Labor shortage prompting restaurants to cancel Christmas Party bookings?

[tvguy]

A civic group I belong to was just informed by the restaurant today that our Christmas gathering is being cancel, because they don't have the employees they need to staff it.
And a couple of fellow members of this group say other restaurants are doing the same thing with their off site work Christmas parties.
Is that happening to anyone else?
My last employer ended off site Christmas parties about 6 years ago, so I kind of thought they were less common than they once were. And it is cheaper to bring in food for an onsite Christmas party for just the employees, not their significant others.

 

[barkley]

still very popular around us. my oldest works at one of the most popular venues in our region and starting this upcoming weekend the holiday parties start and will go most nights through 12/30/22. they are also struggling with staffing but they somehow manage to pull them off.

 

[Disneytrippin']

A civic group I belong to was just informed by the restaurant today that our Christmas gathering is being cancel, because they don't have the employees they need to staff it.
And a couple of fellow members of this group say other restaurants are doing the same thing with their off site work Christmas parties.
Is that happening to anyone else?
My last employer ended off site Christmas parties about 6 years ago, so I kind of thought they were less common than they once were. And it is cheaper to bring in food for an onsite Christmas party for just the employees, not their significant others.

And you can xerox copies of your butt.

 

[ronandannette]

No trouble here that I know of. We've got 2 separate events, both called "The Great Christmas Comeback" after 2 years in lock-down. Corporate is putting on it's traditional dinner-dance at a swanky hotel ballroom and our business unit has an afternoon event at a sports/games bar/brew-pub place. There will also be a kid's party at a go-cart place but I've got no young children for that one.

 

[mrodgers]

We are just going back to a pre-covid off property Christmas party this year. Last 2 years we just had a Chinese auction in the front office.

 

[DLgal]

Restaurants around here don't seem to have staffing problems. Probably because they pay well enough.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

While I don't doubt there's a few more staff members involved for a large party to me it doesn't make sense with the restaurants around here that have space for large group. They make more money having the larger parties especially if they charge for special menus so I would think they would put the priority on the large group and less on the rest of the restaurant rather than cancel the booking all together. Based on my husband's company the amount of money dropped at restaurants would be far above what other patrons of the restaurant are dropping especially with alcohol included.

I'm also confused, when this post was written it was on Halloween. How would a restaurant know the staffing levels of a Christmas gathering nearly 2 months before Christmas and well before most companies even have work parties? Now if a restaurant has decided they will stop doing large groups of people ahead of the season in order to focus on normal restaurant customers I get it but that is not about Christmas, that would be about not wanting to book large groups for any reason such as wedding receptions or rehearsal dinners, large enough family gatherings, etc.

 

[CdnCarrie]

Haven't heard anything here at all. For myself we don't have a party off site at all.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Restaurants around here don't seem to have staffing problems. Probably because they pay well enough.

Pay is only part of it. We have had some long time restaurants need to close down just as much for food costs as staffing issues. We've lost multiple BBQ places (which is saying something for KC) because food costs make it hard to stay afloat. No restaurant is immune from rising food costs and you may find the ones that pay the best to struggle even more since more of their profit goes into pay for their staff and the profit can shrink more and more with food costs.

 

[lanejudy]

I'm also confused, when this post was written it was on Halloween. How would a restaurant know the staffing levels of a Christmas gathering nearly 2 months before Christmas and well before most companies even have work parties?

Are you suggesting a business should take the booking and then cancel last-minute when they know for sure about staffing? Holiday gatherings start within a month. If they haven't been able to fully staff at this point, it's unlikely they will suddenly get an influx of applications within the next few weeks. I think there is a difference, also, in a large group that reserves several tables in a regular restaurant dining room vs catering/event spaces. Around here the former has been short-staffed but making do while the latter is really struggling with staffing for over a year now.

That said... my employer doesn't do a large off-site holiday party and hasn't for at least a couple decades.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Are you suggesting a business should take the booking and then cancel last-minute when they know for sure about staffing?

No.

I don't know of restaurants around here that actually does large bookings (think special rooms for example) that would cancel in October for a Christmas party and give the reason of staffing. Could it happen due to unforeseen circumstances right before the intended event? Sure but they have to weigh the odds of canceling that because it does not give good PR and they typically make more money on these. I've been to a fair few of these work outings with my husband's prior company and then so far only one event with my husband's existing company. Admittedly they drop serious cash when they do so even when it's 16 people plus their spouses/significant others for a project outing or a decently sized larger work party. Obviously not every company does but a lot of times these places have either a booking/space reservation fee, packages required, etc.

