Rented Pub Struggling!

dieselhead

Registered User
Messages
46
Hi Everyone,

I have a rented Pub and am struggling to make loan and rent payments. I really need some ideas to get me through January and Febuary the 2 quietest months on the pub calender. I have done little to no trade Monday to Friday in the last few weeks

I am renting a place that has a large pub, 9 rooms for B&B and a small nightclub.


A few important things to know about my pub and the town im in:
  • I have been in business since April 08
  • Town population is almost 2000
  • There are 6 pubs in the town, 2 which are very well established
  • The 2 big pubs have about 80+% of the trade during Monday to Friday which leaves myself and the other 3 scrounging for the remaing 20% to which I get virtually none.
  • Most of my Mon-Fri trade was with tourists when i opened in April as they really liked the place as it is very classy but not OTT.
  • My pub is the only really suitable pub to have a 4 or 5 piece band or a disco bar.
  • Local bands are the only type of music that draws a crowd, I have got a few very good bands from other towns but the locals are not interested.
  • I generally loose money during the week but my Saturday night makes up for the poor week but if Saturday is quiet then my finances take a major hit.
  • I have affected the weekend trade of the 2 big guns as I usually fill the place every Saturday in May-Oct.
  • I always clear the town on the Bank Holiday Weekends on the Sunday night, including the 2 big guns, as I always have a brill line up for them.
  • The pub is old and is nearly impossible to heat in the winter even though I have an open fire and 2 electric heaters but you would still need to keep your jumper on. The worst thing is all the other pubs are very warm and cosy so when people come into my place after being in one of the other pubs my place feels so cold.
  • The cost of opening the doors of the nightclub is €1300min between Bar extention, Dance licence, Security and staff and is a real hit and miss. Sometimes you might get 180-200 and others it might be 40!!!! Regardless of the amount of advertising done. The other pubs serve late (and dont get a bar extention and get away with it!!!) when the nightclub is open so the people dont leave their place to come to mine. Bands tend to bring bigger numbers then just a disco but they come with a higher cost also so if the crowd don't come then it a bigger loss for me.
  • I did have 2fm's DJ Nikki Hayes in the nightclub last summer which was a huge success.
  • The 2 well established pubs have Sky TV and I don't but that purely because it costs €2000 PER MONTH for my pub. Check out the link . Today I heard that Setanta Sports is offering a reasonable package to pubs doe anyone know anything about this?
Here are a few things that I have at my disposal:
  • A small kitchen suitable for a small hotel(big ovens and fryer etc)
  • Pool Table
  • Dart board
  • Nightclub/Function room
  • Large pub suitable for band/quiz
  • Large Screen with Projector hooked to TV
I have a few questions you may be able to answer:
  • Any ideas to get people in during the week
  • you any ideas how I can attract people to have their Birthday in the pub?
  • New events to be held in the nightclub or pub
  • Anyways to cut costs, write things off to the business, tax relief or even get money back on anything!!!
  • Get a drink promotion from Guinness or Heineken because they tell me I dont do them anymore.
  • Fundraising ideas
  • B&B advertising ideas
  • Ideas to get sports channels cheaper on the TV.
Basically I need to get people in during the week and to cut costs.

I would like to thank you in advance for any advice or info you may provide me with as I need as much as possible to prevent it going bottoms up.

If I left out anything please feel free to contact me
 
Re: Rented Pub struggling.......Please help!!!

One of the local pubs in my village does well allowing local groups use a function room foc. Resident Associations, clubs etc.

These meetings are usually midweek in the evenings.

Generates some business even if its only teas & coffees and a few pints.

Would locals be interested in a battle of the bands or pool competition?
 
Re: Rented Pub struggling.......Please help!!!

That idea of local meetings is a good one. Also some councillors may be open to the idea of using your pub/nightclub as one of their constituency clinics - again this will only be teas etc but your objective is to bring people to your pub who may otherwise not travel.

