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.

I work in a pub.

There really really isn't any need at all to do this, it is greedy.

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

On Saturday? My first hunch was correct, it was because of the football match - Wales were playing Denmark.

Not sure what the issue is, £30 per head is nothing. Unless you're in Wetherspoons that would be four drinks and something to eat max.

We love bar hopping, and often start at lunch far away from home then bar hop back to the house for pizza takeaway by dinner (I don't know why people are sneering as this is by far the best way to dodge a hangover post 25!).

But it's a pandemic, and we want the pub next door to survive, so we'll happily spend the whole lot there.

Not sure what the issue is, £30 per head is nothing

It is if you only want a few drinks and no food from that particular place as you have already eaten in the previous venue.

It is if you only want a few drinks and no food from that particular place as you have already eaten in the previous venue
The OP was in a city centre, its 3 or 4 drinks

How is it greedy? Would they not be getting the thirty pounds worth of food and /or drink they had to undertake to purchase?

My DP had this for a well known vodka place and it was minimum spend of £120 for 2 hours for the 6 of them. Fine if you're buying cocktails, but they were a group of lads who just wanted a few pints, one of which was driving so was on soft drinks.

Yes, we're finding this, £10 per head non refundable deposit. No use if anyone has to self isolate and cancel.
NW hotspot.
We go elsewhere.

Meh, seems fair enough. Pubs need the money and will prefer to have punters who are having a decent number of drinks rather than people going in and nursing half a shady over the space of 3 hours.

I can understand the rationale, but I'd be unlikely to spend £30 just on drinks, so they'd lose my custom (which presumably would be fine if they got a bigger spender in place of me).

They want to discourage bar hopping, it's how outbreaks spread, if you are ok with sitting outside, plenty of places don't require booking or have minimum spends

You do realise that some of these businesses will have nearly gone under because of lockdowns?

Fair enough to discourage pub crawls, or people sitting for a while with one drink

I've been out a few times lately and never heard of this?!
Doesn't seem to be a thing here, you can just go in whatever pub or bar you like.
They do the track and trace thing where you have to sign in, but you can spend as little as you like and no set time to stay,

Presumably it's for the Euros?

They'd be mad to impose this kind of charge the rest of the year. Many pubs are already struggling not to go under - and making a minimum spend of £60 per couple simply means even more people will not go to pubs. Many only survive by selling food anyway. Drink is too cheap in supermarkets in comparison.

I can understand this, as I've said, from a financial perspective, but why would they assume someone only having one or two drinks was bar-hopping?

I've been out for a drink a couple of times post-lockdown and each time we had two drinks and then went home.

I'd imagine it would reduce the no shows too

Sounds sensible from a business POV, I can't imagine in what way it could be classed as disgusting

Can understand from a business pov bit, bloody hell...what if you're teetotal ? Bloody hard to spend £30 on coke!

@DanglingMod

Can understand from a business pov bit, bloody hell...what if you're teetotal ? Bloody hard to spend £30 on coke!

I get that, but maybe they shouldn’t be going to a city centre pub during the Euros, or perhaps a teetotal person should get some food?

I really think we need to get away from the culture of bar hopping, I have just returned from abroad and it was telling who was English - despite being the minority

@RumJerrySailorRum

I work in a pub.

There really really isn't any need at all to do this, it is greedy.

Not sure what relevance you working in a pub has.

Our local has 8 tables, only 3 x 2 seaters, 4 x 4 seaters and 1 big enough for 6. So 22 people max, if they're constantly full.

If someone books 4 seats for 2 hrs and 3 people turn up then leave after 1 drink, they've got maybe £15 for that 2hrs. It's impossible for them.

They could end up fully booked and yet take under £300 for a full evening.

I think they should 100% put a minimum per person on.

An average profit on a pint at a city centre tied (brewery) pub is about 30p where I’m from. Profits for softs are much higher, but the spend is tiny. The most profitable items are food, wine and cocktails/spirits.

Obviously in a pub with social distancing in place it’s impossible to pay rent, rates, tax, staff etc etc etc on a table that will yield 50p profit per customer. It’s not like before when the pint drinkers were 3 deep at the bar. They need to make a decent amount from each table.

Somethings got to give or they will close.

I would happily spend £30 per head if it included food but the OP implied it was purely on drinks that the pubs were insisting on... fifteen or twenty halves of coke!