The Lodge (now €7 in and free class nights gone)

DJCR

PeakOutput wrote: »

djcr its a good idea but i imagine they would rape you on rental price for the venue

whats the capacity of the place 500?

Lets assume nothing, gonna send an email - just to see like? I mean its for charity and its an empty hall that would otherwise be wasted?

(Depending of course on whether they have plans for it) - They could be knocking out or anything!

TheTownie

DJCR wrote: »

Its a shame its gone, I had many a good night in there in my youth. Many times I did say that "you can't go to the lodge sober" and in truth you couldn't, it would be that bad.

Anyway, to be honest the following was the first thing I thought of:-

Anyone want to take a punt on hiring the downstairs part for RAG Week?

Employees:- A few college students (volunteers if possible - few quid at the end of the night).
Food:- Mr Tayto/King/Aldi nuts (they taste the exact same as HP)
Drink:- Musgraves discount card - loads of coke/7up/Orange Juice etc, No alcohol - obviously (no licence but then again students bring their own - its not illegal and we do it anyway).
Music:- Anyone know anyone whos any good and cheap - Maybe Music soc/Dj soc/anyone good from UL could get involved (I can think of a good few people). Same thing again like - few quid at the end depending on if any money is made at all.
Marketing - I dunno ......... recession session is over done!!
CHARITY RAG NITE - The night created by UL students for UL students .......... any profits go to charity (feck it at this stage I'm thinking social experiment)!!! i.e. would a non alcoholic venue actually work *hmmm, note to self - possible thesis topic :rolleyes:.

Income:- Usual stuff €2 entry, €1 cloak room (feck the per item thing)(per person - its cold/wet and seriously had my jumper swiped enough times in there), depending on the cost of coke and stuff (2 litre bottles and stuff to make it cheaper - get a pint for a euro)

Cost to get in:- €2 (Depending on costs of course).

Do the place up a bit??


Am I going mad????????

What about security sham?? :pac:

Edit: Or are you counting that in employees??

2nd Edit: Or would the Lodge Hotel have to supply that?? as I'm sure not just any old person can manhandle someone.

PeakOutput

TheTownie wrote: »

What about security sham?? :pac:

Edit: Or are you counting that in employees??

2nd Edit: Or would the Lodge Hotel have to supply that?? as I'm sure not just any old person can manhandle someone.

ents crew would be a possibility

DJCR

TheTownie wrote: »

What about security sham?? :pac:

I'll stand at the door and base the whole policy of nacker/sham/drunk out - Sound in !!!

Common sense like.

Ents crew wouldn't be a bad idea either but they would have to wear something funny to conteract their negative perception. :D:D

freyners

Jamie

since im laid up at home on crutches i wasnt there last night so i cant and wont comment on behaviour of last night. I have no trouble believing anything you quoted there, judging by some of the posts on the fb page it was always going to happen

I've noticed your going to start a petition to get it re-opened then fair play, if i could possibly make a few suggestions to it

If you do go ahead, we need to show a workable business model to entice the owners, the free class nights obviously haven't worked, the attempted gouging entrance prices have been a spectacular failure.
so here are my suggestions.

The core market for the lodge is students, biggest draw for students is price.

1.)So if you use a workable entrance prices, say 2 euro, thats something students will pay without too much of a reaction and would at least cover some of the license costs

2.) I know you've claimed otherwise, but im telling you right here the prices in the lodge are a joke. Yere a student nightclub, so price according to students. Get rid of the heineken taps and bring in bavaria as an example. It cheaper so the price will be less, most students would nto care what beer it is at 1 in the morning as long as the price is right. the high price, low volume selling is a bust model in every area of business, so charge just enough to make a profit on the drinks like what the hurlers are doing at the moment, you will be selling so much that its almost guaranteed to work. You tell a students shots are 3.20/3.50 and they will buy them. Tell them they are 4.50 ( i think thats what i paid for tequila thursday) and they wont, a euro makes a huge difference.

3.) there are other ancillaries that could be used. Superdine is a rip off but it has no viable competition at 3 in the morning. I only found out on this thread that the lodge did food, im guessing alot of students were similarly unawares, if you sold food at a euro less than superdine you would still make a huge profit and because price is king, if it was known about then students would come in the droves.

