Do you know what cancellations are actually costing you?
Not roughly. Not “quite a bit.” The actual number.
Most salon owners feel the pain of cancellations. They’re frustrating, they leave gaps in the schedule, and they mess with your day. But when we asked 228 salon owners and managers across Australia and New Zealand how much revenue they lose to cancellations and no-shows each year… almost none of them could tell us.
The average? Around $212,000 a year.
That’s not a figure designed to alarm you. That’s what the maths looks like when you add up every cancelled appointment, every no-show, every slot that didn’t get filled across a year.
And here’s the thing: most of that money doesn’t feel lost in the moment. A cancellation comes in, you sigh, you move on. It’s only when you add it all up that it starts to look like what it is. A significant chunk of revenue leaving your business, week after week.
Why most owners don’t know their number
It’s not because they don’t care. It’s because the data has never been easy to see.
In our survey, 24% of salon owners said they had no system at all for managing cancellations. 20% said they do nothing when a slot opens up. 47% post on social media and hope for the best.
None of those approaches tell you what you’re actually losing. They just help you feel like you’re doing something about it.
Your number is already there
If you’re a Kitomba customer, you don’t have to guess anymore. Your dashboard now includes a cancellations and no-shows panel that shows you:
- Total revenue lost to cancellations and no-shows in the last 30 days
- An estimated annual figure, based on your recent data
- How your no-show and cancellation counts compare to your own monthly average
- How much empty chair time those gaps added up to
It also surfaces some smart tips. Like whether deposits or cancellation fees could help reduce your rate, based on how your bookings are coming in.
For a lot of owners, seeing the number for the first time is a bit of a moment.
And there’s more coming
The dashboard is the start. We’re building Fully Booked. It’s an industry leading feature that will automatically reach out to fill those cancelled slots before they cost you anything. You can register your interest directly from the dashboard when you log in.
Log in and check your dashboard. Your number might surprise you.