Does gender matter? Examining gender composition's relationships with meal duration and spending in restaurants

Although most hospitality studies have focused on the controllable variables that influence customer behaviors, this study examined uncontrollable factors including gender composition. This paper focuses on (1) investigating the effect of group gender composition (mostly male, gender-balanced, mostly female) on the following revenue management performance measures (RMPMs): meal duration, spending, and spending per minute (SPM); and (2) examining the effects of customer-based cues (party size, the presence of drinks, and dining day and hour) on RMPMs as affected by gender composition. A total of 1114 restaurant customers were observed over two consecutive weeks. A gender composition effect was found, indicating that heterogeneous (gender-balanced) groups stayed for shorter times, spent more, and were more profitable than homogeneous groups (mostly male or mostly female). The three customer-based cues showed significant effects on RMPMs in relation to gender composition, which will enable managers to develop effective marketing and waiting time management and will enhance revenue.