{"id":9709,"date":"2026-06-02T16:46:41","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T16:46:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/moodby.com\/blog\/?p=9709"},"modified":"2026-06-02T19:10:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T19:10:21","slug":"how-to-calculate-the-right-volume-for-your-bar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moodby.com\/blog\/how-to-calculate-the-right-volume-for-your-bar\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Calculate the Right Volume for Your Bar"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>French psychologist Nicolas Gu\u00e9guen proved this question could be costing you 30% in unrealized revenue<\/strong> <em>4 min read<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>2004. Two identical bars: similar audience, music, drinks. One difference \u2014 volume. 72 dB in one, the level of a loud conversation or a vacuum cleaner. 88 dB in the other, the sound of busy road traffic during rush hour. In the louder environment, guests drained their glasses three minutes faster and ordered more often. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2008, Gu\u00e9guen repeated the experiment with tighter methodology: three Saturday evenings, forty guests, same bars, same staff, same music \u2014 only the volume changed randomly between evenings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"#What-they-recorded\">What they recorded<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#How-it-works\" data-type=\"internal\" data-id=\"#How-it-works\">How it works<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#The-question-Gu\u00e9guen-raised-himself\" data-type=\"internal\" data-id=\"#The-question-Gu\u00e9guen-raised-himself\">The question Gu\u00e9guen raised himself<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#How-to-work-with-this\">How to work with this<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#Conclusion\">Conclusion<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#What-the-research-says\" data-type=\"internal\" data-id=\"#What-the-research-says\">What the research says<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#FAQ\" data-type=\"internal\" data-id=\"#FAQ\">FAQ<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"What-they-recorded\"><strong>What they recorded<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><\/td><td><strong>72 dB<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>88 dB<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Average number of drinks<\/td><td>2.6<\/td><td>3.4<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Time per drink<\/td><td>14.5 min<\/td><td>11.5 min<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>30% difference in drink orders. 20% in consumption speed.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"765\" src=\"https:\/\/moodby.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/hf_20260602_162902_12b4a4ea-8c18-4486-aca4-0fef8efd7c90-1-1024x765.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9727\" srcset=\"https:\/\/moodby.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/hf_20260602_162902_12b4a4ea-8c18-4486-aca4-0fef8efd7c90-1-1024x765.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/moodby.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/hf_20260602_162902_12b4a4ea-8c18-4486-aca4-0fef8efd7c90-1-300x224.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/moodby.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/hf_20260602_162902_12b4a4ea-8c18-4486-aca4-0fef8efd7c90-1-768x573.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/moodby.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/hf_20260602_162902_12b4a4ea-8c18-4486-aca4-0fef8efd7c90-1.jpeg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Translated to an hourly rate: at 72 dB, a guest drinks around 4.1 glasses per hour (60 min \/ 14.5 min); at 88 dB, around 5.2 (60 min \/ 11.5 min). The gap is 1.1 drinks per guest per hour. Over an evening, that works out to +0.8 drinks per average order. Across 50 guests, 40 additional line items on the register.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"How-it-works\"><strong>How it works<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Gu\u00e9guen explained the mechanism this way. Loud music makes conversation difficult: people lean in, ask each other to repeat, raise their voices \u2014 and in the pauses between attempts to talk, a hand reaches for the glass, without any conscious decision behind it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"765\" src=\"https:\/\/moodby.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/hf_20260602_163304_ea72e4f2-398c-44dd-9d2e-6e33618bb286-1-1024x765.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9730\" srcset=\"https:\/\/moodby.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/hf_20260602_163304_ea72e4f2-398c-44dd-9d2e-6e33618bb286-1-1024x765.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/moodby.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/hf_20260602_163304_ea72e4f2-398c-44dd-9d2e-6e33618bb286-1-300x224.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/moodby.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/hf_20260602_163304_ea72e4f2-398c-44dd-9d2e-6e33618bb286-1-768x573.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/moodby.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/hf_20260602_163304_ea72e4f2-398c-44dd-9d2e-6e33618bb286-1.jpeg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Physiology adds its part: elevated sound levels activate the nervous system, reduce inhibition, make the next order slightly less deliberate. The combined result of both mechanisms: plus 0.8 drinks per guest per evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"The-question-Gu\u00e9guen-raised-himself\"><strong>The question Gu\u00e9guen raised himself<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In both papers, he wrote directly: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>This data can be used to increase alcohol consumption \u2014 and framed it as a choice each person makes for themselves.