Bar Extensions?

GMI

We are having our wedding next year, and the hotel want to charge for the bar extension. At the moment the price is €550 but they are willing to go halves. My questions are:

1. I am told by another hotel that it is illegal to charge for an extension for a private function. Is it?
2. If there is already a night club in the hotel on the same night will there not already be a late night licence on the premises that would suffice?
3. If i want to be petty about it, can i insist that if im paying for a bar extension, the hotel can't piggy back by keeping other bars open after hours on the back of it?

Also, our wedding will be at 12.00 midday. Aiming to be sitting down to dinner for 4.30. Speeches 6.30pm, first dance 7.30, live music 7.30 - what 10pm and DJ for rest of night. It's a small wedding with only 70 guests. Do I really need a bar extension at all?

Thanks,

G

Emerald Lass

the hotel have a licence to extend the bar on a nightly basis for a year AFAIK. They most certainly do not apply for an individual extension for each function, thats for sure. And OMG €550???? WTF??? that is extortionate. how nice of them to go halves? the price of the extension licence FOR A YEAR is just over €400 so in effect you are paying for half their yearly cost!

While I don't think it is illegal for them to charge you, you don't have to pay for it! My hotel were originally charging €150 and I got it thrown in for free. I can't believe the neck of them to charge YOU €550 so that they can keep the bar open longer and MAKE MROE MONEY????? how many staff are they putting on for the extra hour or two? 20???

I would def NOT pay this, not even half. Tell them you will take business elsewhere. Point out that many hotels are including the extension as part of the package. Furthermore, tell them that you have been to x hotel and they said they would throw it in (basically bluff!). If that is not an option, and you have already committed to the venue, then tell them that since most people are staying over, they will be quite happy with the residence bar and you are not prepared to pay €275 for basically the same thing as you can get for free in order to allow THEM to make money.

Honestly, there is NO WAY I would be paying that. And the fact that they even had the gall to say it was originally €550 is scandalous. Tell them to cop on - hotels are LOSING bookings left right and centre, its encouraging business they should be aiming for, not bleeding people dry.

Good luck with it!

Sizzler

This comes up every now and again on here - eg

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055393337&highlight=bar+extension

My own personal opinion can be read on the above thread

Theres a recession on man and they want you to pay for the privilege of them making money from your wedding....hmmmmm. If they wont drop the charge tell them you will go elsewhere. Frankly they are taking the piss.

Flat2dmat

GMI wrote: »

We are having our wedding next year, and the hotel want to charge for the bar extension. At the moment the price is €550 but they are willing to go halves. My questions are:

1. I am told by another hotel that it is illegal to charge for an extension for a private function. Is it?
2. If there is already a night club in the hotel on the same night will there not already be a late night licence on the premises that would suffice?
3. If i want to be petty about it, can i insist that if im paying for a bar extension, the hotel can't piggy back by keeping other bars open after hours on the back of it?

Also, our wedding will be at 12.00 midday. Aiming to be sitting down to dinner for 4.30. Speeches 6.30pm, first dance 7.30, live music 7.30 - what 10pm and DJ for rest of night. It's a small wedding with only 70 guests. Do I really need a bar extension at all?

Thanks,

Iain

I noticed in another post that you were asking abt Bloomfield - are they quoting you €550? I got quote off them a couple of weeks ago for €410.
I explained to them that other places were including it in the package but they said they couldn't waive the fee as their prices are as low as possible right now.
It's not illegal to charge it. I dunno how it works with clubs etc. I mean if it only cost €410 for a late licence for the whole year, would every pub not have a late licence as the pint-guzzling late nights would surely cover their costs and make them loads of profit?!
Without bar extension, they can stop serving 1130 - 1230 and people would definitely still want pints after that so you couldn't really go without it. You'd have people leaving the wedding to go somewhere else they can get served - wouldn't be very nice!
That said, I'm not paying for it as I insisted on finding a hotel where they threw it in with the package. It's about 50/50 with hotels whether they throw it in or not. They tend to be more flexible on it when you're face to face rather than emails etc.
But I'd advise you not to pay for it, bargain hotels off each other and wave the money in their face!

