observed use during the booked window.
- Bookings made
- All reservations for the period, including those cancelled after the release window closed.
Expressed as A percentage of bookings, over a stated period.
The range quoted here is what these measurement rounds have found. It is not a published sector benchmark — no Dutch one exists — and it should be measured in the building rather than assumed from it.
Worked example: one week of desk bookings
- Bookings made
- 1,840
- With no observed use
- 497
- No-show rate, week average
- 27%
- No-show rate, Tuesday
- 31%
On the busiest day of the week, roughly one desk in three that was reserved sat empty.
That is not a supply problem. Every one of those desks was available to someone who was told the building was full.
Where it goes wrong
Treating it as a supply shortage
A building that appears full at the point of booking and half empty in observation does not need more desks. It needs the bookings it already has to be released.
Measuring against the calendar alone
A booking system can only see itself. The no-show rate is the difference between what it recorded and what was observed, so it needs both.
Reporting a weekly average
The average hides the days the problem costs something. Tuesday and Wednesday are the days worth reporting separately.
Where this measurement decides something
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