If a flight or a hotel is paid in advance, why can't the same thing happen with a restaurant? The reflection is made by the chef Paulo Airaudo, who has just been found right by a court in San Sebastián for having charged a client 510 euros for not showing up for a dinner whose reservation he did not cancel.
On the night of July 16, 2021, the Amelia restaurant, located on Paseo de La Concha in San Sebastián, which achieved its second Michelin star at the end of that year, was waiting for three diners who did not appear, so it charged the the person who had made the reservation the amount stipulated in his cancellation policy, which had been accepted by the client when he carried out the "online" procedure.
Airaudo remembers the conversation he had with the client when, on July 17, he tried to be assigned a table for that day, since he had delayed his visit to the city by 24 hours and thus also postponed his stay at the Hotel Villa Favorita , in whose building the restaurant is located, although the companies are different.
That person had notified the hotel establishment, but he assured that he forgot to do so to his restaurant and that he took "for granted" that they would notify the hotel.
The Argentine chef, who has settled in San Sebastián for five years, told him that both for dinner that day and for lunch on July 18, the place was full, so he offered the client a table at Amelia for fifteen days. later, but he rejected the proposal, Airaudo explained to EFE.
The man warned him that he would take the matter to court for having already charged the sum of the three covers -170 euros each- on his card without having enjoyed the service. Weeks later, the court's request arrived, the trial was held in December 2022 and in March of this year the sentence was handed down, a firm pronouncement that "entirely" dismissed the client's claim, a notary by profession.
The head of the Court of First Instance number 2 of San Sebastián highlights that the acceptance of the penalty clause for the event of the diner not showing up at the restaurant "was a 'sine qua non' requirement to make the reservation."
There it was said that cancellations were accepted without charge up to 72 hours before and "that any cancellation or modification after that time was subject to a fee of 170 euros per person."
"It is also a clause written in a simple way, easy to understand and with an unequivocal meaning (...) In any case, it exceeds the controls of incorporation and transparency, and it must also be appreciated that the client has the profession of notary", says the judge.
It takes for granted that on that date the average price per cover in Amelia was 287.77 euros, so the amount of the penalty is not disproportionate.
He affirms that the non-appearance of these three clients entailed "economic damage" for a business that "seeks excellence and distinction both in obtaining the raw material (lobster from Scotland or products originating in Japan -he gave as examples-), as well as in its preparation and subsequent presentation to the diner", points out the judge, who quotes the words of one of the managers of the restaurant who testified.
Paulo Airaudo remarks that he is not interested in "an empty table", that he "loses money". What he wants is to feed and fill the restaurant with him, although he assures that he has more incidents than he would like due to last-minute cancellations, although this is the first time that one has been resolved in court.
He comments that this past Wednesday it happened to him with a reservation for six people, who tried to change it the same day at two in the afternoon. "We are going to go very reluctantly, they told me when we told them that they could not make the change. The culprit in the end is me," he complains.
He regrets that sometimes the client forgets the damage he causes with his last-minute decisions and hopes that this ruling will help his colleagues to have no qualms about applying this type of cancellation policy in which everything is "well written".
"People are afraid of getting paid for their work," stresses this chef, who in the capital of Gipuzkoa has extended his gastronomic offer with other businesses and has restaurants in London, Barcelona and Hong Kong.
