Table Optimization
Maximize your restaurant's seating efficiency and revenue.
Overview
Table optimization helps you:
- Increase turns - Serve more guests per table
- Maximize revenue - Higher revenue per seat hour
- Balance workload - Even distribution across servers
- Predict demand - Anticipate busy periods
- AI recommendations - Smart seating suggestions
Key Metrics
Revenue Per Seat Hour (RevPASH)
The most important metric for table efficiency:
RevPASH = Total Revenue / (Seats × Hours Open)
Example:
$4,500 revenue / (50 seats × 5 hours) = $18.00 RevPASH
Turn Time
Average time from seating to table available:
| Meal Period | Target | Current | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lunch | 45 min | 42 min | ✓ Good |
| Dinner | 75 min | 82 min | ⚠ High |
| Weekend Dinner | 90 min | 95 min | ⚠ High |
Occupancy Rate
Percentage of seats filled:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ OCCUPANCY BY HOUR Saturday │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ 100% │ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ │
│ 90% │ ▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓ │
│ 80% │ ▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓ │
│ 70% │ ▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓ │
│ 60% │ ▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓ │
│ 50% │▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm 9pm 10pm │
│ │
│ Peak: 7-8pm (94% avg) Low: 5pm (52%) │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Table Optimization Dashboard
Real-Time Insights
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ OPTIMIZATION DASHBOARD Saturday 7:15 PM │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ CURRENT STATUS │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ Occupancy: 46/50 seats (92%) │
│ Tables Available: 2 (T3, T8) │
│ Turn Time (avg): 78 min tonight │
│ RevPASH (live): $21.50 │
│ │
│ SMART ALERTS │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ ⚡ Table 5 is at 95 min - suggest check presentation │
│ ⚡ Accept waitlist party of 2 for T3 (2-top available) │
│ ⚡ Delay seating party of 6 by 10 min (tables freeing) │
│ ✓ Server sections balanced within 5% │
│ │
│ PREDICTIONS │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ Next 30 min: 3 tables expected to close │
│ 8:00 PM: Peak demand - 8 parties waiting │
│ 9:00 PM: Moderate demand - shorter waits │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Turn Time Management
Understanding Turn Time
Components of table turn:
Total Turn Time = Wait + Order + Prepare + Eat + Check + Clean
Typical breakdown:
├── Greet & order: 8 min
├── Drinks/apps arrive: 10 min
├── Entree service: 25 min
├── Dining time: 30 min
├── Check & payment: 12 min
└── Bus & reset: 5 min
────────────────────────────────
Total: 90 min
Turn Time Targets
Set targets by meal type:
| Meal Type | Target Turn | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Quick Lunch | 30-40 min | Fast turnover |
| Business Lunch | 45-60 min | Time to talk |
| Casual Dinner | 60-75 min | Relaxed pace |
| Fine Dining | 90-120 min | Full experience |
| Weekend Brunch | 60-75 min | Lingering allowed |
Tracking Turn Time
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ TURN TIME ANALYSIS This Week │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ BY DAY │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ Monday: 62 min avg ████████████ │
│ Tuesday: 58 min avg ██████████ │
│ Wednesday: 65 min avg ██████████████ │
│ Thursday: 68 min avg ████████████████ │
│ Friday: 82 min avg ████████████████████████ │
│ Saturday: 88 min avg ██████████████████████████ │
│ Sunday: 75 min avg ██████████████████ │
│ │
│ Target: 70 min ────────────────────│ │
│ │
│ Over target: Fri, Sat (review service pace) │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Capacity Management
Optimizing Table Mix
Ensure the right mix of table sizes:
| Party Size | % of Parties | % of Tables | Match? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-2 | 35% | 30% | Close |
| 3-4 | 45% | 40% | Close |
| 5-6 | 15% | 20% | Over |
| 7+ | 5% | 10% | Over |
Recommendation: Add more 2-tops, fewer large tables
Combining Tables
For large parties:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ COMBINABLE TABLES │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Group Name Tables Combined Use For │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ Window Row 1 + 2 2+2 = 4 Parties of 4 │
│ Center Group 5 + 6 4+4 = 8 Parties of 6-8 │
│ Private Corner 9 + 10 + 11 4+4+6 = 14 Large parties │
│ │