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Most bars don&#8217;t think in decibels. Someone turned it up because the vibe felt flat, someone turned it down after a complaint. The venue&#8217;s audio policy takes shape around the mood of whoever&#8217;s on shift. Gu\u00e9guen just gave it a number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"How-to-work-with-this\"><strong>How to work with this<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The waiting area and main dining room sit comfortably at 65\u201370 dB \u2014 the level where music is present without pressing down on conversation. The bar counter and lounge take 72\u201378 dB: enough to generate energy in the space while people can still hear each other. Everything above that is already the territory Gu\u00e9guen described in his research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Time of day follows the same logic. The lunch crowd came to eat and get back to work; the evening crowd has nowhere to be. The same volume serves them differently, and most venues sense this intuitively \u2014 they just don&#8217;t encode it as a fixed parameter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another variable: zoning. Terraces scatter sound, so they need a higher source level. Enclosed rooms with hard surfaces amplify it \u2014 less source achieves the same effect. The bar and the main dining room within a single venue almost always need different settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"765\" src=\"https:\/\/moodby.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/hf_20260602_163327_5cb20404-6174-4b0a-8c7e-226cc2977a8f-1-1024x765.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9733\" srcset=\"https:\/\/moodby.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/hf_20260602_163327_5cb20404-6174-4b0a-8c7e-226cc2977a8f-1-1024x765.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/moodby.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/hf_20260602_163327_5cb20404-6174-4b0a-8c7e-226cc2977a8f-1-300x224.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/moodby.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/hf_20260602_163327_5cb20404-6174-4b0a-8c7e-226cc2977a8f-1-768x573.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/moodby.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/hf_20260602_163327_5cb20404-6174-4b0a-8c7e-226cc2977a8f-1.jpeg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"Conclusion\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Gu\u00e9guen described an environment restaurateurs are already creating \u2014 usually without thinking about it. Volume in the room affects guest behavior, and the only thing that varies from venue to venue is how deliberately that effect is managed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/play.moodby.com\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"play.moodby.com\"><strong>Moodby<\/strong> <\/a>lets you set music parameters by zone in advance. What plays in the room is configured once \u2014 and holds regardless of who&#8217;s working tonight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"What-the-research-says\"><strong>What the research says<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>According to <strong>Nicolas Gu\u00e9guen<\/strong>, <strong>Henri Le Guellec<\/strong>, and <strong>C\u00e9dric Jacob<\/strong>, published in <em>Perceptual and Motor Skills<\/em> (2004), raising background volume in a bar increased the number of drinks ordered \u2014 the effect was recorded under field conditions with real guests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to <strong>Nicolas Gu\u00e9guen<\/strong>, <strong>C\u00e9dric Jacob<\/strong>, <strong>Henri Le Guellec<\/strong>, <strong>Thierry Morineau<\/strong>, and <strong>Marcel Lourel<\/strong>, published in <em>Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research<\/em> (2008), raising volume from 72 to 88 dB increased average drink orders from 2.6 to 3.4 \u2014 a roughly 30% increase. Time per drink dropped from 14.5 to 11.5 minutes. Translated to an hourly rate: 4.1 drinks at 72 dB versus 5.2 at 88 dB \u2014 a difference of 1.1 drinks per guest per hour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>FAQ<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How does music volume affect alcohol consumption?<\/strong> According to two field experiments by Nicolas Gu\u00e9guen (2004, 2008), raising volume from 72 to 88 dB increased average drink orders from 2.6 to 3.4 \u2014 roughly 30%. Translated to an hourly rate: 4.1 drinks at 72 dB versus 5.2 at 88 dB. The mechanism: loud music makes conversation difficult, pauses fill with orders; elevated sound levels also reduce inhibition and increase impulse behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What&#8217;s the optimal volume level for a restaurant?<\/strong> For areas where conversational comfort matters \u2014 the main dining room, waiting area \u2014 around 65\u201370 dB. Bar zones and lounges can take 72\u201378 dB. Above that is a deliberate choice with the behavioral consequences Gu\u00e9guen documented in his research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Does volume affect consumption speed?<\/strong> Yes. In the 2008 experiment, guests at 88 dB spent an average of 11.5 minutes per drink versus 14.5 minutes at 72 dB \u2014 roughly 20% faster. Theoretical hourly rate: 4.1 drinks at lower volume, 5.2 at higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Should you set different volume levels for different zones?<\/strong> Yes. Open spaces scatter sound \u2014 they need a higher source level. Enclosed rooms with hard surfaces amplify it \u2014 less source achieves the same effect. The bar counter and the main dining room within a single venue almost always need different settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">\n{\n  \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n  \"@type\": \"FAQPage\",\n  \"mainEntity\": [\n    {\n      \"@type\": \"Question\",\n      \"name\": \"How does music volume affect alcohol consumption?\",\n      \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n        \"text\": \"According to two field experiments by Nicolas Gu\u00e9guen (2004, 2008), raising volume from 72 to 88 dB increased average drink orders from 2.6 to 3.4 \u2014 roughly 30%. Translated to an hourly rate: 4.1 drinks at 72 dB versus 5.2 at 88 dB. 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One difference \u2014 volume. 72 dB in one, the level of a loud conversation or a vacuum cleaner. 88 dB in the other, the sound of busy road traffic [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":9721,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moodby.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moodby.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moodby.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moodby.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moodby.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9709"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/moodby.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9709\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9763,"href":"https:\/\/moodby.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9709\/revisions\/9763"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moodby.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moodby.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moodby.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moodby.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}