4.) For the love of god get a decent dj, no more of the censored version of horse outside in a dj for over 18s club played 4 times in the space of 2 hours. Theres a dj soc in ul, maybe give them a try once in a while (if your not already)

5.) this probably wont work in ireland due to people being plastered, security issues etc. but ill put it out there, i was in france for the summer and there was one nightclub that used to run a bus from a nearby town to the club free of charge, maybe if there was a 1.50 bus from the stables to the lodge on peak nights, say a thursday, that could be 200 euro for 4 trips and guaranteed numbers in the door. Its cheaper than the bus eireann bus or a taxi afaik.

there just my thoughts, some of them might be a dud, i dont know, anyone else got any ideas.thoughts, but if your serious about this petition then there needs to be a plan because it was too easy to for the management to ignore it and say, why would it work this time?

Stuffy

Deleted User wrote: »

To the scum among ye (which are those among ye which don't/aren't willing to spend money - Holy balls, spend money in a nightclub?!!) enjoy the hurlers. And enjoy your taxis into town and the waits that come along with it. Enjoy knowing that you put a lot of hard working and nice people out of a job and most of all, enjoy knowing that you killed a part of UL.

How can you condone calling people scum because they do not spend money?

That's an embarrassing view to have.

And the students didn't kill the lodge, nice play on the guilt card there but it was the failings of the management which killed the lodge, simple as. If you think any different you are deluded.

These views alone from you solidify the fact that you are not one of those "nice people out of a job".

PeakOutput

Deleted User wrote: »

To the scum among ye (which are those among ye which don't/aren't willing to spend money - Holy balls, spend money in a nightclub?!!) enjoy the hurlers. And enjoy your taxis into town and the waits that come along with it. Enjoy knowing that you put a lot of hard working and nice people out of a job and most of all, enjoy knowing that you killed a part of UL.

<snip>

even your work mates were telling my friends how they are so angry because the management havn't a clue and thats the only reason they are out of the job.

on the brightside though, iv been told by people who know the stakeholders and there is a strong chance it will be open in the a few weeks 'under new management' but it sounds like you will need to take a 25% pay cut

thats just the rumour but it is what i was told today

Peteee

Peak Output, cut out the personal abuse.

PeakOutput

by the way if i was given a list of costs and a price list from diageo for booze i would have the bones of a gold mine plan sorted within a week

if the owners want to give me the chance im right here

KealanOCarroll

The Lodge *was a bit of a hole in fairness, but that said Id love to see it re-opened....

I think the mollys type club would be the job, drinks promotions, €3 on the door, etc...

Plannin on movin into a house in woodlawns/elm park/somewhere along there next year so a close, cheap, all in all handy venue would be *very* appealing...

Roll on the petition:D

zuroph

Bonton, your story of the dsco ball made me laugh a little. I used to be a regular and drink myself silly in the High stool in town. The week we found out we were closing, we stripped the place of souvenirs. Admittedly, we were being seized by bailiffs, but by god we made sure we didnt leave anything of value. Drunk students will be drunk students, they will vandalise, but they were taking souvenirs of memories. that disco ball would have been in a house in curragh birin and been the centre piece of many house parties as an homage.
don't resent them too much. **** like that is always going to happen on the last night in somewhere where people feel they have an important memory.

I hope the place comes back some day, and I'm saying that as a non student local resident. my thursday nights are going to be a lot quieter, but i can understand what people saw in the place. the last few weeks has been a horrible end, but instead of a finger of blame, theres a whole hand of different fingers to be pointed. recession sucks, and this is whats happening everywhere. fingers crossed you get work soon.

PeakOutput

if anyone wants to put a proposal together for running it for the rest of the semester id be up for doing it with ya

total long shot but would be worth doing up a letter and a proposal to the owners of the hotel

Delta Kilo

I get a feeling that this is just a way for the management to re-structure the business.

For instance, I had no idea there were 30 people hired for the nightclub alone, I could never see them, there were never enough bar-men to keep up with demand (Yes, people did actually buy alcohol there, plastic cups or not). That seems a ridiculous number of staff to have on a payroll for a nightclub.

I reckon the management are currently looking into a different license they could get. Maybe it wont be classed as a night club any more, maybe it will now be a "late bar", a cheaper license with a cheaper insurance rate.

Also some of the staff will be re-hired under new contracts. This is often done in other industries, because it is very difficult to change a contract, so they just terminate the contract and re-hire the same person under a new contract.

Tl;dr, sit tight people, I think its just a way for the management to restructure the business, I predict a grand re-opening on the sunday night of charity week.