Plenty of hot snacks e.g. deep-fried onion rings/cocktail sausages at the meetings on top will ensure return visits.

A huge winner at home is a free bus/lift home for customers. I wouldn't charge/police it too heavily - some will abuse it but in the main 95% of people will be glad for the service. It will also appease many people staying at home wondering about their loved ones if they knew they were going to your pub (as opposed to elsewhere). This is probably only sustainable Mon and Thurs/Fri nights unfortunately in the long run.

Our local niteclub had it, he sold on. New owner discontinued it and trade has collapsed by 75-80% conservatively.

Forget Sky, support the local GAA. Yep, one of your more successful competitors probably does this too but people will get tired and switch between pubs - make sure its yours they switch to.

Unsure about 'Battles' or comptetitions. Unfortunately you need to ensure for these a respectable crowd first or else 'word' / negative publicity about how well you're (not) doing will follow.
 
Re: Rented Pub struggling.......Please help!!!

Hi,
You dont mention if you offer food (besides B&B) - is that a possibility?

And if it is - can you get the place approved by the HSE to hold civil wedding ceremonies, itd be an advertising point and if you could cater to small groups (50ish) people for food and drink it might be worth considering.

For B&B, what is the local draw for the tourists? Golf, walking, scenery, fishing etc... You need to advertise in all the places that are attracting the tourists, plus you need to get your google rankings up so when people search for a B&B in your area on the internet they find you.

What kind of area are you in? Are there plenty of young people looking to hook up? A common complaint from young people in country towns is that there is nothing to do bar the usual local niteclub - if you could somehoe encourage trade in from a different area (like hens parties), the locals may see your place as somewhere that they can hook up with someone different than the usual crew they see out and about.

Youve got to think about what pulls people into an establishment - sort the heating out!!! If youre renting it can you get the owner to get the heating sorted out?

What about Poker nights? Seems to be a massive draw these days.

My local nightclub started off with a few nights that had things like a magician for an hour doing a show, various dancers (nothing too exotic), they also got a few D list celebs in for an hours promotional work (probably cost a bomb though) - it got people in alright.

To encourage birthdays you need to offer people a reason to come for a birthday, offer them a free platter of food or a few free drinks for the birthday person or 10 people free into niteclub......
 
Re: Rented Pub struggling.......Please help!!!

From my experience I would suggest 3 things:

1. Sort out your heating, possibly by getting your landlord to agree to enlarge the fireplace so that you can use 1 metre logs, this is a big hit for atmosphere.

2. Get a 14 seater minibus on the road, work out a route and timetable and get a local retiree as driver (lots of ex-CIE local people have psv licences). You can get a Mercedes Sprinter Minibus for less than 10K. Flyer all the homes in the route area, and get the bus painted up. Charge a nominal fee like €2 towards costs and drive the public to your door only, the driver gives them a token which gives them some freebie inside. Then make it so that they cannot use the bus home unless they have a token from the bar (a receipt) of some sort.

3. Make the nightclub free in except for Saturday night. But tighten the door policy. Give all the good looking girls in the area and KOL's (Key opinion leaders) VIP cards that get them a routine discount at the bar or make a VIP area. KOL's in a country town are all young bar staff in every bar, hairdressers, womens clothes shop assistants, jewelery store staff and so on. Get a velvet rope and get some queues going.

Direct the music policy towards girls not lads, which is what happens mostly through peer pressure. Design a policy and stick it out, make your club cool by sticking to R 'n B, Top 40, House and light Dance.

Get a very strict door policy based on cool, not Farah's nor dress to impress. Try to promote cool by allowing branded jeans and trainers and other NY or European Cosmo looks, i.e Try getting lads to wear the 'Italian uniform' of Diesel or branded jeans, shoes, white shirt and dark jacket. Put a few pics up in the hall outlining some dress codes in pictures.

This might sound like a misfit for the country, but I've found that country young people are just as exposed to pop and celeb culture and want the same style and cool as urbans.

Good luck! It's a fun challenge.
 
