Catering Calculations: A Complete Guide From Guest Count to Servers

Executive summary

• Appropriate catering staffing calculations are important for meeting guest demand and providing a seamless, quality experience.
• Staffing calculations depend on the type of event you hold and how many guests you expect so you have an adequate staff-to-guest ratio.
• You can calculate your catering staffing needs by starting with the minimum ratio and scaling that number by the number of guests you expect.
• Maintain flexibility in your catering staffing by following up with guests and using staffing technology to meet demand.

Catering staffing guide

Catering teams need to be equipped to rise up and meet guest demand to foster a positive experience and ensure event success. Staffing guidelines for catering events will depend on the type of event you’re hosting and the number of guests expected to attend.

Having the right number of personnell and the appropriate roles filled will ensure balance for your event. You can prepare for success by taking steps to anticipate an accurate guest count and using resources to find staff members to serve them.

Every event is different, but having a roadmap for determining a successful staff-to-guest ratio will give you a strong foundation to start from. This catering staffing guide unpacks how you can determine the right staffing needs for your event so you can create the best possible guest experience.

Understanding catering staffing needs

Accurate staffing calculations are essential for finding the right balance for your event and meeting guest expectations. Catering staff is responsible for creating a seamless experience for guests, so it’s important to prevent lags in service or poor quality of food.

However, catering staffing is a difficult balancing act because you also want to be mindful of efficiency. Although more staff is often better for the guest experience, you don’t want to overdo it and end up having more staff than necessary by budgeting for roles that aren’t essential.

Some of the factors that influence staffing requirements include:

• Guest count
• Service style
• Menu complexity
• Seating arrangements
• Venue layout
• Event length

How to calculate guest count for catering

Accurately calculating guest count is the first step to understanding your staffing needs. Having a strong strategy for understanding guest count is crucial for determining the right number of staff to meet guest demand and ensure your guests’ needs are met.

To calculate your guest count, you should:

• Request RSVPs – Ask clients to request and share RSVPs so that you have an accurate picture of the number of guests you’ll need to serve going in.
• Use event planning tools – Online tools and software like Eventbrite can help you anticipate the number of guests planning to attend your event by having guests RSVP and sending important reminders in advance of the event.
• Utilize historical data – Tools like Caterease and Tripleseat can help you track and analyze historical event data to not only show you how many guests you served at your previous events but also give you a picture of the staff ratio you had to serve them.

Even with a working guest count, it’s unlikely to have a perfect estimate. You should factor in buffer amounts so that you are not caught off-guard. Anticipate a slightly higher number of guests than the RSVP states.

Determining server-to-guest ratio

An effective server-to-guest ratio will ensure that you have the right support on-hand to meet guest demand and desires. This ratio will also be essential for ensuring your staff is adequately supported and preventing burnout.

There is no perfect server-to-guest ratio for all catering events. The roles and quantity needed will vary depending on the type of event. For example, a sit-down dinner event will require a greater number of servers going from table to table, whereas a buffet-style event may need just a few servers at the serving station.

If there will be additional offerings, like a bar for example, you will also need a bartender or two and a barback ready to serve guests. For larger events, it can also be helpful to have a manager or staff captain available to provide guidance and game planning in real time. To calculate the right ratio, you can use the number of guests you anticipate through your data collection and multiply by minimum staffing ratios.

Determining ratios for each event

From a buffet with an open bar to a sit-down dinner with multiple courses, different events have different demands. The style of your catering event is the most significant influence on how many staff members you need to take care of the various responsibilities. Each event type will have a minimum necessary staffing ratio.

Sit-down dinners

Sit-down dinners with guests seated at tables will require servers to walk around to reach guests where they are at and deliver their food. Servers will also be needed to carry around pitchers of water or other beverages depending on the event. Then, you’ll need bussers available to come grab plates after guests finish their meals so the space remains orderly.

For sit-down dinners, you will also need to consider these factors:

• If there are multiple courses involved, you’ll need enough bussers to come in and grab plates in between courses and ensure all spaces are cleared in time for guests to enjoy the next course.
• If you provide guests with options to choose from, you’ll need a greater number of servers to go around and take orders, but if everyone receives the same meal, you’ll only need servers to pass out food.

At a minimum, the ideal ratio for a standard, single-course sit-down dinner is 1 server and 1 busser for every 25 guests. Assuming a table seats 8 people, this equates to about 1 server for every 3 tables.

