Toast Data: Reservation Trends Shift to Slower Days and Early Dinners

December 10, 2024 at 08:00 AM EST

The Q3 2024 Restaurant Trends report examines shifts in reservation trends, food and alcohol price increases, and tipping and wage data for full-service restaurants.

Toast (NYSE: TOST), the all-in-one digital platform built for restaurants, today announced its Q3 2024 Restaurant Trends Report, providing insight into the overall state of the U.S. restaurant industry through an analysis of aggregated data from selected cohorts of restaurants and in select U.S. cities on the Toast platform, which serves approximately 127,000 restaurant locations as of September 30, 2024. Read more details about our methodology below.

Key takeaways:

Reservations on the Toast platform increased 11% on Mondays and Tuesdays and dipped 1% on Saturdays compared to last year.¹
Compared to last year, guests are booking more reservations for early bird dinners and fewer reservations after 7 p.m. ²
17% of reservations were canceled in Q3 2024, down from 19% compared to last year.³
45% of reservations in Q3 2024 were made for the same day. ³
In Q3 2024, guests at full-service restaurants paid $6.34 for a beer (+2.4% YOY), $6.72 for a cider (+2.5% YOY), $8.06 for rum drinks (+2.7% YOY), $9.91 for vodka drinks (+2.7% YOY), $10.29 for whiskey drinks (+2.8% YOY), $11.40 for gin drinks (+4.0% YOY), and $13.48 for tequila drinks (+0.2% YOY).⁴
In Q3 2024, guests at full-service restaurants paid $10.66 for chicken tenders (+4.8% YOY), $11.98 for breakfast platters (+4.5%), $12.03 for sushi (+2.3% YOY), $12.99 for wings (+2.8% YOY), $13.33 for noodles/ramen (+3.7% YOY), $13.52 for burritos (+3.9% YOY), $13.52 for bowls (+5.1% YOY), $15.69 for pasta (+4.7% YOY), $20.07 for fajitas (+5.3% YOY), and $26.62 for steak (+2.9% YOY).⁵
Servers at full-service restaurants made a median hourly wage of $6.24 and a median hourly tip rate of $21.48 in September 2024.⁶
Total tips averaged 18.8% in Q3 2024, the same as Q2 2024. Average full-service restaurant tips also remained flat at 19.3% in Q3 compared to Q2, while tips at quick-service restaurants dipped to 15.8% in Q3 compared to 15.9% in Q2. ⁷

View the full report on the Toast Newsroom.

Toast Benchmarking powers the Restaurant Trends Report's menu insights. This tool leverages AI-based classification and allows users to compare restaurant and menu category performance against aggregated data from peer Toast restaurants.

Methodology:

¹Toast analyzed the number of same-store reservations each day of the week at full-service restaurants on the Toast Tables platform in Q3 2024 and compared them to Q3 2023 to determine which days had more or fewer reservations than last year.

²Toast analyzed the number of same-store reservations each hour of the day at full-service restaurants on the Toast Tables platform in Q3 2024 and compared them to Q3 2023 to determine which hours had more or fewer reservations than last year between 4 p.m. and 12 a.m.

³Toast analyzed the number of same-store reservations and waitlist bookings at full-service restaurants on the Toast Tables platform in Q3 2024 and compared them to Q3 2023.

⁴Toast analyzed transactions at full-service restaurants on the Toast platform from July 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024, to determine the price growth of beer, cider, rum, vodka, whiskey, gin, and tequila. Toast used a cohort of same-store restaurants on the platform since Q3 2023.

⁵Toast analyzed transactions at full-service restaurants on the Toast platform from July 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024, to determine the price growth of chicken tenders, sushi, breakfast platters, wings, noodles/ramen, burritos, bowls, pasta, fajitas, and steak. Toast used a cohort of same-store restaurants on the platform since Q3 2023.

⁶Data from applicable same-store full-service restaurants on the Toast platform from Sept. 1, 2023, to Sept. 30, 2024. Salaried, overtime, and bonus wages are not included. Paid time off is not included. Servers included in the analysis worked a minimum of five hours in the payroll period and received tips greater than zero. Servers’ job titles included a version of the words "server" or "wait." Hourly wages do not include tips. Base wages are the total wages divided by the number of hours. Tips per hour are the total reported tips divided by the number of hours.

⁷Data from applicable restaurants on the Toast platform where a tip was added to the order via a card or digital payment from July 1, 2024, to September 30, 2024. Cash tips are not included in the analysis. Tipping rates are gratuity that was added to the total processing volume before tips, including taxes and fees.

About the Restaurant Trends Report:

The Restaurant Trends Report, powered by Toast, uncovers key trends across the restaurant industry through aggregated sales data from a selection of cohorts of restaurants on the Toast platform, which has approximately 127,000 locations as of September 30, 2024. This information is provided for general informational purposes only, and publication does not constitute an endorsement. Toast does not warrant the accuracy or completeness of any information, text, graphics, links, or other items contained within this content. Individual results may vary. Toast does not guarantee you will achieve any specific results if you follow any advice herein. It may be advisable for you to consult with a professional such as a lawyer, accountant, or business advisor for advice specific to your situation. The Restaurant Trends Report is not indicative of the operational performance of Toast or its reported financial metrics.

About Toast

Toast [NYSE: TOST] is a cloud-based, all-in-one digital technology platform purpose-built for the entire restaurant community. Toast provides a comprehensive platform of software as a service (SaaS) products and financial technology solutions that give restaurants everything they need to run their business across point of sale, payments, operations, digital ordering and delivery, marketing and loyalty, and team management. We serve as the restaurant operating system, connecting front of house and back of house operations across service models including dine-in, takeout, delivery, catering, and retail. Toast helps restaurants streamline operations, increase revenue, and deliver amazing guest experiences. For more information, visit www.toasttab.com.