Guide · Staffing by event type
How many servers for a plated dinner?
Written by a hotel banquet operations manager ·
Hotelwright starts a plated dinner at 1 server per 20 guests. Here is the crew that gives at common guest counts, and how each number is worked out.
| Guests | Servers | Captains |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | 2 | 0 |
| 50 | 3 | 1 |
| 100 | 5 | 1 |
| 150 | 8 | 1 |
| 200 | 10 | 1 |
| 300 | 15 | 2 |
| 500 | 25 | 3 |
Hotelwright's starting default, editable per hotel: 1 server per 20 guests.
What shapes the crew at a plated dinner
A plated dinner is a service of repeated passes. Courses go out in waves, a program of toasts or speeches can pause the kitchen, and the captain calls each course so the whole room is served together. A server's night is a series of full trips through the room, not one long task.
Hotelwright starts a plated dinner at 1 server per 20 guests, and at 1 per 16 when wine is poured at the table or the service is French, since pouring adds work to every course. The rule reads the style, the poured-wine mark and the start time. It does not read the number of courses, so a three-course and a five-course dinner start with the same crew. That is where your own judgment comes in.
A VIP table changes the busser count too: 1 busser per 2 servers instead of 1 per 3.
How it's calculated
Servers: the guest count divided by 20, rounded up. At 100 guests that is 5.
Captains: the first one from 50 guests or 4 servers, then 1 more for every 250 guests.
Bartenders are added only when the event has a bar: 1 per 100 guests, at least 1 per bar.
The count is the guarantee once it is in, and the expected count until then. Hotelwright never takes a count below the people already assigned, and every ratio is a setting each hotel edits. The servers per guest guide compares every style of service, and the printable ratio sheet puts them on one page.
With wine poured at the table or French service, Hotelwright's starting default tightens to 1 server per 16 guests.
Three tips
- Count the courses yourself. Each added course, such as a fish course, an intermezzo or a cheese plate, is another full pass of the room. If the menu has more courses than your usual dinner, raise the crew on that event instead of hoping the ratio absorbs it.
- Serve and clear in the same order every course. Head table first, then table by table in number order, so servers never wonder who is next and the room reads as one service. The captain signals each course and the servers drop together.
- Ask who pours. Hotelwright moves to 1 per 16 only when the event is marked Poured wine, so check the mark against the plan for the wine. Servers pouring, or French service, call for 1 per 16; bottles left on the table may not.
FAQ
What banquet managers ask.
How many servers do you need for a 100-guest plated dinner?
Hotelwright starts at 5 servers for 100 guests: 1 server per 20 guests, rounded up. It is a starting default that each hotel edits.
Does a plated dinner need a captain?
From 50 guests or 4 servers, Hotelwright starts with 1 captain, then adds 1 more for every 250 guests. At 100 guests that is 1.
Do I staff from the expected count or the guarantee?
From the guarantee once it is in, and the expected count until then. Hotelwright shows which count is driving each crew.
Does a VIP or head table add a server?
Not in Hotelwright's starting ratios. A VIP table changes the busser ratio, from 1 per 3 servers to 1 per 2, and leaves the server count alone. If your head table gets a server of its own, type the server count on the event.
The room is set for more places than the guarantee. Do I staff the extra places?
By default no. Hotelwright staffs from the guarantee (GTD), and from the expected count until one arrives. If your servers carry the overset, open Settings › General › Counts and choose Set or Highest of the three under “Staff by”.
When the default is wrong for you
If your dinners need a different crew, change “Guests per server: Plated” or “Guests per server, plated with poured wine or French service” in Settings › Staffing › Ratios (Team plan), or type the count on one event.
See also: Guaranteed guest count (GTD) · Banquet captain duties · How to read a BEO · How many bartenders per guest