Re: Rented Pub struggling.......Please help!!!

The first few months of the year are tough for pubs and this year will probably be even tougher. Trying to win lots of business from lots of angles will probably cost more than you will make. You need to focus on a couple of areas and reduce the cost in other areas.

For example, does it make sense to close the nightclub until suimmer? Can you only open the pub from Thursday to Sunday? On the nights that you are open have something on whether it be live music, poker/ pool competition, trad session etc. etc. Promote the use of the pub for local fundraisers such as Race nights by offering the group an amount of money or free food if they host it with you.

The biggest gap in what you explain above is the food business, as truthseeker pointed out. What is the lunch and evening trade like in the town? What alternatives are there for eating out? Could you provide an alternative such as Italian food?
 
Re: Rented Pub struggling.......Please help!!!

I thought of something else - can you try to make your pub the venue for things like 'speed dating' and/or advertise yourself on dating websites like maybefriends.ie to see can you get them to hold a group gathering in it?
 
Re: Rented Pub struggling.......Please help!!!

I'd agree with a lot of the posters, particularly consideration of closing the bar during the winter months during the early part of the week and focusing on the weekend.

The Club has the potential to be busy on Saturday nights, would you consider closing the alcohol side of things and hosting youth musical events / disco's on Friday where only minerals are served?, you wouldn't need an extension as they generally take place between 8 -11, you could charge a modest cover charge and make profit on soft drinks also.
 
Re: Rented Pub struggling.......Please help!!!

... would you consider closing the alcohol side of things and hosting youth musical events / disco's on Friday where only minerals are served?, you wouldn't need an extension as they generally take place between 8 -11, you could charge a modest cover charge and make profit on soft drinks also.
Contact local youth groups about organising a "No Name Club", alcohol-free, but with music and dancing for under 18's.

Devise menus for alcohol-free cocktails and lay on cocktail sausages, chicken in a basket, etc. to be included in the entrance fee.

Policing the alcohol-free aspect of the No Name Club is usually done by adult volunteers, who can sift out the "naggin in the knickers" brigade.
 
Re: Rented Pub struggling.......Please help!!!

Would it help to make available a pick-up & drop-off service for locals & those that little bit further out? Also reasonable pub grub mid-week - a "curry & a pint night" for say €12 - may be uselful??
Best of luck
 
Re: Rented Pub struggling.......Please help!!!

Are "buy one - get one free" type offers allowed in the pub business? If you gave some sort of voucher at the weekend to the people who normally frequent your pub for free drink during the week, it might entice them into the pub during the quiter time??

Wollran
 
Re: Rented Pub struggling.......Please help!!!

why not run a pool or darts tournament mid week , or try set up a pool or darts team great way of getting people in and keeping them with you.
you dont say where you are but if you name your pub maybe all the members here who are near you might drop in and have a beer. best of luck
 
Re: Rented Pub struggling.......Please help!!!

Here are a few answers to some questions several of you asked:

Food:
Currently I do breakfast every morning for people staying in the B&B so I have a sign outside letting the public know that they can come in for breakfast also but I only get an average of about 7 people walking in off the street for breakfast and I only charge a modest €7 for a full irish.
I have tried to do food all day i.e. lasangne, sheppards pie, soup, chips, sausages etc for a modest €6-8 per meal but it was to no avail. I was throwing out more then i was selling, prob about 15 meals per week.
The town has 2 indians, 2 italians, 1 chinese, 1 italian bistro, 1 carvery, 1 very expensive steakhouse. But the local hotel does carvery and gets 85% of the lunch time trade and has a grill bar. But saying that it is closing down from Monday to Thursday for the next 8weeks so it will only be open for business fri, sat and sunday.



Function Room:
The place is quite old and in need of a make over quite badly i.e, the seats need recovering, bar and counter needs replacing and the mens toilets need a proper overhaul and also the concrete floors on the way in need a spruce up.
When I first took over I did paint it, put in new lights (disco and mood setting LEDs) and sort the toilets out the best I could without spending thousands which I didnt and still dont have. Anyway back to the point I dont know if its all that suitable for a formal function or even an agm. Probably more suitable for a battle of the bands or anything that can be held under low light.

