How can you know if your business is on the right track and if you are making the right decisions that will lead your restaurant to success? Simple, by analyzing your restaurant data and monitoring metrics and key performance indicators.
One of the most important metrics is restaurant revenue per seat because it helps you see if you are using all your space to its maximum potential or if you should take measures to improve it.
In this article, you will find a complete guide on restaurant revenue per seat, complete with tips on how to increase your turnover and average check.
What is restaurant revenue per seat?
The financial metric restaurant revenue per seat quantifies the revenue that each seat at your restaurant generates. It is also linked to average cover which measures how much each client spends at your restaurant.
Monitoring this metric will help you:
- Maximize your profit: if you don’t know something is wrong, you can not improve it. But, if you notice your revenue per seat is rather low, you can implement measures that will increase your profit;
- Improve operational efficiency: when you maximize revenue per seat, you ensure you have an optimized operational process, that makes running a restaurant a breeze and increases client satisfaction;
- Long-term success: revenue per seat is a metric that, when monitored, ensures you have all the necessary tools to run a profitable restaurant long-term, no matter what challenges are thrown at you.
Read more: 10 Important Restaurant Ratios & How to Calculate Them
How to calculate revenue per available seat at the restaurant
The first step to calculating your restaurant’s revenue per seat is to choose a time frame. It can be as big as a month, but for more in-depth data you should choose smaller time frames, such as different days of the week or different hours of the day (breakfast, lunch, dinner).
Afterward, all you have to do is use this formula:
For example, let’s say you are calculating for Monday when you are open for 8 hours. You have 40 available seats, and you made a total revenue of $1200.
Revenue per seat = [1200/(40×8)] = $3.75
If you also want to calculate your average check, use this formula:
Using the same example above, let’s say you had a total revenue of $1200 and 60 guests.
Average check = 1200/60 = $20
7 tips to increase revenue per available seat at your restaurant
There are two main reasons for having a low restaurant revenue per seat:
- You have too many free seats;
- Your customers place very small orders.
Follow these tips to solve both problems and experience a significant increase in sales:
1. Engineer your menu to convince customers to order more
The way your menu is designed can persuade people to spend more at your restaurant. You just have to know the right menu engineering tricks, such as:
- Add mouth-watering images: hungry clients will immediately order a dish if the picture looks delicious;
- Use persuasive captions: describe what makes your dishes unique, be it flavor, texture, method of preparation, or origin;
- Highlight high-profit items: by using markers or placing them near more expensive dishes, so clients choose them because they cost less;
If all this seems like too much work, we have good news. You could have all the above and more for free, in just a few minutes. Use the free online menu creator from GloriaFood to create a menu that your clients won’t be able to resist:
Read more: 9 Menu Engineering Design Tips & Secrets That Will Boost Your Sales
2. Add promos during non-peak hours
If you notice your restaurant’s revenue per seat is very low during certain hours, you need to find ways to get more people in the restaurant. An easy way to do so is to add promotions that are only available during non-peak hours.
Here are a few examples of restaurant deals that you can implement easily:
- 10% off drinks during happy hours: drinks have a high profit margin so you can afford to sell them for less if this promotion fills your seats with customers;
- Combo meals: you don’t have to make a big discount for them because people already perceive them as high value as they contain all the necessary items for a full meal;
- Free dessert for orders over $60: convince people to spend more by appealing to their sweet tooth.
You can easily add a variety of tried and tested promotions to the top of your menu using the Promotions module from GloriaFood. You only need a few free seconds:
Read more: How to Use Restaurant Promotion Templates Effectively to Boost Sales
3. Revise your seating
First, you need to have an easy-to-use table reservation system. Some clients may choose to not visit your restaurant because they have to phone you or use another complicated method to book a table.
Read more: How To Take Table Reservations The Easy [& Profitable] Way?
If you allow customers to make a reservation in just a few clicks on your website, they are more likely to book because it is convenient. You can get a free table reservation system from GloriaFood that only takes minutes to set up.
Afterward, analyze the way you fill your tables during a month. If you notice that you get more groups of two that take over a table with four seats, you are losing money. It would be better to add more two-seaters to increase revenue per seat.
Moreover, you could also create a separate area at your bar for people who are only looking for a quick drink, so they don’t occupy a table for clients looking to spend more and enjoy a full meal.
4. Allow pre-ordering
The table reservation from GloriaFood also allows people to pre-order and pay for their food when they book a table. When they get to the restaurant and are seated, they can be served shortly, saving time both for them, and your employees.
This feature also increases your table turnover because customers don’t have to keep waiting around for servers to place an order and pay. They can just enjoy your delicious food and leave soon after.
Read more: How to Increase Your Restaurant Table Turnover Rate & Serve More People Faster
5. Enable guests to order in-location by phone
If you want to make the ordering process faster at your restaurant and also take the load off of your employees, you can enable clients to order using their phones. It is as simple as using a QR code restaurant menu.
As soon as they are seated, clients can scan the QR code, browse the menu, and order and pay when they are ready. Customers can also see the promotions at the top of your menu, and they will be tempted to spend more to take advantage of them.
Use the free online ordering system from GloriaFood to enable on-premises dining and generate a QR code that you will then print and add to every table:
6. Make upselling and cross-selling a priority
When your average check is not as high as you hoped, it is time to focus on upselling and cross-selling to get customers to spend more. Here are a few techniques that will better your customers’ experience:
- Offer toppings: customers get to create their perfect dish while you get to enjoy the extra money from these high-profit margin add-ons;
- Create bundles with drinks and desserts: even if the customer did not intend to also have something sweet, a bundle may convince them to reconsider;
- Make personal recommendations: train your servers to get to know your customers so they can make food and drink suggestions that will be to their liking.
Read more: 10 Restaurant Upselling Techniques to Increase Daily Profits.
7. Promote your free seats on social media
Social media is a great tool to increase your restaurant’s visibility and get more customers into your restaurant. And, best of all, it is free. Here are a few social media post ideas to increase your restaurant’s revenue per seat:
- Create FOMO (fear of missing out) around your leftover free seats: post stories encouraging people to make a reservation now because you will soon have no more free space;
- Advertise your promotions: invite people to take advantage of your restaurant deals as they are only available for a limited time;
- Post mouth-watering pictures of your dishes: to tempt people into making a reservation to enjoy them;
- Create videos to showcase the atmosphere at your restaurant: to show customers what they are missing out on.
Read more: How to Attract More Customers to Your Restaurant Using Social Media
Final words
Measuring your restaurant’s revenue per seat should become a habit if you want to run a successful business long-term and make decisions that will better your establishment. Rely on helpful technology like the online ordering system from GloriaFood to fill your seats and increase your average check.
