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A 100-seat dinner at four turns and $15
The room has 100 seats. Each seat turns 4 times, which is the 60-minute cycle inside a four-hour dinner from the Kimes article. The average check is 15. The period is 4 hours. Those are the article figures, so the sales line can be checked against the $6,000 it prints.
Seats: 25% lower
Change seats to 75 seats while keeping the other example values the same.
Seats: 25% higher
Change seats to 125 seats while keeping the other example values the same.
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Quick answer
What does the Table turn sales calculate?
What sales do these seats, turns, and the average check produce? This calculator uses seats, seat turns, average check, and hours in the period to estimate seats times turns times the average check immediately in your browser.
With the values currently entered, the result is $6,000.00 — from these seats and turns. It also shows customers, average check, and revenue per seat-hour.
How to use the Table turn sales
- Replace the example values with your own numbers.
- Review the result and supporting figures as they update automatically.
- Check the formula and assumptions before using the estimate for a decision.
Inputs used
- Seats — entered in seats
- Seat turns — entered in turns
- Average check
- Hours in the period — entered in hours
Table turn sales formula
Sales = seats × seat turns × average check. Customers = seats × seat turns. Revenue per seat-hour = sales ÷ (seats × hours).
Assumptions
- Sheryl E. Kimes, "Implementing Restaurant Revenue Management," Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, June 1999, uses a 100-seat restaurant with a 60-minute service cycle in a four-hour dinner. That room can seat 400 customers. At a $15 average check, potential revenue is $6,000. Revenue per available seat-hour (RevPASH) divides revenue by seat-hours, and that case is $15.
- Seat turns are customers divided by seats. The National Restaurant Association 2025 Restaurant Operations Survey asks for the average guest check per person excluding taxes and tips. Take tax and tip out of the check when you want that version of the number. The article prints $15 and does not say whether tax and tip are inside it.
Verify the inputs
Authoritative sources
These sources explain the definitions, factors, or rules behind this tool. Their geographic scope is shown because an official source for one country is not automatically valid somewhere else.
A 100-seat restaurant with a 60-minute service cycle in a four-hour dinner can seat 400 customers. At a $15 average check, potential revenue is $6,000. Revenue per available seat-hour divides that revenue by seat-hours, which is $15 in this case.
Restaurant Operations Survey 2025National Restaurant AssociationScope: US restaurant operations survey questionnaireAsks for the average guest check per person, across all meals, excluding taxes and tips, and for the total number of indoor seats.
Sources do not endorse Calculum. Check the source date, scope, and your own documents before making a financial, tax, insurance, or reporting decision.
Practical guide
Table turn sales example and edge cases
Table turn sales multiply seats by seat turns by the average check. Sheryl Kimes, in the June 1999 Cornell Quarterly, walks a 100-seat restaurant through a four-hour dinner with a 60-minute service cycle. That room can seat 400 customers. At a $15 check, the sales are $6,000.
Example: A 100-seat dinner at four turns and $15
The room has 100 seats. Each seat turns 4 times, which is the 60-minute cycle inside a four-hour dinner from the Kimes article. The average check is 15. The period is 4 hours. Those are the article figures, so the sales line can be checked against the $6,000 it prints.
- Seats
- 100 seats
- Seat turns
- 4 turns
- Average check
- 15
- Hours in the period
- 4 hours
Calculated result$6,000.00from these seats and turns
100 seats times 4 turns is 400 customers. At 15 each, sales are 6,000. Divide 6,000 by 400 seat-hours and the revenue per seat-hour is 15, the RevPASH in the article.
Example results use the default display profile. The calculator above follows your selected country and units.
How to read the result
- Read the 6,000 first. It is 100 times 4 times 15. The article calls that the maximum nightly revenue when every seat is used on every turn.
- Revenue per seat-hour uses the same 6,000 and the 4 hours you typed. 100 seats times 4 hours is 400 seat-hours. 6,000 divided by 400 is 15. A quieter night is a smaller turn count in the second box.
Edge cases worth checking
You typed table turns instead of seat turns
A table turn counts a seating. A seat turn counts a guest per seat. The article gets 4 turns from 400 customers in 100 seats. If two chairs on a four-top stay empty, those empty chairs are already missing from the guest count, so the turn number should fall with them.
Tax and tip are still inside the check
The National Restaurant Association 2025 operations survey asks for the average guest check per person excluding taxes and tips. The article prints 15 and does not say whether tax and tip are in it. Pull them out of the check when you want the survey version.
What changes the result most
Seats
Change seats on its own first. This shows how strongly it affects the answer.
Seat turns
Change seat turns on its own first. This shows how strongly it affects the answer.
Average check
Use a current amount for average check. Include fees or recurring costs that belong in the same figure.
Try a different scenario
Small changes show whether the answer is stable or sensitive.
Seats: 25% lower
75 seats$4,500.00from these seats and turns
Seats: 25% higher
125 seats$7,500.00from these seats and turns
Seat turns: 25% higher
5 turns$7,500.00from these seats and turns
Common mistakes
Check seats
Sheryl E. Kimes, "Implementing Restaurant Revenue Management," Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, June 1999, uses a 100-seat restaurant with a 60-minute service cycle in a four-hour dinner. That room can seat 400 customers. At a $15 average check, potential revenue is $6,000. Revenue per available seat-hour (RevPASH) divides revenue by seat-hours, and that case is $15. Make sure this matches the number you enter.
Keep hours in the period consistent
Seat turns are customers divided by seats. The National Restaurant Association 2025 Restaurant Operations Survey asks for the average guest check per person excluding taxes and tips. Take tax and tip out of the check when you want that version of the number. The article prints $15 and does not say whether tax and tip are inside it. Use the same units and time period throughout the calculation.
Do not rely on one table turn sales scenario
Run a cautious case and an optimistic case. The range is often more useful than one exact-looking number.
Use this result well
What sales do these seats, turns, and the average check produce?
It does not replace a quote, contract, accountant, or local employment guidance.