Two first hand examples how ghosting a possible vendor can hurt your business (it you are in a position of power) and your career.
First your business; we met with a company twice at the request of the owner. Each time was with a different point of contact. After going through the process those contacts ghosted us, and eventually left the company. The initial monthly savings was $450, the second time, $850 per month. The third meeting I told the owner I would only attend meetings with them present. Our third review generated over $3,700 per month in savings. A difference of $3,250 wasted per month in that ghosted time.
When a point of contact ghosts us we follow their LinkedIn profile going forward. We do this because if they are unprofessional enough not to respond they are most likely not handling their position well. Once they leave we always reach back out to a high level executive with a summary of preceding meetings and missed opportunities. When this happens we always generate a greater savings and solidify our value to the executive.
Your career: people talk, with LinkedIn its very easy to see who your potential interviewee is connected to. One of our larger clients reached out to us regarding a potential hire that we were connected with via LinkedIn This connection had ghosted us, after presenting a proposal of $2,500 per month in savings. When asked our opinion explained our dealings with them. Our client who was prepared to offer them a position decided to move on.