Final Guarantee

The final guarantee is the final expected number of guests who will be attending the event. The final guarantee is used primarily by the caterer in order to determine the amount of food needed as well as the final catering costs. Sometimes, at the beginning planning stages of an event the caterer will receive an approximate guest count, especially if the invitations haven’t been sent out or the RSVP window isn’t yet over. But once the guest list has been solidified, the caterer can begin to plan in a more effective manner. After the RSVP window has been closed or the host/event planner has solidified their guest count, the caterer should be notified to make sure that they plan on providing enough food and can give a final cost. Caterers will, more than likely, always make enough food for every guest unless they have been requested not to, which in that case, the final guarantee would be much lower than the expected number of attendees. A situation like this would occur at a cocktail party or at a reception where food isn’t the main focus at any rate.

In a buffet style catered event there will not be enough of every food item for every single person, but there will be enough food for everyone. For example, in a buffet, if guests have a choice of lamb shanks, chicken kebabs and Dover sole there will be a certain amount of each but not enough for every person to have lamb shanks and Dover sole. The idea in a buffet is for every person to have enough of the things that they would like to eat.

The final guarantee is more for the planning of the caterer. Even if the event is buffet style the caterer still needs to make sure there is enough food. The final guarantee also comes in handy if the guest count has changed dramatically. If suddenly a bunch of people cancel there is a chance that the price of the catering might be lowered if you are still within their window to make changes. If suddenly guests RSVP at the last minute and you need more food, the same rule applies. A caterer has parameters for when you can no longer make changes to your order. This is because a lot of preparation goes into the creation of an event. If the caterer has already begun to marinate jumbo prawns for a hundred and fifty people and you suddenly say only seventy five are going to be able to come, you will still be having your original order of shrimp. Once you give the caterer or the event planner your final guarantee and they begin to prep the food you are locked in with your order.