Poker/Pool/Darts:

Poker: I did have poker when I first took over as it was there before hand, but they wouldn't play in the pub they played in the nightclub so they pub was still empty and they never bought a huge amount of drink either, out of 25 people I would sell about 30 drinks and there was a few of them that were awful complainers. But I am interested in setting up this again does anyone know how to run a poker league???

Pool: The pool league is interesting but there is only one other pub in the town with a pool table because the rest got rid of theirs and this is because the Pool table attracts undesireables if you know who im talking about (they like Elvis, Garth Brooks and horses) I know there all not bad but they have made trouble for me before. Now I have to close the pool table at 8pm Fri,Sat and Sun, but I suppose if I started a pool league and had people register on the QT then maybe I could get away with it. But how do you set up a pool league if theres only 1 other pub team in the town???

Darts: I have done nothing with this, people play generally while they are waiting for the pool table. Any Ideas????


Drink Promotions/Offers:
As far as I know this is illegal as it promotes binge drinking although I have done a few times in the nightclub to get rid of a few slow selling things. But I saw there someone said ''Curry and a pint night'' this sounds like a good idea I will prob give it a go. Has anyone any more ideas on this topic?

Sky TV and GAA:
I do need a way that I can show the football/rugby matches on tv as I have no hope of turning my place into a Hurling pub as my 2 big competitors have a strong hold on the hurling club for example 1 has tradition and the other is a real GAA pub with it being the local for alot of the current hurlers. But I do know that if I can the hurlers in then my place will fill up because the town seems to follow them where ever they go and I do experience this on the Saturday nights, like if they come in I take in an extra €500+ depending on the time of year and day of week.
Does anyone know the cost of ChorusNTL or Setanta Sports is for a pub????


Thanks everyone for your ideas/help and please keep them coming, if anyone has any ideas for fundraising or even wild or wacky ideas dont hold back
 
Re: Rented Pub struggling.......Please help!!!

I would suggest as an immediate measure to approach tour landlord/lady and seek a reduction in the rent you are paying. If they see that you are in danger of going out of business I'm sure they would be prepared to work with you in order to keep their own income flowing.
 
Re: Rented Pub struggling.......Please help!!!

I have found the cost of Setanta Sports which is €194 per month which is far cheaper then Sky at €2000 per month
 
Re: Rented Pub struggling.......Please help!!!

I have found the cost of Setanta Sports which is €194 per month which is far cheaper then Sky at €2000 per month

I think you might find that your competitors are not paying €2000 for their Sky package. I know a number of pubs that just use their domestic Sky card in the bar.
 
Re: Rented Pub struggling.......Please help!!!

I would suggest as an immediate measure to approach tour landlord/lady and seek a reduction in the rent you are paying. If they see that you are in danger of going out of business I'm sure they would be prepared to work with you in order to keep their own income flowing.

This is a good point. I know a few businesses that have closed down in my area purely because of the outrageous rents that greedy landlords and landladies have been looking for. I would definitely follow this up. No harm in asking.
 
Re: Rented Pub struggling.......Please help!!!

I was at a funeral today and we went back to the local hotel for a meal. We had a three course meal but honestly soup and mains would have been enough - no choice - you eat whats put in front of you. Everyone was offered tea and cofee when they came in which was welcome - in the summer offer soft drinks maybe.

There was approx 50 people (she was 97 so that was very small) at say €15 a head is €750 (have no idea). A few stayed on for drinks etc. Any way you can capture this market?
 
Re: Rented Pub struggling.......Please help!!!

I think you might find that your competitors are not paying €2000 for their Sky package. I know a number of pubs that just use their domestic Sky card in the bar.

I know one bar that got a huge fine for doing that. If there is no pint glass in corner of screen, it isn't a commericial SKY package.
 
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