│ [Edit Groups] │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Server Section Optimization
Balanced Sections
The system balances sections by:
| Factor | Weight |
|---|---|
| Number of tables | Medium |
| Total seats | High |
| Expected covers | High |
| Tip potential | Medium |
| Walk distance | Low |
Section Analysis
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ SECTION BALANCE Tonight │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Section Server Tables Covers RevPASH Tips │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ A Sarah M. 4 18 $22.50 $156 │
│ B James K. 4 16 $19.80 $142 │
│ C Maria L. 3 14 $21.20 $138 │
│ Bar Carlos R. 8 8 $18.50 $96 │
│ │
│ Balance Score: 87% (Good) │
│ Recommendation: Move table 8 from C to B │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Reservation Slot Optimization
Optimal Booking Windows
The system recommends slot availability:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ RESERVATION SLOT OPTIMIZATION Saturday │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Time Demand Slots Status Recommendation │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ 5:00 PM Low 6 Available Offer discount │
│ 5:30 PM Low 6 Available Offer discount │
│ 6:00 PM Medium 6 Filling Normal pricing │
│ 6:30 PM High 4 2 left Close soon │
│ 7:00 PM Very High 0 FULL Waitlist only │
│ 7:30 PM Very High 0 FULL Waitlist only │
│ 8:00 PM High 2 1 left Expand 1 slot │
│ 8:30 PM Medium 5 Available Normal pricing │
│ 9:00 PM Low 6 Available Offer perk │
│ │
│ 💡 Open 2 more 6:30 slots by adjusting turn targets │
│ 💡 Incentivize 5pm with free appetizer │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Performance Reports
Daily Summary
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ OPTIMIZATION REPORT Saturday Jan 24 │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ HIGHLIGHTS │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ Total covers: 156 (record!) │
│ Revenue: $5,890 │
│ RevPASH: $23.56 (target: $20) │
│ Average turn: 82 min (target: 75 min) │
│ Peak occupancy: 96% at 7:30pm │
│ │
│ WINS │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ ✓ Highest RevPASH this month │
│ ✓ All reservations seated on time │
│ ✓ Waitlist cleared by 9pm │
│ │
│ OPPORTUNITIES │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ ⚡ Turn time 7 min over target │
│ ⚡ 5-6pm occupancy only 65% │
│ ⚡ 3 tables over 100 min turn │
│ │
│ [View Full Report] [Compare to Last Week] │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Weekly Trends
| Metric | This Week | Last Week | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Covers | 892 | 834 | +7% |
| RevPASH | $19.45 | $18.20 | +7% |
| Avg Turn | 74 min | 78 min | -5% |
| Occupancy | 82% | 79% | +4% |
Optimization Settings
Configure Targets
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ OPTIMIZATION SETTINGS │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ TURN TIME TARGETS │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ Lunch: [45] minutes │
│ Dinner (weekday): [70] minutes │
│ Dinner (weekend): [80] minutes │
│ Brunch: [65] minutes │
│ │
│ ALERTS │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ [✓] Alert when table exceeds target by 15 min │
│ [✓] Alert when occupancy below 60% │
│ [✓] Alert when waitlist exceeds 30 min │
│ [ ] Alert for every seating recommendation │
│ │
│ SEATING ALERTS │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ [✓] Enable smart seating suggestions │
│ [✓] Enable turn time alerts │
│ [✓] Enable section balancing │
│ [ ] Auto-execute recommendations (requires approval) │
│ │
│ [Save Settings] │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Voice Commands
| Task | Say |
|---|---|
| Check efficiency | "Hey Maximus, what's our RevPASH tonight?" |
| View turn times | "Hey Maximus, show turn time analysis" |
| Get recommendations | "Hey Maximus, optimization suggestions" |
| Compare performance | "Hey Maximus, compare to last Saturday" |
Best Practices
Improving Turns
- Pre-bus tables - Clear as guests finish
- Drop check proactively - Before they ask
- Quick payment - Tableside payment
- Efficient reset - Under 3 minutes
Maximizing Revenue
- Upsell effectively - Apps, drinks, dessert
- Seat strategically - Right size table
- Manage pacing - Kitchen coordination
- Fill valleys - Incentivize slow times
Using Data
- Review daily - Track trends
- Set goals - Clear targets
- Coach staff - Share insights
- Iterate - Continuously improve
Related Guides
- Table Management Overview - Overview
- Reservations - Booking optimization
- Reports - Full analytics