A no-show penalty is a consequence imposed by an airline, hotel, or car rental agency when a customer fails to show up for their reservation without canceling it in advance. For airlines, the penalty is often severe: if you "no-show" for the first leg of a flight, the airline will typically cancel all subsequent legs of your itinerary, including your return flight, without a refund. You may also forfeit the entire value of the ticket. For hotels, a no-show usually results in a charge for the first night's stay (plus taxes) or, in the case of "non-refundable" bookings, the loss of the entire payment. The "penalty" is designed to compensate the provider for the "lost opportunity" to sell that seat or room to someone else. To avoid this, it is critical to officially cancel your booking—even if it's just minutes before the scheduled time—as a "cancellation" (even with a fee) is almost always better than a "no-show," which typically voids all your rights to any remaining part of the service or any potential partial credit.