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At a glance

In 2026, a reception for 100 guests typically costs €75 to €200 per person, which means a total budget of around €7,500 to €20,000 for a corporate event. That wide price range usually comes down to three things: the level of catering you choose, from light bites to a full walking dinner, the amount of staff and service required, and how much styling and technical production is involved.

• VAT is mixed: food and non-alcoholic drinks are taxed at 9%, while staffing and alcohol fall under 21%, which can make a quote excluding VAT look far lower than the final total.
• Food safety is a legal requirement: every caterer must work according to a HACCP plan, including at off-site events.
• Inflation matters: the average price increase of 3.3% in 2025 continues to affect 2026 rates.
• Full-service catering versus separate vendors determines whether you get one invoice or five, and how much time you spend coordinating everything.
• La Casserole does not work from one flat rate. Pricing is built around the event format, venue, and guest count.

Introduction (Services)

When clients start planning a reception for 100 guests, La Casserole sees the same confusion time and time again. One quote says €25 per person, another comes in well above €150, and almost no one explains what is actually causing the difference. For a marketing manager comparing proposals, it can feel impossible to know what is truly included.

And that difference is not random. It usually comes down to what is, and is not, part of the price. Are you paying just for drinks and canapés, or does the quote also cover service staff, glassware, cocktail tables, AV, and a host at the entrance? Is VAT included, or not?

A reception sounds simple enough: drinks, bites, a few hours, done. But in practice, it is the individual line items that make the budget harder to read. Once you understand how the costs are built up, it becomes much easier to compare quotes properly and avoid last-minute surprises.

This article breaks down the full cost picture for 2026: average price ranges per person, the VAT trap, staffing costs, and the pros and cons of booking separate suppliers versus working with one partner who handles everything. If drinks reception catering is your starting point, the in-depth guide to drinks and canapé catering goes into more detail on portions and presentation.

What does a reception for 100 guests really cost?

A reception for 100 guests in 2026 typically costs between €7,500 and €20,000, or about €75 to €200 per person for a fully catered corporate event. That range lines up with the pricing benchmark used by CateringMeesters, which estimates a total budget of €7,500 to €20,000 for a business event with 100 attendees.

The lower end of that range usually covers a simple drinks reception with snacks and beverages. The upper end is more in line with a premium reception at an external venue, with a full walking dinner, generous staffing, event styling, and technical support.

Why the difference can be as much as €125 per person

Imagine an office manager at a manufacturing company planning an anniversary reception for 90 employees and invited guests. If she chooses simple reception bites and three hours of service, the budget may land around €75 per person. Add a live chef experience, premium drinks, and full event styling, and that same guest list can quickly climb to €180 per person.

A guest count of 100 is actually a helpful benchmark. It is large enough to use staff efficiently, but still compact enough to keep the event manageable in a single venue.

Inflation is still pushing prices up in 2026

Catering rates in 2026 are noticeably higher than they were a few years ago. According to CBS, consumer prices in 2025 were on average 3.3 percent higher than in 2024, with food and non-alcoholic beverages among the main drivers. Caterers feel those increases directly in purchasing costs, and that inevitably shows up in your quote.

What to do:

• Always ask for both a per-person price and a total event price, so you can trace the individual cost items.
• If a quote comes in below €60 per person, check whether staffing, glassware, and transport are actually included.
• Keep 10 to 15% of your budget aside as a buffer for extra guests and last-minute additions.
• Compare at least three quotes using the exact same assumptions: same event duration, same number of canapés, same type of venue.

Why is VAT on a catering quote higher than expected?

VAT on catering is split across different rates, which is why a quote excluding VAT can look misleadingly low. Food and non-alcoholic drinks are taxed at a reduced rate, while staffing, transport, and alcohol are taxed at the higher rate.

The difference between 9% and 21%

According to the Dutch Tax Administration, food and non-alcoholic beverages in hospitality settings fall under the 9% VAT rate. Alcoholic drinks are taxed at 21%. So if your reception includes wine, beer, and sparkling wine, a substantial part of your drinks bill is taxed at the higher rate.

Staffing and equipment are also taxed at 21%

The VAT picture becomes even more important once you factor in the other cost lines. As KOM Catering explains, food and drink are charged at 9%, while staffing, equipment, and transport are charged at 21%. At a full-service reception, where service staff, furniture, and technical production make up a significant share of the budget, the effective VAT rate often ends up much closer to 21% than 9%.

For a freelancer or limited company that can reclaim VAT, this may not be a major issue. For a private client, association, or foundation that cannot recover VAT, the gap between excluding and including VAT can easily run into the thousands.

Always budget using VAT-inclusive totals

A quote of €100 per person excluding VAT can easily become €115 to €120 including VAT, depending on the mix of alcohol and staffing. Ignore that, and you may end up 15 to 20% over budget without realising it.

What to do:

• Ask every caterer to show both VAT-exclusive and VAT-inclusive pricing.
• If you cannot reclaim VAT, build your budget from the VAT-inclusive total from day one.
• Ask for alcohol to be listed separately so you can clearly see the 21% portion and adjust if needed.
• Check whether staffing and transport appear as separate line items taxed at 21%.

Separate vendors or full-service catering: which is better value?

Full-service catering combines food, service, equipment, and technical support under one provider. Separate suppliers can look cheaper at first, but they often come with hidden coordination costs. For a reception with 100 guests, that trade-off is very real.

The hidden cost of booking everything separately

If you hire a caterer, a drinks supplier, a furniture rental company, and a sound provider separately, you are also taking on four transport charges, four invoices, and four different points of contact. For an office manager fitting this around a full-time role, that can easily mean several working days spent comparing quotes, lining up deliveries, and managing everything on the day itself.

