Creating seating plans: a practical application. Issue 11 (1st November 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lewis, Rhyd; Carroll, Fiona
• Is Part Of: Journal of the Operational Research Society. Volume 67:Issue 11(2016)
• Page Start: 1353
• Page End: 1362
• Publication Date: 2016-11-01
• Subjects: seating plans -- graph colouring -- combinatorial optimisation -- metaheuristics -- integer programming; Operations research -- Periodicals; 658.4034
• DOI: 10.1057/jors.2016.34
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0160-5682

Abstract

Abstract: This paper examines the interesting problem of designing seating plans for large events such as weddings and gala dinners where, among other things, the aim is to construct solutions where guests are sat on the same tables as friends and family, but, perhaps more importantly, are kept away from those they dislike. This problem is seen to be -complete from a number of different perspectives. We describe the problem model and heuristic algorithm that is used on the commercial websitewww.weddingseatplanner.com . We present results on the performance of this algorithm, demonstrating the factors that can influence run time and solution quality, and also present a comparison with an equivalent IP model used in conjunction with a commercial solver.