Banquet call times: when each role should arrive

The short answer

"Event starts" and "event ends" are the guest times on the event order, not the time the room opens. Other sources publish different numbers, and the right ones depend on your room, your menu and your crew. Treat the table as a place to start.

A worked example

A plated dinner for the fictional Brindlequay Hotel's Grand Ballroom runs 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm.

The houseman does not follow these offsets. If the order says setup starts at 2:00 pm and strike ends at 11:30 pm, that houseman is called at 2:00 pm and out at 11:30 pm. If the order has no setup or strike time, the event's start and end are used instead.

Why call times differ by role

A reasonable way to think about it is by what each role has to finish before the first guest arrives. Servers and captains set tables and brief before service. Bartenders and barbacks set the bar. Bussers set water and bread. Housemen build and break down the room, so their day follows the room, not the meal. Your own list will differ; the point is to set each role's call from its own work rather than one time for everybody.

The out time works the same way. Servers are out after the room is reset and the side stations are broken down, bartenders after the bar is closed out.

Coffee breaks are called sooner

A coffee break has little to set up beyond the service station, so Hotelwright calls every role except the houseman 60 minutes before start by default. The out time still comes from the role.

That has a side effect worth knowing about. A 10:00 am to 10:30 am coffee break with a server called at 9:00 am and out 60 minutes after the end (11:30 am) is a 2.5-hour shift. Hotelwright's default minimum shift is 3 hours, so the shift is flagged as under the role's minimum. It is a flag, not a block. Decide whether to pair the break with another event, pay the minimum, or leave it and note why.

What moves a call time

• A big or complicated room. Add time for a ballroom with a long carry from the kitchen, or a multi-level event.
• Heavy setup. If the room is set the night before, servers may not need the full 120 minutes.
• A pre-shift meeting. If you run a line-up before service, the call has to leave room for it. See the pre-shift meeting template.
• A one-off. In Hotelwright you can type a different call or out offset for one role on one event. It is kept when the event's times move, and the plan says that a person set it.

Call time, start time, out time

Keep three words apart. The start is when guests are due. The call is when staff are due. The out is when staff may leave. Hours for a week are counted from call to out, less the break, so a generous call time costs real hours.

Rules about call-in pay and notice

Some places set rules about the pay owed when someone is called in or sent home early, and some set notice periods for schedule changes. These differ by state, city and employer. This page does not state any of them. Start with your state labor office through the US Department of Labor's state labor laws page and check with your own counsel or HR. This is not legal advice.

In Hotelwright

Call and out offsets are set once per role in your staffing settings, and each event's crew shows its call and out times. Change the role's number and the next staffing plan you run uses it for every event that does not have a time set by a person. Setting the offsets and running the plan are Team plan features; see banquet staffing software.