City hotels suffering from rise in bedroom boozers

crusher000

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

anncoates

More vintners propaganda.

OldGoat

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Senna wrote: »

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

Who says romance is dead folks.

IM0

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

IM0 wrote: »

you mean anal dont ye :pac:

shush!

humbert

krudler wrote: »

Who says romance is dead folks.

I have a strong suspicion that your definition of romance would not be shared by everyone here.

doolox

Do not leave the empties around when vacating the room in the morning.
Pay by cash and be very careful about divulging your name and contact details.

This should cover it.

I like the way the hotelier/thief refunded the money extorted from the customer/victims account and then apologised to them and offered a free night at the hotel for their inconvenience.

Who would want to return to a hotel run by a con artist/thief??????

smash

doolox wrote: »

Do not leave the empties around when vacating the room in the morning.
Pay by cash and be very careful about divulging your name and contact details.

This should cover it.

Should cover what?

Hoop66

The reason that bigger, business-oriented hotels charge so much for breakfast is that there is a standard allowance for breakfast on expenses. Used to be something like €20, afair, so that's what they charge for breakfast.

Anyway, about this monkey sex...

crusher000

I worked in a htel on the Continent a couple of years back. The Hotel had a bar of it's own. The manager and I helped a customer with their bags to the room he was of Arab decent and had two wives and a blast of kids. When he enquired about getting a bottle of Scotch from the bar my manager wouldn't hear of it. Sent me out using the hotel car to the Esso to buy him a bottle of scotch and a litre of Coke. Got a nice tip for it as well.

Ash.J.Williams

ash23 wrote: »

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.

this is getting popular from what i hear!

Mr Benevolent

humbert wrote: »

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

A romantic weekend with your hand, was it?

crusher000

The pub culture in Ireland is coming to an end amongst the 20 somethings. they are used of getting a few cans and heading to each others houses, then when they do go out later they'll sneak in cans and naggins into the pub. So I'm not surprised that this activity is now getting popular with weddings and other occassions. The trend has started and people need money to go alot further. Will hotels now charge corkage for cans of Dutch Gold ?

I've never brought alcohol into the room, we'd go to the bar for that Unless they leave a bottle of something in the room for us

laugh

I'm in a hotel in California and they charge a $20 fee if you put your own drinks in the mini bar.

Aidric

IM0 wrote: »

2 star hotels

Do such places exist in Ireland?

super_furry

The other thing of course is, that when I go away on a break, it’s not to visit the hotel. The hotel is somewhere to sleep and maybe eat and if it’s not a massive rip-off I might have one or two drinks there. However, I know that if I want to buy a bottle of wine from the hotel and get it sent to the room it’s going to be €30 minimum for plonk, so I’ll bring my own wine. And maybe have a glass while getting ready to go out or when I get back from wherever I’ve been during the day.

wijam

laugh wrote: »

I'm in a hotel in California and they charge a $20 fee if you put your own drinks in the mini bar.

fill the bath with cool water and fire your drink into it....sorted

xLexie

I recently stayed in a hotel for a hen night, bought a bottle of vodka and west coast cooler but needed ice, so rang down to reception to see if they would send some up. The guy that answered asked if I needed a glass of ice or an ice bucket for a bottle, so obviously not all hotels care if you buy it there or not.

krudler

humbert wrote: »

I have a strong suspicion that your definition of romance would not be shared by everyone here.

I have a strong suspicion you should feed your high horse something, it's looking a bit peckish there.

Madam

Its not something I would do very often, maybe on the last night when a bit skint and we just may have a bottle of wine between us before heading out. Saying that if I stay in a hotel room just on my own, I wouldn't drink alcohol at all.

crusher000

xLexie wrote: »

I recently stayed in a hotel for a hen night, bought a bottle of vodka and west coast cooler but needed ice, so rang down to reception to see if they would send some up. The guy that answered asked if I needed a glass of ice or an ice bucket for a bottle, so obviously not all hotels care if you buy it there or not.

I know of a hotel that charges 10 euro if you want ice for your drinks in your room.

OldGoat

laugh wrote: »

I'm in a hotel in California and they charge a $20 fee if you put your own drinks in the mini bar.

crusher000 wrote: »

I know of a hotel that charges 10 euro if you want ice for your drinks in your room.

I've recently seen corkage charges of €20 per bottle.

NeonCookies

The boyfriend and I once went to a drive through KFC after being out for the day....and brought it back to the hotel to have in the room. That's romance.


(We did order wine by room service later that night though, so I don't feel too bad.....)

ibarelycare

I've stayed in a hotel before where we've had pizza delivered! The hotel were even good enough to recommend a place!