Creating seating plans: a practical application

Rhyd Lewis and Fiona Carroll
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Rhyd Lewis: Cardiff University
Fiona Carroll: University of South Wales

Journal of the Operational Research Society, 2016, vol. 67, issue 11, 1353-1362

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 website www.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.

Keywords: seating plans; graph colouring; combinatorial optimisation; metaheuristics; integer programming (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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DOI: 10.1057/jors.2016.34

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