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, not pushy. Our hospitality staff training service covers this kind of genuine upselling training.
Design Your Menu to Make Higher Spend the Easy Choice
Shared plates and well-positioned higher margin dishes naturally draw more attention. This is one of the core principles behind menu engineering.
Make the Beverage Offer as Strong as the Food Offer
Beverage typically 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 or dessert framed as a genuine enhancement builds average spend better than an obligatory question.
Review and Adjust Quarterly
Strategies that worked six months ago may not be working as well today as customer preferences shift and your menu evolves.
If you want help building a strategy to increase average spend without compromising the customer experience, talk to Pestle and Mortar.
About the Author
Wayne Farmer is the founder and chief consultant at Pestle and Mortar, Australia’s hands-on hospitality consultancy. With experience running hotel kitchens, boutique dining venues, and a successful catering business, Wayne has spent his career helping Australian restaurant, cafe, and catering operators build more profitable, better-run businesses. Learn more about Wayne and how Pestle and Mortar works.