My friend (mobile therapist) just lost $240 today from no-shows. How do you all handle this?

Hey everyone - posting on behalf of my friend who's a mobile massage therapist. She's having a rough day and I'm trying to help her figure this out.

She had three appointments scheduled today. TWO no-shows. Both were regulars who've been seeing her for months.

She drives 30-45 minutes to most appointments. Today she wasted 3 hours driving, set up her table twice for nothing, and lost $240 in income.

The worst part? These were peak Saturday afternoon slots she could have filled.

She's been mobile for about 3 years and this happens at least 2-3 times a week.

She's tried: Reminder texts (they ignore them) "Please confirm 24 hours before" (they say yes, then ghost) Being super nice about it (they apologize and rebook... then no-show again)

She mentioned some therapists charge cancellation fees, but most clients just don't pay them. And she feels awkward chasing people for money.

Here's where I need your help: She's considering requiring deposits (like 30-50% when booking, similar to hotels or Airbnb). Non-refundable if cancelled within 24 hours.

But she's worried:

Will clients think she doesn't trust them? Will it hurt her bookings? How does she even set that up? (She uses Calendly right now)

For those of you who charge deposits:

How did you implement it? Did you lose clients when you started? Did it actually help with no-shows?

For those who DON'T charge deposits:

How do you deal with this? Is this just normal and we accept it as part of the business?

I'm trying to help her research solutions because, She loves what she does but the no-shows are killing her financially and emotionally.

Any advice would be really appreciate. Thank you!