GMI

Flat2dmat wrote: »

I noticed in another post that you were asking abt Bloomfield - are they quoting you €550? I got quote off them a couple of weeks ago for €410.
I explained to them that other places were including it in the package but they said they couldn't waive the fee as their prices are as low as possible right now.
It's not illegal to charge it. I dunno how it works with clubs etc. I mean if it only cost €410 for a late licence for the whole year, would every pub not have a late licence as the pint-guzzling late nights would surely cover their costs and make them loads of profit?!
Without bar extension, they can stop serving 1130 - 1230 and people would definitely still want pints after that so you couldn't really go without it. You'd have people leaving the wedding to go somewhere else they can get served - wouldn't be very nice!
That said, I'm not paying for it as I insisted on finding a hotel where they threw it in with the package. It's about 50/50 with hotels whether they throw it in or not. They tend to be more flexible on it when you're face to face rather than emails etc.
But I'd advise you not to pay for it, bargain hotels off each other and wave the money in their face!

Bridge house is charging half of the 550 quoted! Bloomfield is charging €410 and not haggling. Very disappointed with meeting with staff tonight. Bland hotel and entrance, and the staff I had made the appointment with was not in a position to negotiate! Unlikely to be going there.

Sizzler

GMI wrote: »

Bridge house is charging half of the 550 quoted! Bloomfield is charging €410 and not haggling. Very disappointed with meeting with staff tonight. Bland hotel and entrance, and the staff I had made the appointment with was not in a position to negotiate! Unlikely to be going there.

A hotel not haggling? Theres you first problem my friend. Walk away. It would appear that the celtic tiger for some establishments is still alive and well because they think people like you are going to keep it going :eek:

Lets face it, the country is bollixed and there probably isnt a better time to get married now in terms of negotiating deals with vendors, there is that much competition out there now for everything people are dropping their pants just to keep 'ticking over' so they dont go under. It would seem that some people are in denial (the places you are visiting) and are happy to not get the business on the basis of trying to ride you for €400 for a bar extension :eek: You should be asking for a litany of concessions, this is only one of them ! If they arent willing to 'do business' then why give them your business? This is a measure of what they think of you and you will probably get zero customer service from an establishment of that nature as they come across as absolute money grabbers. AVOID!

I would also make it abundantly clear why you went elsewhere and let them know, maybe if more people did this eventually the penny might drop!

Vyse

Every hotel tries to pull this one. We got married last month and were hit with the same thing. The day before the wedding my wife's brother in law (who is a member of the gardai) checked at the local station to see if an extension had benn applied for. Suprise, suprise it hadn't. So, when they went to charge us for it we informed him that we had checked at that they hadn't applied for it.

90% of the time they will charge you for this without paying for it themselves. Always check with the local station to see if they have applied for it.

MoonDancer256

At the hotel I'm considering there's a charge for bar extension (around €300 I think) but when I mentioned this in a certain tone, they immediately offered to waive it and open the bar late for free if we booked in the next 3 weeks.

They also threw in some other offers like 1/2 price corkage when pushed, and flexibility on the menu contents (I didn't like them :P). Most hotels should be willing to negotiate in the current financial climate.

bol2903

seems a while since anyone posted anything on bar extensions at weddings.
the hotel for our wedding is quoting €550 for the late licence
i questioned it explaining other hotels these days are offering it in the package
they want me to confirm other hotels are doing this before they will reconsider the amount
anyone have any examples of late where they werent charged ?

The Lovely Muffin

It cost my cousin €1,000 euros for a bar extension for her wedding last year. Mind you, she got married abroad (Dubrovnik) and DBK isn't cheap.

BC

The charge is the legal cost for going to court to get the extension.
Haggle with the hotel, i've yet to come accross one that doesn't throw it in for free if you haggle. At the end of the day its in their interest to keep the bar open in order to keep the drinks (and money) flowing.

Toots

Glenview Hotel in Wicklow includes it as part of their package. AFAIK the Tara Towers Hotel also includes it. A lot of other hotels have it in their brochures that they are charging for it, but if you ask, many will waive it without any effort. When we were looking at hotels there were only 2 or 3 that were actually still insisting we pay it. Unfortunately it was over a year ago when we booked ours so I can't remember a lot of the hotels who weren't charging it (we looked at loads) the ones who insisted on it were The Conrad, Finnstown House and The Osprey.

