Guide · Staffing
How many captains per banquet?
Written by a hotel banquet operations manager ·
Hotelwright starts every hotel at 1 captain once an event reaches 50 guests or 4 servers, plus 1 more for every 250 guests; these are starting points for hotel banquets, not rules.
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The short answer
| Situation | Starting point |
|---|---|
| Under 50 guests and under 4 servers (49 guests with poured wine is 4 servers) | 0 captains |
| 50 guests or more, or 4 servers or more | 1 captain |
| Each full 250 guests | 1 more captain |
The two triggers are "or", not "and": a 49-guest plated dinner with poured wine needs 4 servers (49 divided by 16, rounded up) and gets a captain, and so does a 50-guest buffet that needs only 2. Other sources publish different numbers, and the right one depends on your rooms and your house standard. Your house standard wins.
How to work it out
- Work out the servers first. Guests divided by the server ratio, rounded up. See servers per guest.
- Give 1 captain if the guests are 50 or more, or the servers are 4 or more.
- Add 1 for every full 250 guests (guests divided by 250, rounded down).
| Event | Servers | Captains |
|---|---|---|
| 30-guest plated dinner | 2 | 0 |
| 50-guest buffet | 2 | 1 (50 guests) |
| 60-guest plated dinner | 3 | 1 |
| 80-guest plated dinner | 4 | 1 (4 servers) |
| 180-guest plated dinner | 9 | 1 |
| 250-guest plated dinner | 13 | 2 (1, plus 1 for 250 guests) |
| 500-guest buffet | 17 | 3 (1, plus 2) |
| 750-guest plated dinner | 38 | 4 (1, plus 3) |
Server counts use the plated ratio of 1 per 20 and the buffet ratio of 1 per 30, rounded up (1 per 16 with poured wine). Use the guarantee once it is in and the expected count until then. See the guaranteed guest count.
One captain, one event
Hotelwright counts captains per event, and an event is one function in one room. A captain with two overlapping events is flagged "Booked twice at once", because by default only the houseman role is allowed to work across events. If one captain really has to cover two rooms, that is a decision for you to make with the flag in front of you.
When to add a captain
The ratio cannot see everything. Add one when the event has something it does not count:
- A very long room, or service on more than one level
- Several services at once in the same space, such as a plated dinner with a reception and a late-night station
- A VIP guest, a head table, or a client who wants a single point of contact
- A new or short-handed crew, where a captain is doing more coaching than directing
Captains and the server count
A captain directs; the number of servers does not change because a captain is there. The captain is not counted toward the server ratio.
In Hotelwright
The captain minimums are settings you edit: the guests, the servers, and the extra captain per 250 guests. You can also fix a count (it never scales with guests) or set a minimum for the role. The plan shows the reason beside the number, for example: 1 once there are 50 guests or 4 servers, plus 1 more for every 250 guests. Captain call is 120 minutes before the event starts and out 60 minutes after it ends by default. Editing ratios and planning staff are Team plan features. See banquet staffing software, the printable ratio sheet, and what captains do.
FAQ
What banquet managers ask.
How many captains do I need for 100 guests?
One, as a starting point. At 100 guests the event is over the 50-guest trigger, and 100 divided by 250 rounds down to zero extra.
How many captains for a wedding of 250?
Two at the default numbers: 1 for reaching 50 guests (or 4 servers) plus 1 for the full 250 guests.
Is there a captain for every 10 servers?
Not in Hotelwright's starting points. The count is driven by guests (and by 4 servers for the first captain), not by a servers-per-captain ratio. If your house standard is a servers-per-captain number, set a minimum or a fixed count for the role.
Can a captain work two events at once?
They can be assigned to both, but overlapping shifts are flagged as booked twice at once. The flag never blocks you.
Do captains count toward servers per guest?
No. The server count is worked out first and the captain is added on top.
Who decides what captains can do in the app?
Each hotel sets it: tick tasks only; also assign people and tasks; or also edit the event's counts and times. They act only on events they are named on. That needs the Team plan.