“Some guests Skip or Share plates, some take Twice so It all Balances Out”

A line many hoteliers and banquet sales teams have said or heard. It’s the phrase that’s soothed many billing conversations & pricing decisions. It sounds logical. Fair.

But here’s the thing: It’s rarely true. And it’s silently hurting revenue and relationships.

Let’s unpack what “balancing out” actually hides

In most banquet, catering settings, only main course plates are counted. That means:

1. Starters? Not counted

2. Desserts? Not counted

3. Snack Counters? Not counted

4. Live counters? Not counted

5. Beverages? Not counted

6. Soup Stations? Not counted

Even amongst those who do take the main course -

• Some guests share food from close one’s plate rather than taking one separately for themselves

• Others who are economically conscious, being aware of how hotels billing works, consume via quarter plates .

The opposite also happens where more plates get consumed than what is ideal -

• Some eat say 9 pm and then again felt hungry at 11 pm at the same event & take a new plate to help themselves

• Some feel uncomfortable mixing multiple dishes & cuisines on the same plate and prefer changing plates for better taste or hygiene (imagine eating biryani on a base of pasta and asian gravies flowing by the side)

• Infants, small children take a morsel of food that their parents feed them

• Some are unaware (especially expats) that their plates are being counted for billing freely take new plates

We as hoteliers tell ourselves: “Some skipped, some shared, some took twice so it all evens out.” But does it ?

💸 What the data quietly shows

We've seen this pattern across 300 plus events: Hotels often bill for fewer plates than the actual number of guests.

Even at events with a 300-plate count, true guest count can easily be 330–360 ie. 10-20% difference, going as high as 55%. The scale of difference depends on type of event, timing, menu variety, clientele but a significant variance always exists.

At a ₹3,000 per plate price, that's ₹90,000 to ₹1,80,000 of invisible consumption which is not billed, not discussed, not even noticed.

Some believe that since the margins are already considerable in F&B, it's okay to let go. And here’s the irony: if plate usage exceeds minimum revenue/ guarantee by even 4–5, it’s almost always billed. Zero compromises as part of hotel rules.

But if actual turnout is under-reported? It's quietly absorbed. Why protect overages and ignore shortages?

Margins Can’t Be Protected with Blind Spots

Many hotels, under pressure to protect margins, often because their actual costs are for serving much more people than billed respond by increasing per-plate rates. On paper, it feels like a straightforward fix. But in reality, it creates new problems. Higher pricing filters out price-sensitive clients who might have booked otherwise thus reducing total bookings. At the same time, it shifts the burden onto those who were paying their fair share, making them cover for the gap left by undercounted or unpaid consumption.

And despite the price hike, the real issue ie. inaccurate guest tracking remains unresolved. So the leakage continues. Quietly. Event after event. Only now, it's happening at a higher price point, with fewer clients and more friction.

So why accept undercounting as “balance”? It’s not just revenue leakage. It’s a blind spot in operations. And over time, it adds up in lost income and lost trust.

Client Trust Is On the Line

Even if you try to explain that more people came, clients often push back:

• “Where’s the proof?”

• “I don’t think that many showed up.”

• “This wasn’t what we agreed on.”

Billing conversations become uncomfortable. Heated. Personal. And the event ends on a bad note even if everything else went right.

That’s not just a lost upsell. That’s a lost referral, a missed rebooking, or worse, an horrifying online review and a dent in your brand image.

And all of it could be avoided if there was clear, verifiable data for both sides.

What If You Could Show, Not Just Say?

With DigiCount, hotels and banquets finally get:

• Real-time attendee counts (not plates)

• Entry, Exit timestamps

• Verifable informaton so that both sides have the same source of truth

• Shareable, verifiable logs that keep billing transparent and fair

All this is achieved in a secure & privacy-safe manner. It's the added value with data that protects your revenue and your relationships.

The Bottom Line

The “balancing act” was built for a different time. Today’s clients expect better. And you deserve to deliver better more confidently, transparently, and profitably.

Because in hospitality, perception is everything. And trust, once lost, is hard to win back — plate by plate!