The deposit system

The single most effective tool for preventing no-shows is financial accountability.

• Have buyers pay a $500 deposit that they get back if they attend X% of meetings
• This one mechanism changes behavior dramatically — skin in the game matters
• Make the refund policy clear and easy to understand upfront

Enforce during the show

• Make your sellers do the walking and keep your buyers at the tables
• Have people regularly checking to see if buyers are leaving
• Have everyone give feedback on their meetings
• Work to aggressively weed out no-shows — don't show up? No more freebies.

The 1–5% rule

A small minority of bad actors no-show repeatedly. They're not worth the damage they cause to everyone else's experience. Weed out the 1–5% of no-shows. Identify them and remove them permanently.

Post-show accountability

• Anyone who no-showed — no exceptions, no second chances at the next event
• Buyers who tried to sell to sellers instead of buying — removed
• Big brands leveraging their logo for free flights with no purchasing intent — removed
• The "scan so I can say I was here" types who never follow up — removed