A VIP moves tables day-of. What record actually shows the new seat?

Suppose a VIP-tagged guest was seated at table 4 when the BEO was finalized last week. Shortly before doors, the host moves that party to table 9 to meet a last-minute accessibility request. Nobody signs anything new. So which record on the floor reflects that move, and which one still describes last week's plan?

Three things are in play, and they do not update on the same schedule: the seating assignment, the VIP flag, and the per-meal tally the kitchen prep sheet uses. Knowing which of those changed, and which did not, matters before line-up.

What actually changes when the host moves the table?

The seating assignment changes, and it changes on the event's floorplan, not on the BEO. Event seating is assigned against the event and the elements on its floorplan, and changing the room after a BEO is final does not require re-finalizing the document. The reseat is a routine, same-day update to the floorplan, carried after the paperwork is already locked. For the broader boundary between what the floorplan absorbs and what forces a new signed document, see why a signed BEO won't budge but the floorplan will.

Does the VIP star move with the guest, or stay on the old table?

It moves with the guest, because the flag is attached to the named attendee, not to a table number. Named-guest seating ties each attendee — optionally linked to a party, optionally seated at a floorplan element — to a meal choice and a VIP flag, and that attendee record is what the guest list card and the seating chart draw from. A table number is only a current attribute of that attendee's record, not a separate thing the flag is tied to. When the host reseats the party, the chart shows the new table, and the star appears there, because the flag was never attached to table 4 in the first place.

Does the per-meal tally update when the seat changes?

Yes, because the tally is derived from the current seating assignment, not from a fixed snapshot. The seating chart carries a derived per-meal plate tally alongside the VIP-starred names, shared by the BEO and the prep sheet. Since the tally is computed from the live seating record, moving a guest from table 4 to table 9 shifts their meal count onto table 9's total on the chart, for as long as that assignment stays current.

Why doesn't the pre-shift note pick this up on its own?

Because the note is drafted against the finalized BEO, not the live seating chart. A pre-shift note is composed from the venue's live menu, the items 86'd for that service day, anything the operator adds by hand, and the finalized BEO for that venue and day — and the BEO facts in it come from the document's frozen snapshot, so the note can only say what the floor was actually handed at the time it was finalized. The note folds in that BEO's event title, guest count, run of show, and the allergens present on that menu, read through the floor's own view. A same-day seating move happens on the floorplan afterward, a separate surface the note draft does not re-check once it has been drafted. This is the split covered in the pre-shift note vs. the BEO: the note summarizes what was finalized, and a same-day move is not a finalization event.

Does the guest list card show the move right away?

Yes — the guest list card and the seating chart both draw from the same named-guest seating record, so a reseat shows there as soon as it is assigned, independent of whatever the pre-shift note already says. That is the same underlying data a trainer should point a new server to, rather than treating the note as the single source for seating. The split between what the guest list shows and what the note carries is its own subject, covered in a guest list has a VIP star — does the pre-shift note actually say so?

What should a trainer tell a new server about this?

Tell them plainly: the VIP flag lives with the guest's name, the table number on the chart is the current answer to where that guest sits, and the pre-shift note summarizes the finalized BEO rather than the floorplan as it stands tonight. A server checking who is VIP should look at the guest list or the current seating chart, not assume the note already covers a move made after it was drafted. Reviewing the reservation system for VIPs, accommodations, and special notes ahead of service is a standard part of preparing a floor team, and this is that same habit, applied specifically to a late move. You can see what the pre-shift note is built to carry, and what a trainer still has to cover separately, on the staff training page.

In plain terms

A VIP-tagged guest moving tables day-of updates the seating assignment and the per-meal tally right away, because both are drawn from wherever the guest is currently seated. It does not update the pre-shift note, because that note is built from the finalized BEO's frozen snapshot and is not re-read against the floorplan afterward. The flag stays attached to the person. The table number on the chart is only the current answer.