The OP talked about restaurants with off-site work Christmas parties occurring there so that's what I was talking about. For example Fogo De Chou their system allows you to make a reservation for 14 people and it's counted as normal reservation. If you need more than that it shifts to a group dining booking under a different process with different things such as packages. Using my husband's present company they have about 100 people here (much smaller than my husband's prior company) and Fogo De Chou for a weekend dinner would cost without alcohol $6,936. They would never not have alcohol so let's do 2 drink tickets like they did when they rented out space at Chicken and Pickle (a place that you can play pickleball among other things). Now the cost is $9,282. Now mimicking the Chicken and Pickle experience they had several hours of food plus a bar serviced and staff to restock the food and staff to walk around picking up empty drink containers. That type of experience at Fogo De Chou for 100 people would be just about $10,100. That's just one example, there are places less expensive and places more expensive for sure. Drop the figures even to half or a quarter and it's still a decent amount.

There's staffing issues around here but like I said the places here that have space for a larger group typically place those as higher importance. I'm not talking about you taking X number of your family members and asking or even reserving a table of X. I'm talking about specifically booking a place for an event like a company calling in saying they are wanting to book space for their employees.

I can understand a restaurant shutting off the capabilities to reserve future events in anticipation of issues continuing.

 

[tvguy]

No.

I don't know of restaurants around here that actually does large bookings (think special rooms for example) that would cancel in October for a Christmas party and give the reason of staffing. Could it happen due to unforeseen circumstances right before the intended event? Sure but they have to weigh the odds of canceling that because it does not give good PR and they typically make more money on these. I've been to a fair few of these work outings with my husband's prior company and then so far only one event with my husband's existing company. Admittedly they drop serious cash when they do so even when it's 16 people plus their spouses/significant others for a project outing or a decently sized larger work party. Obviously not every company does but a lot of times these places have either a booking/space reservation fee, packages required, etc.

The OP talked about restaurants with off-site work Christmas parties occurring there so that's what I was talking about. For example Fogo De Chou their system allows you to make a reservation for 14 people and it's counted as normal reservation. If you need more than that it shifts to a group dining booking under a different process with different things such as packages. Using my husband's present company they have about 100 people here (much smaller than my husband's prior company) and Fogo De Chou for a weekend dinner would cost without alcohol $6,936. They would never not have alcohol so let's do 2 drink tickets like they did when they rented out space at Chicken and Pickle (a place that you can play pickleball among other things). Now the cost is $9,282. Now mimicking the Chicken and Pickle experience they had several hours of food plus a bar serviced and staff to restock the food and staff to walk around picking up empty drink containers. That type of experience at Fogo De Chou for 100 people would be just about $10,100. That's just one example, there are places less expensive and places more expensive for sure. Drop the figures even to half or a quarter and it's still a decent amount.

There's staffing issues around here but like I said the places here that have space for a larger group typically place those as higher importance. I'm not talking about you taking X number of your family members and asking or even reserving a table of X. I'm talking about specifically booking a place for an event like a company calling in saying they are wanting to book space for their employees.

I can understand a restaurant shutting off the capabilities to reserve future events in anticipation of issues continuing.

This has been an ongoing issue for them. They have limited their regular dining room operations too because they have had to shift the staff they do have, to the kitchen for food prep. A group of 80 people is just overwhelming. Where they are really cleaning up financially is to go orders. They don't have to pay for servers, bus boys, dishwashers, and the cost of laundering table clothes and napkins.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

This has been an ongoing issue for them. They have limited their regular dining room operations too because they have had to shift the staff they do have, to the kitchen for food prep. A group of 80 people is just overwhelming. Where they are really cleaning up financially is to go orders. They don't have to pay for servers, bus boys, dishwashers, and the cost of laundering table clothes and napkins.

This sounds like a particular specific restaurant issue. From what you said this place isn't even making enough money on regular dining and is really only doing well in to go orders. That isn't really the case any longer with many places around me and I suspect a lot of places. Certainly if a place barely gets by with regular dining patrons then having events/meeting/etc at their restaurant wouldn't seem likely. And if this place is so drastically changing their business model to focus primarily on a skeleton crew for the purposes of to go orders being where its at they don't seem like a place that should have events/meetings/etc. Hopefully it works out for them in the end.

 

[lanejudy]

This sounds like a particular specific restaurant issue.

It is a very definite problem in many areas of the US. Hiring and staffing shortages are very problematic throughout my state in most industries -- the service industry is particularly hard-hit. Some restaurants in my area have closed completely; some shut down 1 or 2 days a week so as to not overwork the staff they do have; some are pushing take-out and catering services which use less staff. Businesses are doing the best they can to survive. You should be very glad that hiring and staffing problems don't exist in your area.