Cocktail events

Catering cocktail events often involves servers walking around to reach guests with trays of hors d’oeuvres. Because tray pass service is less of a main staple and more of a supplement to an event, cocktail events will generally have a lower lift on your staff.

Still, you’ll need enough personnel to walk around with trays and ensure each guest is accommodated. You will also need a staffer to prepare the food and ensure presentation before the food goes out to guests. If food trays are left at a serving table, then it will involve even less lift from your staff overall, but you will need a runner to restock as plates run out.

The ideal ratio is 1 server and 1 food prepper for every 25 guests. Hors d’oeuvres can be easy for people to keep on grabbing, so you should consider having additional support if you expect a large influx of people.

Buffet style service

A buffet-style event won’t need servers to go table to table as event attendees will be able to serve themselves. However, the event will need an adequate number of servers to assist guests in the buffet line or serve them in line, depending on your preference. Then you’ll need runners to switch out dishes as items run out so that the line keeps flowing smoothly. In many cases, servers can fill this role if guests serve themselves.

Buffet events will still include seating, so a busser will be necessary to support guests after they finish their meals and need their tables cleared.

The ideal ratio for a buffet-style event is 1 server or runner for every three dishes and 1 busser for every 25 guests.

Bar service

Bar service can be a fun addition to any event, but it will require its own staff to keep it running smoothly. Of course, the foundation will be a skilled bartender or mixologist to serve guests their favorite drinks.

Bartenders cannot leave their station during the event, so you’ll need a barback to support them. Without a barback, used glasses can pile up quickly, throw off the bartender’s flow, and prevent you from serving clients, so don’t overlook this important support role.

Not every guest will end up using the bar, so you have a bit greater margin for error in your staff-to-guest ratio here. The ideal ratio for bar service is 1 bartender for every 50 guests and 1 barback for every 2 bartenders.

Staffing needs for different guest counts

After gaining a picture of the minimum staff needed to serve a certain number of guests, you can start to scale up from there. Understanding how to calculate your staffing needs based on different guest counts will keep you a step ahead.

How many servers for 100 guests

Once you know your minimum ratios, it’s all about math. Based on the ideal ratios for each event type discussed above, you can simply scale up by multiplying by the number of guests to get to 100.

For example, if you know you need 1 server for every 25 guests, you know that 100 is 4 times higher than 25, so you need 4 times as many servers.

You can do this math backwards to find your necessary staff using simple division in this equation:

Necessary staff = Number of expected guests ÷ Number of guests per 1 staff member

Following the same example, the minimum number of servers necessary for a sit-down event is 1 per 25 guests. If you have a 100-person event, you will need to divide 100 by 25, which will yield 4 servers needed for the event.

Using these metrics, a good rule of thumb for an event serving 100 people would be to have the following staffing numbers for each position at a minimum:

• Sit-down dinners – You should have 4 servers and 4 bussers for 100 guests.
• Buffet style – For a buffet-style event serving 100 attendees, you should have 4 servers and 4 bussers.
• Cocktail style – For a cocktail event with 100 guests, you will need 4 servers and 4 food preparers.
• Bar service – You will need 2 bartenders and 1 barback to serve 100 guests.

Minimum staffing ratios for various guest numbers

Keep in mind that these numbers are minimums, so you may feel it’s a good idea to expand on these based on your unique expectations and on-the-ground experience. For example, if you know your clientele will favor hors d’oeuvres more than sit-down dishes, you can potentially decrease the number of dishes and servers needed to distribute them. You will also have a better gauge of whether you should anticipate more or fewer guests than RSVPed.

For events with 100 guests or more, it’s a good idea to have a captain or supervisor who can watch over the event, note gaps in service, and support staff in serving guests as efficiently as possible.

How many servers for 200 guests and beyond: How to scale

If you plan on serving larger groups, you’ll need to scale your staffing even more. As you handle events with 200 guests and beyond, you’ll need to anticipate needing more staff to ensure a positive guest experience and avoid placing too much weight on your team.

Use the above calculation. Take the number of 200 guests and divide it by the number of minimum guests needed for one staff member. For example, if you know you need a bartender for every 50 guests, then divide 200 by 50, which equates to 4 bartenders.

For 200 guests, you will need the following staff numbers:

• Sit-down dinner – At an event with 200 guests, a sit-down dinner should have at least 8 servers and 8 bussers.
• Buffet style – A buffet-style event with 200 guests should have at least 8 servers or runners and 8 bussers.
• Cocktail style – A cocktail event with 200 guests would need at least 8 servers and 8 bussers.
• Bar service – An event with a bar service with 200 guests should have at least 4 bartenders and 2 barbacks.

