How to use this calculator
- Enter or choose parties seated.
- Enter or choose number of tables.
- Enter or choose length of service period.
- The table turns in the period updates as you type. Use Copy result or Share to keep it.
Method
Table turns = Parties seated ÷ Tables; Turns per hour = Turns ÷ Hours; Minutes per turn = Hours × 60 ÷ Turns
- Parties seated
- groups served during the period
- Tables
- tables available for the whole period
- Hours
- length of the service period
Worked example
- Turns = 120 ÷ 25 = 4.8.
- Per hour = 4.8 ÷ 4 = 1.2.
- Minutes per turn = 240 ÷ 4.8 = 50 minutes.
120 parties on 25 tables is 4.8 turns in a four-hour service, about one turn every 50 minutes.
What the result means
Higher turnover raises revenue only if average spend holds up. If minutes per turn is well above your measured dining time, tables sat empty for part of the service; that is a demand or booking-pattern issue, not a speed-of-service one.
Assumptions and limits
- All tables were available for the whole period.
- Minutes per turn assumes tables were occupied all the time; real dining time is usually shorter.
- Table size mismatches (two people at a four-top) are not captured; use the seat occupancy calculator for that.
Questions
Should I count guests or parties?
Parties. Table turnover counts how often a table is reseated. Guest counts per seat belong to seat turnover.