How The Lemon Tree
reduced no-shows from 16% to 1.44% and secured $6,000 per week in deposits with FRANK
The Lemon Tree Curaçao had earned a reputation for exceptional dining. But behind the scenes,
high no-show rates and inflexible software were holding the business back.
-90%
no-shows
$6000/wk
in deposits secured
5 minutes
to migrate
Running a fine dining restaurant in a tourist destination comes with its own challenges. When no-show rates reached as high as 15-16%, The Lemon Tree owner Valentijn Bergers knew it was time to find a better way to protect revenue and create a smoother experience for guests.
Today, Valentijn operates several successful hospitality concepts, including The Lemon Tree and The Lemon Beach in Curaçao, where casual fine dining meets a luxury oceanfront beach club experience. He also owns The Lemon Tree in Deventer and is preparing to open his next restaurant.
Before switching to FRANK, he found himself dealing with complicated software, limited flexibility, and support that often wasn't there when he needed it.
From frustrating software to a system the whole team actually enjoys using
Before finding FRANK, Valentijn felt that his reservation software was creating more friction than it was removing.
The team struggled with the usability of the system, deposits didn't always work as intended, and creating a smooth reservation experience for arrangements on the website proved more difficult than it should have been.
Guests often had to click through multiple screens, certain tickets were difficult to link directly from the website, and support often wasn't readily available when issues arose.
"We're in hospitality ourselves, so being guest-focused comes naturally. When you work with a company that doesn't seem to share those same values, it starts to rub."
Why The Lemon Tree switched to FRANK
Like many restaurant owners, Valentijn wasn't necessarily looking for more features.
He wanted something simpler and more reliable. And most importantly: a partner that shared the same hospitality mindset.
From the first conversations, Valentijn felt that the FRANK team genuinely cared about the success of his restaurants. The system was intuitive from the get-go, and it was clear that FRANK wasn't just solving today's challenges, but building for the future of hospitality where guest data and AI will play an increasingly important role.
After exploring several options, choosing FRANK felt like the natural next step.
No-shows dropped from 16% to just 1.44%
Like many restaurants in tourist destinations, The Lemon Tree Curaçao faced a frustrating challenge: no-shows.
Guests would often make reservations at multiple restaurants and, after spending the day at the beach, spontaneously decide where they felt like dining that night. As a result, no-show rates regularly reached as high as 15-16%.
Today, that number sits at just 1.44%.
"That's a huge difference. For us, one seat can easily represent €300 for an evening, so you can imagine how much of a difference that makes."
Valentijn attributes the dramatic drop in no-shows to a combination of having a clear reservation journey, automated emails, and deposits.
Healthy cashflow thanks to deposits
Reducing no-shows wasn't the only benefit. Deposits also created something else: predictability.
Today, The Lemon Tree and The Lemon Beach in Curaçao collectively receive around $6,000 per week in deposits, which are paid out weekly. For Valentijn, that creates healthy cash flow and more financial certainty.
"The more guests book further in advance, the more deposits come in. I actually really like that because it gives me peace of mind."
Support that feels like hospitality
It wasn't just the system that made an impression, but the people behind it.
Even during the migration, it became clear how smoothly everything worked.
While switching reservation systems is often perceived as complicated, the process turned out to be surprisingly simple.
"We agreed on Monday at 3 PM, and I still don't understand how, but with one click everything was there: guests, reservations, email database, tickets and shifts. Within five minutes, everything was ready. We didn't have to do anything. It was unbelievable."
That same personal approach has remained ever since. Even while managing the restaurant from Curaçao, with a significant time difference, the FRANK team made themselves available whenever needed.
"Instead of being pointed to a help center article, someone says: 'Good afternoon Valentijn, great question, here's the answer.' That shows me they genuinely care about the entrepreneur and the restaurant."
Looking towards the future
As he prepares to open a new restaurant, Valentijn believes the future of hospitality is about much more than reservations.
It's about understanding your guests, recognizing patterns, and using technology to create better experiences.
"I think we never really learned how important guest data is. When do people visit? What can you anticipate? FRANK is looking ahead: AI, guest data, the future. I'm happy to be on that train."
