City hotels suffering from rise in bedroom boozers

crusher000 · 23-04-2013 1:07pm #1

Heading is from article in Galway City Sentinel newspaper where hoteliers are saying more and more guest are bringing drink with them purchased in Off Licenses and consuming it in their rooms. Also young guests are organising room parties. They are trying the old health implications along with loss in revenue and have even had people bring drinks into weddings that was purchased else where. If you get a good deal on the room and you've been budgeting you still may not be able to afford to have a couple of drinks in the hotel bar with the proces they charge.

krudler · 23-04-2013 1:08pm

Can't say I've ever stayed in a hotel and not brought drink with me, the room service prices in most places are insane.

smash · 23-04-2013 1:08pm

crusher000 wrote: »

Heading is from article in Galway City Sentinel newspaper where hoteliers are saying more and more guest are bringing drink with them purchased in Off Licenses and consuming it in their rooms.

So what's the problem? They're still paying for the room!

DeanAustin · 23-04-2013 1:23pm

My heart bleeds. I have a young baby and have gone to a couple of hotels and brought drink to the room (not much before I'm accused of being a bad parent:-)). What do they want me to do? Bring the baby into the pub at night? We don't even bring him to the restaurant to make sure that no-one else is disturbed, I'm not bringing him to the bar.

The two places I've been over the last 6 months, I've spent €400-€450 both times without going to the bar and by bringing drink to the room. If that isn't enough for them, too bad.

ScumLord · 23-04-2013 1:24pm

The problem is hotels are used to doing things their way and have become dependant on selling their overpriced services. If they expect the customer to keep spending obscene amounts of money just to have a waiter open a bottle of wine for them then they might as well shut up shop now.

It's not that there aren't other ways of making money, it's done in other countries and other types of accommodation. You can't expect the market to change to make your life easier, you change with it or go out of business.

jam_mac_jam · 23-04-2013 1:27pm

Boo hoo, maybe if they lowered their prices?

I have often brought a bottle of wine with me to drink while I am getting ready if it wasnt so expensive to buy in the hotel I would do that.

The other thing is that you are not allowed in the bar after 9 if you have kids so maybe people want to have a drink after their dinner for example yet they can't. Obviously I am not suggesting that you get locked with the kids there.

crusher000 · 23-04-2013 1:30pm

They offer deals to increase occupation and spend per head but if people bring their own drinks it eats into their forecasted profits. Alot of hotels on the continent have very small bars if any where the Irish trend has been to build big bars as part of the hotel complex. May have to review this going forward.

humbert · 23-04-2013 1:31pm

There's something depressing about the thought of people going to a hotel only to spend their time drinking or partying in their rooms.

A Primal Nut · 23-04-2013 1:32pm

I agree, the prices hotels charge for their extra services are obscene. For example a lot of hotels these days give internet and breakfast free. However if they charge, its usually something like €10/day for internet and €15/day for breakfast. So I'm surprised these hotels do any business when there are ones down the road giving this for free. And the funny thing is the more expensive the hotel (e.g. 5-star) the more likely they charge for extra services. I once stayed in the Radisson in Dusseldorf (a cheap city) and the breakfast was €18/day. It's almost as if they assume that anyone who can afford to stay in their hotels are really rich so they can charge obscene amounts for extra services, when in reality most people who stay their are on business with their company paying for their hotel and haven't more money than anyone else.

Agree about alcohol, even in cheap countries hotels still think they can charge crazy amounts for minibar, room service and alcohol. I can't believe they would be shocked that people might go to the off-license across the road and get alcohol for one third of the price.

crusher000 · 23-04-2013 1:32pm

Most Hotels are owned by NAMA now so we've paid for these already.

anncoates · 23-04-2013 1:35pm

More vintners propaganda.

OldGoat · 23-04-2013 1:42pm

humbert wrote: »

There's something depressing about the thought of people going to a hotel only to spend their time drinking or partying in their rooms.

There's something deliciously naughty about the thoughts of people going to a hotel and spending their time drinking and partying in their rooms.

On the rare occasions we manage to get away from the kids then partying in the room is the goal.

krudler · 23-04-2013 1:45pm

humbert wrote: »

There's something depressing about the thought of people going to a hotel only to spend their time drinking or partying in their rooms.

Never been on a dirty weekend?

IM0 · 23-04-2013 1:49pm

well if you put people who can only afford to stay in 2 star hotels into 4 star ones, you cant expect them to pay 4 star prices as those people are more likely to pay whatever and not look at the bill till the end.

If you want to fill your rooms with cheap offers well then some people are going to take the piss and do this, so you either suck it up or stop putting cheap people into your expensive hotels!

Senna · 23-04-2013 1:49pm

Nothing to stop a person bringing drink into a bedroom, the hotel can make whatever "policy" they want, but it'll only be a policy you can choose to ignore and couldn't be enforced.
But bringing your own drink into a restaurant, bar, wedding etc is pretty pathetic.

anncoates · 23-04-2013 1:50pm

jam_mac_jam wrote: »

Obviously I am not suggesting that you get locked with the kids there.

It's grand.

We know the score.

