The way a room is set up affects consumption levels for food and beverage. For example, an hors d'oeuvre table placed against a wall provides only 180-degree access to the food. A rectangular table in the center of the room provides two open sides and 360-degree access to the food, and thus greater food consumption. A round table in the center of the room gives an appearance of a lavish presentation, but since there is no way for a line to form to circle the table, guests have to work their way in and out at various points for each item they wish to eat, which decreases food consumption.

At a reception, you'll need to allocate 6 to 10 square feet of floor space per guest. With 6 square feet, guests will have a bit less ease getting to the F&B stations, so they may eat and drink less. If you are paying on a per-person basis, where guests can eat and drink as much as they want for one price, the square footage doesn't really matter in terms of cost. But if you are paying based on consumption, you may want to allocate only about 6 square feet per person to keep the price lower and your F&B costs under control.

Seven and a half square feet per person is considered to be the ideal amount of floor space per guest for receptions and other similar functions. Ten square feet provides more than ample space for guests to mingle and easily visit the F&B stations. It is an appropriate amount of floor space for a luxury-type reception. You want guests to be comfortable and to have enough room to eat and drink as much as they want.

Food stations need enough floor space for the tables and aisles. An 8-by-3-foot table is 24 square feet; it requires about 60 square feet for aisle space if the table is against the wall, and about 100 square feet for aisle space if the table is accessible from all sides. When determining the number of buffet tables that are needed, as well as the number of buffet lines required, you need to consider:

number of guests expected,

length of dining time,

amount of service equipment required,

type of service equipment required,

type of menu,

style of service,

amount of décor desired on the buffet line, and

amount of total floor space available in the function room.

Generally speaking, you must allocate approximately 2 running feet of buffet table for each food container. If you want to display three hot offerings, three cold offerings, and a condiment basket, you should set up a buffet table 14 feet to 16 feet long. If you use two standard 8-foot rectangular banquet tables, you will need about 48 square feet of floor space for the buffet table and approximately 150 square feet of standard 3-foot aisle space surrounding the buffet table. The total allocation for this setup, then, is about 200 square feet.

Patti J. Shock, CPCE, is professor and chair, Tourism and Convention Administration Department, Harrah College of Hotel Administration, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. To learn more about her, visit tca.unlv.edu/shock.html, or e-mail her at patti.shock@unlv.edu.