Bookkeeper09

bol2903 wrote: »

seems a while since anyone posted anything on bar extensions at weddings.
the hotel for our wedding is quoting €550 for the late licence
i questioned it explaining other hotels these days are offering it in the package
they want me to confirm other hotels are doing this before they will reconsider the amount
anyone have any examples of late where they werent charged ?

Getting married in the Waterside in Donabate next year and Bar ex is part of package. Sister in Law getting married this may in Station House, Kilmessan and no charge for Bar ex.
Also friend is getting married in Mullingar Park in August and again no charge for bar ex

bol2903

the hotel is not too far away from waterside in donabate
there adamant we have to cover the full €550
i hope this examples I can use now will change their opinion on this

Bally8

We are having an evening reception in a Limerick hotel at the end of April. As we are not having a traditional reception-we are getting married in Vegas the week before so we are having an evening do only, the hotel have asked us to pay €410 for the bar extension. If we were having a full traditional wedding reception I wouldnt even consider paying for it as I know a few people who have managed to get their hotels to drop the cost.

orls78

We're getting married in the Marriott Druids Glen in Oct and no charge for extension. Wedding planner explained that as its a sat night their normal bar last orders are 1.30 am anyway so no need for extension! And then we have the residents bar until 3am..

Karen23

I got married 18 months ago and our bar extension was €250. My friend got married at the same hotel last year and it had gone up to €550 , she said she couldnt afford it and she would have to do without and they still didnt budge on the price. She didnt have the bar extension and it was noticed by guests although I wouldnt have paid €550 either. My sister is getting married next year in the same hotel and they have waived the fee altogether. Just shows that last year they could afford for my friend not to bother with it but now they need the extra money being spent behind the bar. They are also allowing my sister to bring her own wine for the meal with no corkage charge.

Heineken Helen

a bar extension never came up for us... every place we visited mentioned the idea that the residents bar is open til 3/3.30 and they won't be checking room numbers on the way in.

They waived corkage completely when we told them that X (competing hotel) was offering to waive and we could get everything cheaper with them only we preferred this hotel but costs WERE an issue. They waived!

northdubgal

Roganstown Hotel are charing €550 and won't budge on that price whatsoever...

Makes me quite angry.

Heineken Helen

northdubgal wrote: »

Roganstown Hotel are charing €550 and won't budge on that price whatsoever...

Makes me quite angry.

know anyone who's better at negotiating? I thought my place wouldn't budge... til I set the OH on them

Simply say no to them or ask to speak to somebody else?

tatli_lokma

northdubgal wrote: »

Roganstown Hotel are charing €550 and won't budge on that price whatsoever...

Makes me quite angry.

PM sent

buckwheat

We're getting married in the Hamlet Court outside Enfield, Co Meath in November and there is no charge for the bar ext

BeardySi

As mentioned, The Station House are very quick to waive theirs when asked (€300 as of last sat! ).

We're probably going for the Hodson Bay in Athlone though - it's included in their basic package as standard without having to bollock about - bar's open till 4am if needed!!!

angelfire9

GMI wrote: »

2. If there is already a night club in the hotel on the same night will there not already be a late night licence on the premises that would suffice?

This imho is the key issue
If they have a licence already operating for a night club which will be open on night of wedding then tell them to take a run & jump don't pay for something that they already have paid for elsewhere

Southsider1

Emerald Lass wrote: »

the hotel have a licence to extend the bar on a nightly basis for a year AFAIK. They most certainly do not apply for an individual extension for each function, thats for sure. And OMG €550???? WTF??? that is extortionate. how nice of them to go halves? the price of the extension licence FOR A YEAR is just over €400 so in effect you are paying for half their yearly cost!

Good luck with it!

Factually, the above is TOTALLY incorrect! Yes! they do have to apply for individual extensions. The cost from the court is 400 + vat + solicitors fee. Many hotels don't bother to get one as weekend closing is 12.30 with clear by 1am. So not really worth it for them for an hour as they'll probably get away with it. If the hotel has a night club operating in same building at the same time they shouldn't require a separate extension hence shouldn't be trying to charge for it.