/wink

crusher000 · 23-04-2013 1:50pm

Hotels are using the responsible drinking line. If people consume large amounts of alcohol purchased else where it will have health implications. Lobbying of Government to increase price of drink from off licenses on the way .

krudler · 23-04-2013 1:52pm

ScumLord wrote: »

The problem is hotels are used to doing things their way and have become dependant on selling their overpriced services. If they expect the customer to keep spending obscene amounts of money just to have a waiter open a bottle of wine for them then they might as well shut up shop now.

It's not that there aren't other ways of making money, it's done in other countries and other types of accommodation. You can't expect the market to change to make your life easier, you change with it or go out of business.

Bingo, its the same as publicans whinging people are drinking more at home, yet refusing to drop prices in bars or clubs. Instead of adapting they ask for clamping down on off licence laws and supermarket prices. People drinking for reasonable prices? can't be having that now! Then pass it off as health awareness, because pub owners are so concerned with people drinking too much :rolleyes:

super_furry · 23-04-2013 1:54pm

“There is often very little we can do if people decide to bring in drink for consumption in their own hotel room but it is a growing problem in the city,” Mr Gill said.

There's a big thing you could do Mr Gill - make it less attractive by pricing your alcohol accordingly.

humbert · 23-04-2013 1:57pm

OldGoat wrote: »

There's something deliciously naughty about the thoughts of people going to a hotel and spending their time drinking and partying in their rooms.

On the rare occasions we manage to get away from the kids then partying in the room is the goal.

Well I can certainly understand someone paying money to get away from children, especially if they are their own but for the rest of us it comes down to paying money to do in a hotel exactly what you can do at home.

krudler wrote: »

Never been on a dirty weekend?

I've been on romantic weekends. They didn't involve binge drinking in the hotel room.

Chucken · 23-04-2013 2:00pm

humbert wrote: »

I've been on romantic weekends. They didn't involve binge drinking in the hotel room.

Ah you should try it! Its great craic

ibarelycare · 23-04-2013 2:05pm

I remember listening to Joe Duffy a few years ago and a man stayed in a hotel in Dublin with his wife and two kids. They brought two bottles of wine and drank them in the room, as they couldn't sit in the bar with the kids, and they left the empties behind them. A few days later he noticed on his credit card bill that he was charged an extra €20. He got in contact with the hotel and they told him it was the charge for drinking the wine in his room!! In the end the manager phoned up and apologised and reversed the charges and offered the man a free stay in the hotel.

Personally I don't remember staying in a hotel in my adult life and not bringing alcohol! If I'm away with friends then we're going to be having a few drinks while getting ready. If I'm away with my boyfriend then we'd also be having a few drinks before or after dinner or something like that. As long as you're not causing a disturbance to other guests, there shouldn't be an issue. Hotels make an absolutely ridiculous mark-up on the price of rooms anyway.

krudler · 23-04-2013 2:06pm

humbert wrote: »

I've been on romantic weekends. They didn't involve binge drinking in the hotel room.

Who said anything about binge drinking? Bottle of wine and chill out for the night in the room is a nice way to spend with someone

davet82 · 23-04-2013 2:09pm

humbert wrote: »

I've been on romantic weekends. They didn't involve binge drinking in the hotel room.

well then you're missing out, drunken hotel room monkey sex is by far the best sex you'll have :cool:

Senna · 23-04-2013 2:11pm

krudler wrote: »

Who said anything about binge drinking? Bottle of wine and chill out for the night in the room is a nice way to spend with someone

So you go away to do the same thing you could do at home???

smash · 23-04-2013 2:11pm

crusher000 wrote: »

They offer deals to increase occupation and spend per head but if people bring their own drinks it eats into their forecasted profits.

You're right... they should put their foot down and they should also ban non drinkers! How dare they eat into their forecasted profits from extortionately priced alcohol!

ash23 · 23-04-2013 2:13pm

I was at a wedding where the drinks were so ridiculously overpriced that loads of the guests went to the nearby offlicence and bought drink and brought it to the rooms, popping up and down to top up.

Made sense really. For a vodka and coke you were paying a tenner. 4 people chip in a tenner and get a litre of vodka and a couple of 2L bottles of coke and have 6 or 7 drinks for the same price.

None of those guests brought the drink with them to the hotel. But after buying at the bar they though "sod this" and went to the offie.
Had the drinks been more reasonably priced, most wouldn't have bothered.

Went away last weekend and in the hotel the cheapest bottle of wine was 20 quid so we went to the shop instead. €7.99 for the same wine.

davet82 · 23-04-2013 2:13pm

Senna wrote: »

So you go away to do the same thing you could do at home???

women always take it up a notch or two when in the bedroom department when they stay in a hotel room, I don't know why but they do!

krudler · 23-04-2013 2:15pm

Senna wrote: »

So you go away to do the same thing you could do at home???

Who says romance is dead folks.

IM0 · 23-04-2013 2:17pm

davet82 wrote: »

women always take it up a notch or two when in the bedroom department when they stay in a hotel room, I don't know why but they do!

you mean anal dont ye :pac:

davet82 · 23-04-2013 2:19pm

IM0 wrote: »

you mean anal dont ye :pac:

shush!

City hotels suffering from rise in bedroom boozers

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