Price gouging by the pub, restaurant & hotel industry

Good thread at times. Enjoying the naming and shaming of places that are obviously taking the piss. There are some being mentioned that are really just keeping up with how things are now though. If your main costs 5 to make, that's another 5 on labour and another 5 on overheads. Expecting it for less than 20 is just ridiculous. There is a difference in the 2 is all I'm saying.

Yes, it's likely that many businesses would 'pocket' a VAT reduction as you say. Hell, the state would itself as it has shown in the past.

BUT.... most businesses would then use that buffer to absorb rising costs of business and therefore whilst not reducing prices, keeping them stable for as long as possible. Few enough businesses want to jack up prices, they want to keep a good turnover and contented customers. Sales are the lifeblood of businesses in these sectors.

How do you know this though? Some vintners manage several pubs but most are in competition with each other. A town with a few licensed premises will all have a fair idea of what the others are charging. And no, I don't think cartels/ price fixing is as big a thing as people make out.

The "If the prices bother you, you clearly just can't afford to eat out" argument is so reductive. I can afford to eat out at those prices. I just refuse to pay over the odds for sub-standard muck. For 50c more than the - frozen - chicken goujons and chips in the pub I posted from the other day, I can get absolutely incredible house-made carnitas tacos with freshly-cut chips from The Revolution in Rathgar, less than 3km down the road. I'm sure you can guess where I'm going to spend my money.

We're just out of our tourist season. let's see how things pan out in the winter months.

Now, to be clear, I'm not saying that town (Dublin) is going to be a wasteland by 2024 or anything. But I know plenty of people who just don't go into town any more. I've largely stopped going in and I used to do so regularly cos most of my mates live on the Northside and town was the easy meeting point. I now do the vast majority of my socialising in my local, and even there the price of the pint is nearly 6 Euro. In fact the only reason I've been to town at all this summer was because family were over. Incidentally they were shocked at how much everything cost...and they're from bloody New York!

We, the Mrs. and I, now very rarely eat out in town and there are certain places we use to like that are just off the list entirely. We used to always grab a bite when we were in there, but nowadays it's just silly in too many places. Then you have to factor in this tipping malarkey too. Now, I don't mind tipping at all when the service is great. But in far, far, too many places you'll only see waiting staff when they take your order, deliver your food, and give then you your bill and that's it. In other words, doing the BASIC PART OF THE JOB that they get paid for. That kind of stuff, doesn't deserve a tip.

But, lastly, everyone has their limits in some fashion and they will be reached. If prices keep going the way they are, more and more folk will just say no, whether it's a matter of affording the price or not, because price is one thing. The actual value of something is another matter entirely.

You are not wrong.

There is very little price competition in Ireland.

You can pay 2 euro for pints in Cricklewood, suburban London. That's 5 miles, or 30 mins by transit from central London (Piccadilly Circus).

Dublin is still considerably cheaper than New York (well, Manhatten, anyway). By the time you add tax and tip onto even a domestic beer over there you're looking at $10 a pint even at the cheaper end of the market. A drinkable glass of wine will set you back at least $14 in a bar.

We're not at those prices yet, thankfully.

They were their customer base before prices became unaffordable if the trend of places shutting their doors continues at the pace it has picked up by from 2020 to 2021 and on to 2022 a lot of people will be out of a job in the sector

£2.99 (about 3.50 in real money) ain't bad at all for a pint of Guinness.

A load of old blarney, apparently.

The Lucky 7

Showing your true colours there. Not giving tips to low paid hospitality workers.

There isnt an upping in closures though. Not in Dublin.

More places are opening than closing.

In the last 2 weeks I would say about 10 new restaurants or cafes have opened. Maybe 3 or 4 closures.

In terms of bars...

The voyager bar just opened on Dame Lane. 4 Dame Lane reopened. New bar in Leinster hotel about to open. Old Bowery in Rathmines reopening as a bar in October/November. New bar on Harcourt St about to open - Pen and Player.

I could go on, but thats the reality.

I don't be out in Dublin much these days but do me a favour next time your out can you look at the age profile of the people out and about. It would be interesting to note if your seeing many people in the age group of mid 20s to say mid 30s? as this group are out of their wild youthful ways and are the ones where pressure points for rent/mortgages will be kicking in. Dublin has seen a 5% increase of closures than this time last year but with another winter of high energy, petrol/diesel heading back to the 2 euro mark and other costs going through the roof the simple fact is a very high % of the population will not be dining or drinking out when their is much cheaper alternatives as in buying in the shops cooking and buying beers from the supermarket. Some people will still eat out as they can afford it but as I say it would be interesting to get a break down of the age profile of people out in Dublin.

Who wants to support a business that is too mean to pay their employees a fair wage?

No worker should be depending on tips, if you can't afford to pay decent wages to decent staff then you need to jog on and find some other way to make a living.

Don't be stupid.

That might work in the drinks industry because Stella Artois is brewed Anheuser-Busch and if you find Stella too expensive there's a chance you'll opt for one of the dozens of other beers they brew, so there's a good chance they'll pick up the business with one of their other 'cheaper' products. Unless you own multiple bars or restaurants that all serve different levels of the market you're just losing business by aiming at the top level consumer, and that might be okay now but if a recession hits many of these places will be in trouble because they'll be chasing a smaller customer pool.

I think the 'Placebo effect' is something different by the way.

So if the OP is saying

If anything price coughing is welcomed in southside villages. Food and drink tastes nicer knowing plebs cant afford them.

they are saying it actually is more expensive that it's peers, why are you comparing it to something that isn't actually more expensive then it's peers? How can it be a placebo effect if the prices are actually higher?

Yeah, but the OP was referring to something that was more expensive so I don't really get your comparison. I'll drop it anyway.

True colours? What do you mean?

Provisionally booked a night in a 5 star hotel as a treat for the other half. It's costing just shy of €400 for one nights B&B. What bugs me is the check in and out times. 4pm and 12 noon respectively. To have dinner in it is extortionate but eating out somewhere else will eat into our stay time.

Am I mad to go ahead with it? Should I look at a lower starred hotel that would probably throw in dinner for less than the overall price ? The late check in time is annoying.