Average spend per head is one of the most underused growth levers in hospitality. A small increase, applied consistently, has a significant effect on revenue without requiring any additional customers.
Understand Your Current Number Before You Try to Move It
Pull your POS data and calculate your actual average spend per head over the last few months, broken down by day part if relevant.
Train Your Team to Suggest, Not Sell
A server who suggests a wine pairing because they genuinely think it complements the dish feels helpful rather than pushy. Our staff training service covers practical, genuine upselling training.
Design Your Menu to Make Higher Spend the Easy Choice
Shared plates and well-positioned higher margin dishes naturally increase spend. This is a core principle of menu engineering.
Make the Beverage Offer as Strong as the Food Offer
Beverage carries significantly higher margin than food, making it one of the most valuable areas to focus on for average spend growth.
Offer Genuine Add-Ons, Not Forced Upsells
A side dish that genuinely complements a main builds average spend when framed as a genuine enhancement rather than a transaction to push through.
Review and Adjust Quarterly
Strategies that worked six months ago may not work as well today. Review your data regularly and be willing to adjust.
If you want help building a strategy to increase average spend without compromising the customer experience, talk to Pestle and Mortar.