City pubs and bars imposing minimum spend if you want to get in!!

[Usernamesgain]

DH and I decided to have a day in our nearest city on Saturday. We would often, pre Covid, go into town, wander from pub to pub, have a meal, few drinks etc.

I understand that it’s now only possible to get a table if you book - it’s a pain but due to social distancing acceptable.

What I am annoyed about is that almost all the places we tried to book now impose a minimum spend to book that table!! So you can’t hop from place to place after an hour or two, you have to stay and reach this minimum spend.

I felt a bit disgusted by it tbh, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if pubs decide to keep this ‘rule’ going forward, nice little earner for them really.

The spontaneity of bar hopping will be gone. Having drinks out will be only for the people who can afford a long stay at the table, drinking heavily to meet the minimum spend.

We don't have that here (Sheffield). It's probably for financial reasons but also not a good idea to bar hop in the current climate. I'm sure it will go back to normal in time.

you still shouldn’t really be hopping from place to place anyway.

YABVU. Hospitality venues are working at reduced capacity to ensure social distancing. They don't want someone loitering over one drink for 2 hours. Give them a break. Some places where I live impose a minimum spend but once you've had a couple of drinks and a bit of food it's easily covered.

I have not come across this. I would support a deposit given the apparent number of no-shows restaurants and pubs are getting (cold feet on the day I assume, not just the rudeness of some who in normal times don't bother to cancel).

Not much would surprise me from a city centre bar to be honest.

I agree with a previous poster, it's questionable if they're encouraging people to drink more. OK so that's kind of what all their marketing does, but still.

Where are these places?

TBH it’s always been quite common for some pubs etc to insist that people order a meal as well as drinks but I’ve never heard of a minimum spend.

In fact at the weekend i ended up in a place I hadn’t intended to go to. i am currently working with a trainee guide dog and he found a different place to the one I was looking for (my DP’s fault,) but before I could turn back on to the street a waitress came over and insisted on helping us to a table. So I felt it was only right to at least buy a drink there. But we were there for 10 minutes max and then we went to the actual place I’d wanted to go to.

People who spend hours just with one drink take up the tables for people who actually want to eat somewhere or who at least want to spend a decent amount. It’s not economically viable.

I've booked a couple of places in Manchester for a weekend in July and have not come across this. I have had to leave my card details and they will debit me if I don't turn up, which is fair enough, but none have mentioned a minimum spend.

Where was this happening, Ive never been anywhere during the pandemic that has insisted on a minimum spend

You don't have to stay, you can just pay the minimum spend and go "bar hop" whenever you like if you're that bothered.

Agree with others- you shouldn't be bar hopping at the moment anyway, and begrudging businesses doing what they can to stay afloat after a year when the hospitality industry has almost been destroyed isn't a great look. Going out isn't mandatory, you know.

I think there is a big difference between taking a deposit for a table to ensure people turn up and demanding a minimum spend per head, as obviously will be a higher price

Do you have any idea how much it costs to run a pub? You should be ashamed of yourselves!
Pubs have been shut for a year, now they not only have extra costs like cleaning and more staff for table service but less space for customers. And you begrudge them the money?

I'm in London and haven't heard of any pubs doing this and last weekend, I went to a few.

Yes I think it’s a great idea all around!

Pubs will make their money, less covid spread, fewer drunks lurching from pub to pub.

Personally I can’t think of anything less enjoyable than “bar hopping”

Most places are doing 2 hour bookings. The pubs you were trying to book would have been stuck if you had come in for your booking, had a quick half, and then wandered off to the next place. By setting a minimum spend, they can ensure people are serious about using that two hour slot to the full. I think this is perfectly fair enough after the year they’ve had.

Saying that, I live in London and have recently been in Edinburgh and have never come across this system. Haven’t even been asked to pay a deposit, though I know this is happening in some pubs and fair enough - the number of people who book and then don’t turn up is shameful.

@thesunwillout

Deffo a thing, in Cardiff. They need people to show up to the pre cleaned and cleared tables. You can't just pub crawl anymore.

The most I've heard is £30 a table.

Yep it’s Cardiff that we were at. I couldn’t believe it!

Kind of obvious why they are doing it.

It also seems fairly stupid to want to be bar hopping too when people are still catching covid when fully vaccinated. The more bars you go to, the more it spreads. Again, pretty obvious.

Just stay in one bar. Hardly difficult.

Guessing it’s to prevent bar hopping because it’s more responsible to stick to one place right now.

£30 does seem high though!

@Aroundtheworldin80moves

I get why.

On a very simplistic level....

They have ten tables. If its 10 groups of six, spending a tenner each over two hours... thats £600 over 2hrs.
Its 10 groups of four, spending £7 each... £280.
10 couples, sharing a bottle of wine per table... £80.

What customers does the pub want?

Or put a minimum spend of say £40 per table over 2hrs... guaranteed £400, maybe more.

Exactly.

They are trying to attract people who want to spend money with them, not sure half a pint for hours on end while taking up space.

I think it’s a great idea OP. Stops you from mixing in too many places and also stops you from hogging the table with your half finished lemonade for an hour.

A friend has a cafe. He has had to lose a lot of the tables due to social distancing. People now need to reserve the tables he has left. A former customer went in recently to support him after he reopened. The customer sat there for almost three hours with a coffee and a cake. This meant my friend had effectively lost the use of another table. As harsh as it sounds, in an ideal world, venues need you to spend as much money as possible in a short period of time. They have overheads to pay!

I dont blame them tbh-sholdnt be bar hopping right now anyway its a bit thoughtless

Seems reasonable to me. Bars and restaurants are barely breaking even given social distancing- the least thing they need is someone taking up a table for hours while nursing half a lager. Staying in one place is also better from a covid pov.

I'm in London and while I haven't seen this in a pub, I've come across it when looking at places to book when the country opened up.
I don't think it so common though where one couldn't find an alternative... although yes, it's annoying!