CORNELL STUDY FINDS RESTAURATEURS ARE LEAVING MONEY ON THE TABLE
Restaurant operators are overlooking a relatively inexpensive way to increase revenue, according to a recent study from the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research. An analysis by Gary Thompson, a professor at the Cornell University of Hotel Administration, found that a surprising number of restaurant operators could boost their revenue at peak periods just by matching their table mix to their guest mix; meaning that the number of tables of different sizes would match the number of parties of different sizes. If a restaurant serves mostly parties of two, that restaurant should have mostly deuces on the floor. Not only will this improve revenue but it will improve service because guests will not have to wait as long for the right-size table.
The report, “Restaurant Capacity Effectiveness: Leaving Money on the Tables,” is available at no charge from the Center at http://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/chr/research/centerreports.html. The “Restaurant Table-Mix Optimizer” tool, which will help restaurateurs figure out the best table mix is available at http://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/chr/research/tools.html, listed under 2005 Tools.