Are Idaho Restaurants Right Or Wrong For Charging Reservation Fees?

Social media is one of the most common ways to solicit opinions or gauge how wrong or right something is. Recently, a post in a popular Boise food group on Facebook sparked a debate that has the town talking. Naturally, we want to know what you think.

Should Idaho Restaurants Charge Reservation Fees?

We get it, this isn't a new concept but some people feel like these fees can be excessive. We came across one post in that Boise Facebook group asking about a popular local spot requiring a $25 per person reservation fee.

"This seems...insane? Right?"

Well, what do you think? Is $25 too much to charge for a reservation?

Here is what people in the Boise area are saying...

The general consensus seems to be that reservation fees are good for the industry. If you've ever worked in a restaurant like some of us, you understand the frustration of a large party booked in your section canceling on short notice or even with no notice at all.

Some large parties are even assigned to the restaurant's more adept server (or servers, if it's large enough) ahead of time and that could be their only job of the night.

And why not?

Large parties usually come with a gratuity tip and many will even tip on top of that. That can be the whole night for some servers and if that's abruptly taken away, it can throw off the whole night for that server banking on making money.

Then you have the prep that kitchen workers put in leading up to service time. If they're prepping large quantities of popular items that are expected to be ordered that night, that prep ends up being for nothing.

So... what do you think? Is it right or wrong for restaurants to charge a reservation fee? Let us know your thoughts HERE.