12.9 million visitors. $4.1 billion in spending. 3,000 weddings a year. One of the three largest St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in America. And a hospitality workforce that cannot keep up with a tourism economy that just hit another record.
Service style drives this far more than event type does. These are published figures from named sources, sized to your room.
Server ratios follow Patti Shock's published figures for Wiley and Aramark's own catering guidance. Rates are our published rates, not estimates. See every source →
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Service style drives the number far more than event type does. The most cited attributed figure, from Patti Shock's work for Wiley, puts the observed industry average at one server per 32 guests across all styles, in a range running 1:8 to 1:40.
| Service style | Servers |
|---|---|
| Plated, some items preset | 1 per 20 |
| Poured wine or banquet French | 1 per 16 |
| Buffet, china service | 1 per 40 |
| Buffet, disposables | 1 per 100 |
Published guidance from named sources, not our own numbers. A starting point for a conversation about your room, not a rule.
NACE, the International Caterers Association, the Events Industry Council, MPI and the American Hotel & Lodging Association publish no banquet staffing standard. We went looking specifically to cite one and there is nothing to cite. Union hotel contracts do not cap guests per server either; where they address heavy covers they pay more rather than capping the count.
Meanwhile the 1:8 and 1:10 figures circulating as industry standard trace back to vendor blogs quoting each other, and run two to three times richer than what Aramark and Centerplate actually staff. What really drives the number is arrival compression and service style, not the event category.
There is no citable industry source for captain to server ratios. We looked. So this is our own operating standard, presented as ours: a captain on every full team, running our staff and reporting to one person on your side.
That means your coordinator runs your event rather than directing nine strangers who have never worked together. The captain holds the floor plan, manages pace against your timeline, absorbs the changes and files a written shift report your manager signs. It is the line item most staffing companies leave off a quote to look cheaper. Ours is on the quote from the start.
Savannah is a destination market, and destination guests arrive in blocks rather than trickling in. That compresses the cocktail hour and front loads passed service well beyond what the headcount implies.
Historic venues and square events impose access and equipment limits that make setup the longest part of the day, and courtyard events add a weather contingency that has to be staffed for rather than hoped past.
The close is the detail visiting planners get wrong. Savannah gives no grace period, so where Atlanta allows thirty minutes to clear, here strike begins while service is still finishing.
Savannah is a destination wedding market with a preservation overlay, and both facts shape the team.
Guests travel in, which front loads arrivals and compresses the cocktail hour. Historic venues and squares impose access and equipment limits that turn setup into the longest part of the day. Courtyard and garden events add weather contingency that has to be staffed for rather than hoped past.
The operational detail that catches visiting planners is the close. Savannah provides no grace period: service ends at 3:00 a.m., and on Saturday night the premises must be closed by 2:55 a.m. Where Atlanta gives you thirty minutes to clear, Savannah gives you none, so strike has to start earlier than the timeline usually assumes.
If alcohol is being served, note that Savannah's server training rule reaches subcontracted staff. Our bar teams carry City permit cards.
This page is general information, not legal advice. We are a staffing company, not a law firm. Alcohol regulation changes, and county and city rules often differ from state law. Statutes and cases are named so you can verify them or take them to your own counsel. Confirm anything you intend to rely on with the relevant state authority or an attorney licensed in that state.
These are the six questions we get most from event hosts, planners and property managers in Savannah. Answered here so you do not have to call to find out.
Published guidance gives one server per 20 for plated with some items preset and one per 40 for buffet with china. Savannah runs above the table more often than other markets because guests arrive in blocks off shuttles rather than trickling in, which front loads the cocktail hour well beyond what the headcount suggests. We staff the opening thirty minutes, not the average.
Because arrival compression is the whole problem. Local guests spread across forty minutes. Travelling guests land together. The same 150 person cocktail hour is a different job depending on how people get there, and no ratio table captures it. Tell us how guests are arriving and we will size against that.
Service may begin at 7:00 a.m. and must stop at 3:00 a.m., and on Saturday night the premises must be closed by 2:55 a.m. Savannah provides no grace period. Where Atlanta gives thirty minutes to clear, here strike begins while service is still finishing, so the timeline is tighter than visiting planners expect.
Yes, and this is the rule that catches outside vendors. The city requires servers, bartenders and expressly any employee, agent or subcontractor responsible for serving, mixing or dispensing alcohol to complete training within seven days of hire and carry a City permit card, with a register kept on premises. An agency bartender is inside that rule. Our bar teams carry cards.
The captain runs our staff and reports to one person on your side. On historic venues where setup is the longest part of the day and strike starts early, having one person holding the timeline matters more than usual. Written shift report at the end. On the quote from the start.
Servers bill at $55 per hour, bartenders at $75 and a banquet captain at $105. No travel charge inside our seven markets, no administrative fee, no fuel surcharge. Exact quote in writing before booking.
Staffing ratios are our recommendations for buffet service and are a starting point, not a rule. Rates are billed ranges for standard trained roles and vary by market, event size and lead time. Your exact quote is issued in writing before anything is booked.
Get your number in writing →
A printable checklist for every market we staff, with every statute and case named so you can verify it or hand it to your own counsel. Written for the person booking the event, not for lawyers.
One email with the download link. We will not add you to a sequence.
A printable checklist for every market we staff, with every statute and case named so you can verify it or hand it to your own counsel. Written for the person booking the event, not for lawyers.
One email with the download link. We will not add you to a sequence.
A printable checklist for every market we staff, with every statute and case named so you can verify it or hand it to your own counsel. Written for the person booking the event, not for lawyers.
One email with the download link. We will not add you to a sequence.
A printable checklist for every market we staff, with every statute and case named so you can verify it or hand it to your own counsel. Written for the person booking the event, not for lawyers.
One email with the download link. We will not add you to a sequence.
A printable checklist for every market we staff, with every statute and case named so you can verify it or hand it to your own counsel. Written for the person booking the event, not for lawyers.
One email with the download link. We will not add you to a sequence.
A printable checklist for every market we staff, with every statute and case named so you can verify it or hand it to your own counsel. Written for the person booking the event, not for lawyers.
One email with the download link. We will not add you to a sequence.
One team, one bench, one set of rates in Savannah. These pages come at it from different angles depending on what you are trying to work out, and they all end in the same place: a number in writing before anything is booked.
12.9 million visitors. 3,000 weddings a year. A four-day St. Patrick’s Day surge. We are building the roster. Tell us what you need.
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