Hulk Hands

PeakOutput wrote: »

if anyone wants to put a proposal together for running it for the rest of the semester id be up for doing it with ya

total long shot but would be worth doing up a letter and a proposal to the owners of the hotel

I'd def be up for it also, but a serious amount of finance would be needed, thus ruling out nearly all students. Ive heard at least 20 people echo similar thoughts in the last few days though

PeakOutput

Hulk Hands wrote: »

I'd def be up for it also, but a serious amount of finance would be needed, thus ruling out nearly all students. Ive heard at least 20 people echo similar thoughts in the last few days though

i dont think you would need the finance if you put a sweet enough offer in, they would finance it

one night to redeem the place with your plan and if it makes a certain amount of profit then they agree to let you run it form then on with the same terms and conditions

you could even see if the old staff would work for free for one night to see if it worked to sweeten the deal for the owners

the only really this has happened is cack management

Hulk Hands

Fair enough PeakOutput, keep us informed if your planning anything. Forget about FYP's....restoring a fallen nightclub would really be a story to impress in a job interview :pac:

PeakOutput

Deleted User wrote: »

Molly's apparently have two on the door? (personally I dont believe this)

mollys have a full security staff

cson

@ bontonfrink: imo you come across very badly in those two posts. The majority of students are not as you describe and it is not the students fault The Lodge is closed. I have sympathy for those who lost their jobs but it's the owner who you should be directing your anger at.

Sid_Justice

bonton i'll buy you a pint if i see you, you sound like a nice guy.

^5

highlydebased

Mollys and the Lodge are two very different places. Myself and the majority of my friends hate Mollys for the fact is cramped and is usually unenjoyable. The pints are flat, the security are downright rude, and its full of schoolkids.

The lodge was something we could call "our own".

KerranJast

Deleted User wrote: »

I am sick in the throat of saying it but:
The hurlers cant afford what they're doing, ie 2:50 drinks.

Spot on. If the Lodge management had stuck to their guns they probably would have force the Hurlers to go back to normal pricing. Those prices are unsustainable for more than a few months. That said the hike in cover charge by the Lodge mgmt sounds like it went a bit too far.

Deleted User wrote: »

I know the hurlers dont have security, at all.
Molly's apparently have two on the door? (personally I dont believe this)

They have 2-3 outside the door but would have around 5 or 6 more inside watching the goings-on and possibly a few more upstairs watching CCTV.

Deleted User wrote: »

Yes, I'm bitter. (is it students? No, its silly management...Like I said the lodge functuined fine for 15 odd years, was it an instiutuinon of UL? Damn right i was.

When I got to UL in Sept 2001 the Lodge had been closed since the previous January and didn't reopen until Sept. 2002. I can't remember but it might have been a similar problem to this. I don't think it was down to renovations.

Deleted User wrote: »

I, personally, love the icon. And Angel lane is another favouruite with our staff.

The Icon is probably the best nightclub in Limerick in terms of atmosphere, security, opening hours etc. However you do pay more for entry (€10-€15 depending on how busy it is) and because they are rarely stuck for a crowd they can be choosy about who gets in i.e. 1st and 2nd years are often turned away en masse.

It's not the students "fault" that the Lodge is closing but it is a side effect of the students actions. I was talking to another business owner in Castletroy yesterday and they effectively said the Lodge as a whole (i.e. the Hotel and main bar) is making grand money and the niteclub is loss making most of the year.
If the owner thinks its too much hassle to keep it going then you can't really fault it.

The Lodge (and its staff) was always treated very badly by the patrons. You don't see the same level of naggin smuggling, bushing before entry and attempts to sneak in for free at nightclubs in town.
Security would (a) ban you for good (b) not allow you entry and (c) call the Gardai in those respective situations.

The students have to realise that if they want to have the Lodge reopen with relatively cheap entry (max €5) then they have to be prepared to purchase drinks in the place. Otherwise the venue is loss making and keeping it open isn't viable.

freyners

KerranJast wrote:

It's not the students "fault" that the Lodge is closing but it is a side effect of the students actions. I was talking to another business owner in Castletroy yesterday and they effectively said the Lodge as a whole (i.e. the Hotel and main bar) is making grand money and the niteclub is loss making most of the year.
If the owner thinks its too much hassle to keep it going then you can't really fault it.

The Lodge (and its staff) was always treated very badly by the patrons. You don't see the same level of naggin smuggling, bushing before entry and attempts to sneak in for free at nightclubs in town.
Security would (a) ban you for good (b) not allow you entry and (c) call the Gardai in those respective situations.