 

[tvguy]

This sounds like a particular specific restaurant issue. From what you said this place isn't even making enough money on regular dining and is really only doing well in to go orders. That isn't really the case any longer with many places around me and I suspect a lot of places. Certainly if a place barely gets by with regular dining patrons then having events/meeting/etc at their restaurant wouldn't seem likely. And if this place is so drastically changing their business model to focus primarily on a skeleton crew for the purposes of to go orders being where its at they don't seem like a place that should have events/meetings/etc. Hopefully it works out for them in the end.

Pretty common here still. A couple of restaurants we frequent even have a sign up apologizing for slower than normal dine in service because of a shortage of staff.
The Holiday Party cancellations is what is new to me. That restaurant has been around 80 years and it is where the Rotary and other groups meet. We have been meeting their 4 times a year for 21 years, so we are the new kids on the block as far as groups who meet there. But their core business has been regular dining and they just can't find the staff to make that and special events work.

 

[tvguy]

It is a very definite problem in many areas of the US. Hiring and staffing shortages are very problematic throughout my state in most industries -- the service industry is particularly hard-hit. Some restaurants in my area have closed completely; some shut down 1 or 2 days a week so as to not overwork the staff they do have; some are pushing take-out and catering services which use less staff. Businesses are doing the best they can to survive. You should be very glad that hiring and staffing problems don't exist in your area.

A lot of restaurants here are closed Monday and Tuesday now, not due to a lack of customers, but because they need to give their staff days off! And others have cut hours of operation. They will be open for lunch, or dinner, but not both.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Pretty common here still. A couple of restaurants we frequent even have a sign up apologizing for slower than normal dine in service because of a shortage of staff.
The Holiday Party cancellations is what is new to me. That restaurant has been around 80 years and it is where the Rotary and other groups meet. We have been meeting their 4 times a year for 21 years, so we are the new kids on the block as far as groups who meet there. But their core business has been regular dining and they just can't find the staff to make that and special events work.

Staffing shortages exist still but what I was talking about was not making money enough even on regular dining and switching to go orders as being the driver of the profits. Places around here are still bursting at the seams the loss in profit is normally the biggest on food costs and that is not absolved by to go orders only. It's a shift in business operations to primarily focus on that.

 

[tvguy]

Staffing shortages exist still but what I was talking about was not making money enough even on regular dining and switching to go orders as being the driver of the profits. Places around here are still bursting at the seams the loss in profit is normally the biggest on food costs and that is not absolved by to go orders only. It's a shift in business operations to primarily focus on that.

I think restaurants are being forced to make a choice based on their capability to provide a service. They don't have the staff to provide the banquet service, and in some cases dine in. Labor costs I suspect outweigh food costs for most restaurants.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

It is a very definite problem in many areas of the US. Hiring and staffing shortages are very problematic throughout my state in most industries -- the service industry is particularly hard-hit. Some restaurants in my area have closed completely; some shut down 1 or 2 days a week so as to not overwork the staff they do have; some are pushing take-out and catering services which use less staff. Businesses are doing the best they can to survive. You should be very glad that hiring and staffing problems don't exist in your area.

I'm talking very specifically about what the OP is talking about, what their question is talking about which was events being cancelled at restaurants. Staffing shortages exist. Many restaurants changing themselves to not have dining room and focusing primarily on take out orders is not many now. 2 years ago yes, a year ago eh not as much but in fall of 2022 not the norm industry-wide.

You're assuming a lot out of my comment. The OP was talking about restaurants canceling work Christmas parties that are already booked well in the future due to staffing. What I said is that would not be common to do that here right now. I said they would give that the priority and it would shift the staff they have to give that priority as more money is often made there. Hence why I gave the whole Fogo de Chou figures.

As far as restaurants closed I already mentioned about some of ours have in a prior comment. I've mentioned over time we've had that as well long standing one. BUT again the OP asked the question about restaurants canceling Christmas party bookings. I haven't seen anyone yet they know of a slew of places canceling existing bookings for work Christmas events. I did say I understood about blocking future bookings.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I think restaurants are being forced to make a choice based on their capability to provide a service. They don't have the staff to provide the banquet service, and in some cases dine in. Labor costs I suspect outweigh food costs for most restaurants.

Okay we're getting off track here. Were you asking about events/large bookings in general? Because you asked the question about Christmas off-site work parties and mentioned you thought work Christmas parties had basically gone by the waste side already. I def. understand if places do not want bookings in general. That is exactly what I said in my first comment:

Now if a restaurant has decided they will stop doing large groups of people ahead of the season in order to focus on normal restaurant customers I get it but that is not about Christmas, that would be about not wanting to book large groups for any reason such as wedding receptions or rehearsal dinners, large enough family gatherings, etc.

So tvguy is your topic work Christmas parties being cancelled in October? Or is your topic wondering if restaurants around people have stopped doing larger groups irrespective of what they are and when they are because it's not sustainable to them?