Guide · Event orders
Setup, start, end and strike: the times on a BEO explained
Written by a hotel banquet operations manager ·
On a banquet event order (BEO), setup is when the room can be set, start is when the function begins, end is when it is over, and strike is when the room must be cleared for the next function. These four are the room's times; the crew's call times are separate and come before start.
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The four times
| Time | Meaning | Who works to it |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | When the room can be set | Setup crew (housemen) |
| Start | When guests arrive or the function begins | Servers, bartenders, captain, kitchen |
| End | When the function is over | Everyone on the event |
| Strike | When the room must be cleared for the next function | Setup crew, bussers, stewarding |
Read them together. The time between end and strike is the breakdown window. If that window is short, or if the next function in the same room starts soon after, ask now, not at strike time.
Call time is not start time
A BEO lists the room's times. Your crew's call is when each person is due, and it is earlier than start. A server due 120 minutes before start is not late at start minus 60, even if the function has not begun. Call times come from your hotel's rules for each role, not from the BEO.
A worked example (fictional hotel)
Brindlequay Hotel, Saturday, a fictional club dinner in the Garden Room.
| Item | Time |
|---|---|
| Setup | 2:00 p.m. |
| Start | 6:00 p.m. |
| End | 11:00 p.m. |
| Strike | 12:00 a.m. |
With Hotelwright's default offsets, servers' call is 120 minutes before start (4:00 p.m.), bussers 90 minutes (4:30 p.m.), bartenders and barbacks 75 minutes (4:45 p.m.), and out-times 45 to 60 minutes after end. Housemen follow setup and strike instead: they are on from 2:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., with no offset. These are defaults you can change.
What the times are used for
- Staffing and scheduling: call and out times for each role.
- Room conflicts: two functions in the same room, or in rooms that combine, clash when their setup-to-strike windows overlap. Use the setup and strike times, not only start and end.
- Schedule checks (Team plan): Schedule checks use scheduled times, not hours worked.
Common mistakes
- Treating start as the crew's call.
- Reading end as strike. End is the function; strike is the room.
- Missing setup times when two functions use the same room back to back.
- Forgetting that a function ending after midnight belongs to the day it started.
How Hotelwright handles it
- Reads all four. Setup, start, end and strike are fields on every event, read from the page, and shown in your hotel's time zone.
- Past midnight. An event that runs past midnight stays on the day it started.
- Call times from rules (Team plan). Each role has its own offset before start and after end; housemen can follow setup and strike instead.
- Overlap flags. Two events that overlap in a room, from setup to strike, get a flag. Flags never block.
- Changes are kept. If a time moves, the printed sheet it affects is marked Stale, and the reprint highlights the change.
FAQ
What banquet managers ask.
What does strike mean on a BEO?
The time by which the room must be cleared for what comes next.
What is the difference between setup time and start time?
Setup is when the room can be set; start is when the function begins and guests arrive.
What is the difference between start time and call time?
Start is the function's time on the BEO. Call time is when a crew member is due, and it is earlier than start.
How long before the start should banquet servers arrive?
It depends on your property's rule. Hotelwright's default is 120 minutes for servers, and it is a setting.
Does a function that ends after midnight count as the next day?
In Hotelwright it stays on the day it started. Your timekeeping rules are your own.