Table Turnover is the rate at which a restaurant or cafe can serve different groups of customers at the same table in a given time period. It's calculated by dividing the number of customers served by the number of seats in a time frame. Higher table turnover means more customers are being served, while lower turnover means longer dining times or tables are empty.
For hospitality businesses, table turnover is a key metric that directly impacts revenue and profit. By increasing table turnover, restaurants can serve more customers and increase sales without having to expand their physical space. But it's a balancing act - increasing turnover shouldn't come at the expense of customer satisfaction or the quality of the dining experience.
Let's say you're running a busy café during lunchtime and you notice some tables have customers who have finished their meal but are lingering over empty cups. To increase your table turnover, you might train your staff to offer takeaway coffees to these customers and free up the tables for new customers. You could also streamline your kitchen processes to reduce wait times so you can serve more customers in the same amount of time. By doing this, you might increase your table turnover from 3 to 4 groups per table during lunch and boost your midday sales.'