as a part of the no-show fee, or the necessary data for directly charging his bank account by using a credit card.11 In the context of restaurant services, the no-show clause, as a penalty clause, is most commonly included in the general contract terms for the provision of services.12 The content of such penalty clause has thus been defined and declared in advance by the provider of restaurant services. The customer has actually taken the obligation from the penalty clause by accepting all general contract terms. No-show clauses are sometimes regulated by uniform conditions for the provision of hospitality services adopted by professional associations/ organisations representing hospitality industry (such as chambers of commerce, national associations of caterers, or similar organisations).13 General contract terms, and uniform conditions, determine the amount of the no-show fee, the preconditions for the customer’s obligation to pay that amount if not arriving at the restaurant in due time, as well as the method of charging no-show fees by the provider of services. Whatever is not expressly stipulated in the no-show clause is governed by the provisions of general contract law on penalty clauses. III. NO-SHOW CLAUSE AND CONSUMER PROTECTION 3.1. General All EU law rules on the protection of consumers in consumer contracts apply to consumer contracts on restaurant reservations. When a customer enters into a contract as consumer,14 and the provider of restaurant services as trader,15 11 See Baum, M.: o.c., p. 1702; Seidel, J.: o.c., p. 2799. 12 For German law see Seidel, J.: o.c. , p. 2798. 13 For example, see Arts 137, 138 Otkaz rezervacije usluge prehrane (Cancelling Reservation of Food Service), in Posebne uzance u ugostiteljstvu Hrvatske gospodarske komore (Special Usances in Hospitality Industry, Croatian Chamber of Economy) of 29/6/2023 (Official Gazette NN, No. 74/23). These special usances in hospitality industry lay down commercial customs and the basic guidelines for supplying hospitality services. They apply to contractual relations regarding hospitality services in economy (B2B contracts) and to other contracts on hospitality services (B2C contracts) only if the parties have contracted them. For example, see Art. 7, 12, 13, 14 et al . Uniform Conditions for the Hotel and Catering Industry, Version as of 2024 composed by Koninklijke Horeca Nederland, khn-uvh-engels-as-of-2024.pdf (accessed: 5/10/2025). 14 In EU law, consumer is a natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession (for example, see Art. 1/point 1, Directive 2011/83/EU on consumer rights, Art. 2/b, Directive 93/13/EEC of 5 April 1993 on unfair terms in consumer contracts, Art. 2/a, Unfair Commercial Practices Directive 2005/29/EC, et al). 15 In EU law, trader is any natural person, or any legal person irrespective of whether privately or publicly owned, who is acting, including through any other person acting in his name or on his behalf, for purposes relating to his trade, business, craft or profession in relation to contracts with consumers (for example, see Art. 1/point 1, Directive 2011/83/EU on consumer rights, Art. 2/c, Directive 93/13/EEC of 5 April 1993 on unfair terms in consumer con120 TATJANA JOSIPOVIĆ
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