RRollCallOperator Tools

Team & events

Event & Buyout Minimum Calculator

Someone wants to buy out my Thursday. What do I have to charge?

A buyout replaces a normal night, so it has to beat one. Enter what the room usually makes and what the event costs you, and this gives you the minimum spend to quote.

Your figures stay here. The calculator runs on this device; the share link stores its numbers after the # in the URL.
Worked answer$6,944See it ↓
01

Your numbers

A worked example is already loaded. Replace any field with the figures from the source named beside it.

Contribution on a normal nightYour own P&L for that day of week
$2,400.00

What this night usually leaves after variable costs. Enter zero if the space would otherwise be closed.

Premium you want over a normal nightYour own decision
$600.00

The extra contribution that makes the disruption worth it.

Direct event costsYour quotes
$750.00

Extra staff, setup and breakdown, rentals, security, cleaning. Costs you only have because of the event.

Variable cost of salesP&L
46%

Cost of goods plus hourly service labour as a percentage of food and beverage sales.

Expected guests (optional)The client's estimate
80

Optional. Converts the minimum into a per-person figure the client can understand.

02

The answer

Food and beverage minimum

$6,944

$87 per guest across 80 guests

  • Minimum spend per guestQuote this as the per-person minimum.$86.81
  • Contribution the event must generate$3,750
  • Replaces normal night contribution$2,400
  • Your premium for the disruption$600
  • Direct event costs$750
  • Contribution margin on F&B54.0%
This is the minimum before tax, service charge, or a separate room fee. Quote those on top, and be explicit about which of them count toward the minimum.
03 Show the arithmetic
Contribution needed = normal night contribution + your premium + direct event costs
Contribution margin = 1 − variable cost %
Minimum spend = contribution needed ÷ contribution margin
Per guest = minimum spend ÷ expected guests
04 What the answer leaves out
  • If the space would otherwise be closed, set the normal night contribution to zero. Charging a replacement value for a night you would not have opened prices you out of business you could have had.
  • Deposit and cancellation terms matter as much as the minimum. A booked Thursday that cancels on Wednesday is worse than no booking at all.
Continue if it helps

The number is the start of the decision.

story Read the promotion storySee how a packed promotion can still erase its own contribution margin, and what to measure before running it again.
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