Number of catering staff needed for 200 guests

If you are planning on serving even more than 200 guests, you can use the calculation above to plug in your anticipated guest total and get a gauge of the staff you need.

Another thing to keep in mind for events with more than 200 guests, is that these events are larger and require more setup. If your event and the preparation needed are longer than a few hours and will require staff breaks, you’ll likely need additional staff to support and cover shifts in between.

Equipment and product needs

Having an accurate guest count saves you the headache of trying to determine the appropriate inventory and equipment necessary for meeting demand. This will ensure guests have the resources they need while saving your catering company money by preventing waste and allowing you to transport only what you need.

With an accurate guest count and a reasonable staff ratio, you can determine what you need to maintain a balance and avoid wasting resources or time.

Use your estimated guest count as a factor in determining needs for all of the following event elements:

• Including cooking and heating equipment
• Beverage dispensers
• Serving equipment
• Utensils and dishware
• Seating
• Table settings

Of course, an accurate guest count will also be crucial for having the right ingredients on hand, telling you how much food you need to prepare so you can minimize waste. It’s important to keep a close eye on guest count leading up to the event so you’re not caught off-guard.

Tips for flexibility and adaptability

Although the goal of calculating guest count and staffing needs is to be as informed and prepared as possible, you won’t be able to anticipate everything.

Dealing with fluctuations in guest count

The guest count you receive through RSVPs and other collection methods will rarely be perfect. It’s important you have strategies in place to both anticipate and respond to fluctuations in guest count.

Strategies to handle guest count fluctuations include:

• Knowing your audience – If you think that you should expect fewer guests, you may be able to staff a lower number of people. If you think there is a high likelihood that more people will attend than RSVPed, you should staff beyond the recommend number of roles.
• Sending event reminder emails with the option to update RSVPs— Guest plans change, so sending a reminder email can help catch people who cancel so they update their RSVPs and give you a more accurate count.
• Taking a count of guests at the door – If you expect a volatile guest count, taking a rough count at the door can help you allocate resources and make adjustments in real-time.
• Remaining flexible – Be proactive in handling fluctuating guest counts by having a team that’s cross-trained in multiple skills and can take on different responsibilities in response to real-time guest needs.

Strategies for handling unexpected changes in staffing needs

Staffing on your catering team can change without warning. Whether it’s an unexpected call-out or a change in the event plans that leads to a last-minute surge in attendees, it’s crucial that you have strategies to remain on your toes.

Some tips for handling unexpected changes in staffing include:

• Have on-call staff – Maintaining a reserve of on-call staff you have a good relationship with will allow you to in bolster your team in case staffing needs change abruptly.
• Using staffing technology – Staffing technology like Qwick can connect you with skilled catering and foodservice professionals through an easy-to-use app so you can fill gaps in your staff schedule as they come up.
• Have an on-site manager – Even with a skilled staff, it can help to have someone overseeing the event to maintain a bird’s eye view of where staff is needed and when.

Importance of clear communication

Clear communication and teamwork will help you adapt and react to changes in event plans or needs. For example, if a role isn’t as well supported with people power and ends up busier than expected, a strong team dynamic will allow team members to jump in to support and fill gaps where necessary.

In other instances, you may need to switch roles at the drop of a dime to meet the event's demand. Be sure to maintain consistent communication with your team so that you can remain agile. Have channels like a group text message chat or group messaging app so that you can quickly communicate updates or strategy adjustments.

Take control of your catering success today: Implement these strategies for seamless staffing and service

A strategic catering staff-to-guest ratio will help you ensure a positive guest experience and maintain balance among your staff to avoid overworking. Every catering event is different, so this ratio can vary widely, but having a benchmark for minimum staffing ratios provides a foundation you can follow to meet guest needs. Use the minimum ratios above as a foundation for your calculations to guide the number of professionals you recruit.

Whatever your catering and event staffing needs, Qwick can help you meet them. Our platform helps you meet event demand as necessary by connecting you with skilled professionals to fill your open shifts. Our intelligent algorithm matches you with the professional who will serve as the best fit for your role. Simply post a shift to the Qwick platform and we’ll fill it with top-rated talent, whether it’s for same-day needs, an upcoming event, or on a recurring basis.

Create a free account and start posting shifts today.

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