The students have to realise that if they want to have the Lodge reopen with relatively cheap entry (max €5) then they have to be prepared to purchase drinks in the place. Otherwise the venue is loss making and keeping it open isn't viable.

i agree with alot that you post here but the hurlers and mollies have both shown that students will buy drinks in pubs/clubs if the prices are right, if they think that its over-priced then they will drink at their house before-hand, and my own view, shared by alot of others, is that the drinks there were over-priced

DJCR

Time to move on me thinks...... something about circles and going round in comes to mind.

TwilightFan88

In all the five years that I have been going to The Lodge, I have never ever seen girls bags been searched, or guys getting a pat down! (It might have happened on some ocassions, but I personally have never seen it over those 5 years) so how can bontonfrink complain about naggins and the likes been sneaked in when it's not searched for before hand. Would solve alot of problems! They (the bouncers) can require you to be searched before entering (deny you entry if you refuse) but they cannot actually force you to be searched (unless they involve the police for a valid reason).

Yet last Tuesday night upon entry to The Lodge not only was none of us searched, we weren't even asked for our UL I.d's! Same went for Thursday night! Both nights we were just let stroll right in, the bouncers actually got out of our way.

In my opinion there are just some of the major fundmental problems that The Lodge let themselves down on. Some things that could have been fixed quick smart.

Also, for Thursday night myself and my friends made it before 12 so we paid the 5 euro entry fee, which was never a problem. Then on top of that, we ended up getting a free shot with our tickets! Which would have made paying the 7 okay as well tbh! Also before bontonfrink says that myself and my friends (which you did include us when you called the students SCUM) didn't drink in the club ever, we do! Granted I will only have one drink once I get to ANY club, BUT I ALWAYS go for a DOUBLE and Oh it's always Whiskey too and then I will end up doing a shot about an hour into the night as well! So don't paint all students with the same brush.

Just to put it out there, I think Bontonfrink's DRUNK posts DID NOT HELP matters! Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but the slurs against the Student Body as a whole (granted there is always one that are of the nature of the slurs but not ALL) did not help! Also I could clearly understand if management were quite annoyed with the posts as well, granted you said they were not of the Lodge's management opinions, but your comments caused worse problems and The Lodge suffered as a consequence!

It is an awful shame it has come to this. Hopefully something will come about to bring the Lodge back in the near future!

Also, on the whole Hurlers issue! It's a pub, and only a pub it will ever be. I only use to go to the Hurlers if there was a Q out the door and entrance of The Lodge to kill some time and come back and walk straight into The Lodge! That's all the Hurlers was to me and will remain so, even with the dirt cheap drink!

MmmmmCheese

Deleted User wrote: »

.


I was there when students couldn't/were too drunk to get taxis home (AND WE, THE STAFF PITCHED TOGETHER TO GET PEOPLE HOME), I was there when staff members were thrown through glass pictures and I've taken my share of digs in the chin and naggins/glasses thrown at me, i don't regret a single thing.

I was there when one of your lovely barmaids threw me and my friends' pints over us and then refused to give us back our money.

Axe Rake

Deleted User wrote: »

Thought my last posts were gonna cause a ****storm. Sorry to anyone insulted, I shouldn't be allowed to post when I'm drunk.

Just finished my last night there, was a private 21st.
I got a balloon!

I've beaten this thread like a dead horse, time for me to leave!

Yeah please do, nobody cares anyway.

And using the "oh i was drunk" line doesn't make you look any less stupid after posting those pathetic walls of boring text.

savagecabbages

Times changed. The Lodge didn't.

davidmichael

Freshers week will never be the same. sigh. Although I do think they will only close for a couple of weeks and re-open when the students all realised what they are missing! unless the house parties are class of course!!

TwilightFan88

I love how Bontonfrink basically ignored my post!

Strange how this happens when someone is called out for what they truly are!

CiaranMT

TwilightFan88 wrote: »

I love how Bontonfrink basically ignored my post!

Strange how this happens when someone is called out for what they truly are!

Good point raised about bag searches et al but I don't recall many, if any searches done in places in town, so I'd be more inclined to think that it's just the culture of the Lodge and the people who go there to sneak in a few sly ones. Sure I use a hip flask on occasion, if I'm in the mood.

And in fairness, anyone who openly admits to being a Twilight fan deserves to be ignored.











Couldn't resist the jibe, please don't take any offence!