That time rarely shows up in the event budget, but it is still a real cost. La Casserole approaches this differently by bringing catering, styling, technical support, furniture, and project management together under one central contact, as explained in the approach behind stress-free full-service catering.

When separate suppliers do make sense

For a smaller, informal reception in your own company canteen, a standalone caterer may be all you need. If you already work with a trusted drinks supplier or have your own venue and furniture, some of the value of a full-service package naturally falls away.

The decision is not just about price. It is about complexity. The more moving parts your event has, the more valuable it becomes to have one party managing the lot.

What to do:

• If you are comparing separate suppliers, include the value of your own time at a realistic hourly rate.
• If your event needs more than three suppliers, full-service catering is usually worth the difference.
• Ask full-service providers what happens if extra guests show up or the weather changes.
• Check whether the caterer has its own venues, such as Het Ketelhuis in Eindhoven, which can simplify logistics and reduce costs.

How do you stay in control of staffing, venue costs, and food safety?

Beyond food and drink, staffing, venue logistics, and legal food safety requirements account for a large share of reception costs. These are exactly the areas people tend to underestimate when arranging everything themselves.

Staffing is often the second biggest cost

For 100 guests, you will usually need several team members: waiting staff, bar staff, and someone overseeing the on-site kitchen operation. Staffing is taxed at the higher VAT rate and typically charged by the hour, including setup and breakdown. In other words, a three-hour reception often requires far more paid staff time than the guest-facing event itself.

Food safety is not optional

Every caterer in the Netherlands is legally required to work according to a HACCP plan, including for events at external venues. According to the KVK Business.gov information portal, businesses must follow a food safety plan based on HACCP, and the NVWA monitors whether companies work safely and hygienically. A professional event caterer will already have this in place. A cheap informal setup may not, and that alone is a good reason to look closely at who is preparing and serving your food.

The venue can make or break the budget

If you choose an external venue without a professional kitchen, you may need mobile cooking equipment, power supply, and water access. Industry association ONCE represents the party and event catering sector in the Netherlands and links professional event catering to quality, hospitality, and reliability, which are exactly the things that matter most at off-site events. A caterer with its own venues in Brabant often already has that infrastructure in place, which helps avoid surprise costs.

What to do:

• Ask whether staffing costs include setup and breakdown, not just guest hours.
• Check that the caterer can clearly confirm HACCP compliance, this should be standard.
• If the venue has no kitchen, budget separately for mobile cooking equipment, electricity, and water.
• As a rule of thumb, expect roughly one service staff member per 20 to 25 guests for a reception.

Key takeaways

The cost of a reception for 100 guests is not one fixed number. It is the result of a series of choices. Three points matter most if you want your budget to be realistic.

First, the range of €75 to €200 per person is not arbitrary. It reflects the difference between simple drinks and bites, and a fully produced event with service, styling, and technical support. Second, VAT makes VAT-exclusive quotes look cheaper than they really are, because staffing, transport, and alcohol are taxed at 21%. Third, the real saving is rarely found in the cheapest caterer on paper. More often, it comes from less coordination, fewer transport charges, and less risk on the day.

Keep those three points in mind, and you will be in a much stronger position to compare quotes fairly and avoid unpleasant surprises.

Frequently asked questions

What does a reception for 100 guests cost in 2026?

A reception for 100 guests in 2026 usually costs between €75 and €200 per person, or roughly €7,500 to €20,000 in total. The lower end fits a simple drinks reception with light snacks and basic service, while the upper end suits a walking dinner with full styling and technical production. Always ask for both the per-person price and the total including VAT so you can compare quotes properly.

How much does dinner catering for 50 guests cost?

For a catered dinner for 50 guests, the per-person price is often in a similar range to larger events, but fixed costs such as transport and minimum staffing carry more weight. In practice, expect roughly half the total budget of a 100-person reception, with a slightly higher price per person. Smaller events benefit less from economies of scale.

What is the average catering cost per person?

Average catering costs per person vary widely depending on the style of event, but for a well-organised reception you can usually expect between €75 and €200 per guest. Simple canapé catering may cost less, while a chef-led dinner concept will cost more. La Casserole does not use one standard rate, but builds each quote around the event format, venue, and guest count.

How much does catering staff cost per hour?

Catering staff are usually charged by the hour, including setup and breakdown time, and fall under the 21% VAT rate. The hourly rate depends on the role, waiting staff, bar staff, and an on-site kitchen lead will all be priced differently. Always check whether the quote covers the full working time, not just the hours when guests are present.

How does La Casserole help organise a reception?

La Casserole manages receptions from start to finish by bringing catering, service, styling, furniture, and technical support together under one central point of contact, backed by more than 40 years of experience and its own event venues in Brabant. That means one clear quote including VAT, combined transport, and one team in charge on the day. It can save several working days of coordination and significantly reduce the risk of surprise costs.

Conclusion

A reception for 100 guests in 2026 typically costs between €7,500 and €20,000, but that number means very little without understanding what sits behind it. The €75 to €200 per person range depends on the level of catering, the amount of staffing required, and how much styling and technical support is involved. On top of that, mixed VAT rates can make a VAT-exclusive quote look far cheaper than it really is.

If you are comparing proposals, make sure you are looking at like-for-like quotes: same event duration, same number of canapés, VAT included, and staffing that covers the full working time. The cheapest option on paper is rarely the cheapest in practice once you factor in coordination time and event-day risk.

For anyone who would rather avoid juggling multiple suppliers and wants one experienced partner in charge, La Casserole’s full-service approach offers clear pricing, its own venues in Brabant, and proven experience with receptions and corporate events. That keeps the budget predictable and leaves you free to focus on your guests.

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