LBD

Getting married in Ballymagarvey Village next year. Bar open until 4am as standard no extra charge

It's not a hotel though so maybe this is where the difference lies?

cruiserweight

We are getting married in Scotland next year going to be a smallish affair with close family and friends, but are having a party a week later in Ireland for extended family and friends. It is just in a function room in a pub but they are looking for €450 for a bar extension, but the e-mails that I am getting from the venue manager has the following advert in the signature

HAVING A PARTY? - NEED AN EXCELLENT VENUE?
2010 PARTY PACKAGE:
Finger Food for 100 people
Bar Extension
Room Hire all for €500
LIMITED AVAILABILITY - BOOK NOW!

Needless to say there is no way that I will be paying for the bar extension, just drafting the e-mail now explaining why I will not be paying

Southsider1

cruiserweight wrote: »

We are getting married in Scotland next year going to be a smallish affair with close family and friends, but are having a party a week later in Ireland for extended family and friends. It is just in a function room in a pub but they are looking for €450 for a bar extension, but the e-mails that I am getting from the venue manager has the following advert in the signature



Needless to say there is no way that I will be paying for the bar extension, just drafting the e-mail now explaining why I will not be paying

To be fair, if it's a pub then they WILL have to apply for an extension which will cost them €400 +VAT + legal/court costs + security staff if the licencing judge insists and they are tending to these days at the request of the Guards. Also their potential to make money on the function is fairly slim if they can only cater for 100 and are only getting the sale of a finger buffet. I wouldn't be surprised if they declined the function if you expect them to pay for the extension. It will wipe out their profit margin for the night.If you are having it on a Friday or Saturday night the bar is licenced until 12.30 anyway

cruiserweight

Southsider1 wrote: »

To be fair, if it's a pub then they WILL have to apply for an extension which will cost them €400 +VAT + legal/court costs + security staff if the licencing judge insists and they are tending to these days at the request of the Guards. Also their potential to make money on the function is fairly slim if they can only cater for 100 and are only getting the sale of a finger buffet. I wouldn't be surprised if they declined the function if you expect them to pay for the extension. It will wipe out their profit margin for the night.If you are having it on a Friday or Saturday night the bar is licenced until 12.30 anyway

They are large enough to cater for just over 200 people. Our function will have close to 200 guests and will be fully catered. If they insist on charging for a bar extension then we will not be having one. The point is that they are offering a package with finger food and a bar extension for €500 for 100 people, the cost per head for finger food is €5 so essentially the bar extension is thrown in for free. My issue is why should I pay extra for the venue to make money off of my guests when it is included for other functions, so if they will not budge then no bar extension. I very much doubt they will be declining the function

youcancallmeal

I've been looking at venues with the other half recently and bar extensions are are a bit mad. Some places will simply include it in the price while on the other end of the scale one place were looking for €700 for the bar to be open an extra hour till 2.30am!!!

Southsider1

700? That's definitely taking the p1ss. Do you REALLY need the extra hour?

youcancallmeal

Southsider1 wrote: »

700? That's definitely taking the p1ss. Do you REALLY need the extra hour?

No definitely not worth it! Bar open till 1.30am which is enough for us

badboyblast

Getting it for free in a Limerick hotel and free rooms for our parents, no corkage, free evening food etc etc, got a great deal!

wicklowstar

I work in a hotel and we charge 350 for bar extension..
And its only for another hour (till 1:30).
Waste of money if you ask me, when most wedding guests stay the night anyway and end up in the residents bar! (which I work in!)

Sunny Dayz

I was quoted E700 for a bar extension also!

There was no mention of bar extension on the hotel wedding brochure, we met with the on duty manager and went through their wedding packages, got a bottom line price, was told there were "no hidden extras", then my fiancé mentioned in passing that we presume bar extension is included (as was the case with the hotel we had viewed previously) - and the manager said no, that will be an extra E700 to extend from 12.30 til 2.30!

When the hotel rang for a follow up to the meeting, I told them that we would not pay that for a bar extension and the manager wouldn't budge in the slightest! Needless to say we didn't book our reception with them.

val100

Wow that sounds fantastic!! We are looking for a venue at the moment in Limerick..can you give me the name of that hotel?? thanks