Slug & Lettuce owner: Price of a pint will rise during peak hours
The pub group that owns Slug & Lettuce has said it will increase the price of its drinks by 20p during its busiest trading hours due to rising costs.
Stonegate Group, which also owns the Yates pub chain, said it would raise prices across 800 of its 4,800 sites to offset increasing costs including extra security fees.
A number of other companies, most notably ride-hailing apps like Uber, implement surge charge fees meaning the cost of their services goes up during peak hours.
Stonegate Group has also previously raised the cost of their goods during busy trading seasons such as the World Cup where the price of a pint rose by 50p, according to reports in the BBC.
It was also reported that customers would be informed about the price increases through notices in their pubs.
“Pricing strategies are a matter for individual companies but surge pricing as a concept is not new to the sector,” Kate Nicholls, chief executive of the UK Hospitality sector told City PM
“It is sometimes put into effect by companies when dealing with particularly busy events, such as a World Cup, where the influx of customers requires additional staff and security, for example. Small increases in prices help companies offset those costs.”
She added: “There are requirements around display of drinks prices for licensed premises to protect customers, which venues must remain compliant with.”
The news comes amid a challenging period of the UKs hospitality sector which has been battling rising costs and also a slowdown in consumer spending.
“Stonegate Group, like all retail businesses, regularly review pricing to manage costs but also to ensure we offer great value for money to our guests,” a spokesperson for Stonegate told City PM
“Across the managed business our dynamic pricing encompasses the ability to offer guests a range of promotions including happy hours, 2 for 1 cocktails, and discounts on food and drink products at different times on different days throughout the week.
They added: “This flexibility may mean that on occasions pricing may marginally increase in selective pubs and bars due to the increased cost demands on the business with additional staffing or licensing requirements such as additional door team members.”