Ever woken up after a night out, looked at your bank account, and thought \u2013 \u2018how much\u2019<\/em>? Sometimes it can seem like your usual round of drinks cost a lot more than normal. And it might be because of dynamic pricing strategies<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n Dynamic pricing<\/strong> is where businesses set flexible prices based on customer demand. One common form is surge pricing <\/strong>(where prices automatically rise when demand is high).<\/p>\n Brits may assume that dynamic pricing is reserved for the aviation or real estate sectors. Once you look out for it, though, it\u2019s everywhere. I recently bought a \u2018Pre-2pm Entry\u2019 ticket to London nightclub, Drumsheds. I wasn\u2019t psyched to do the two-step in a warehouse, sober, at midday \u2014 but the early bird wristband cost \u00a330 less than a standard ticket.<\/p>\n As more sectors struggle with tight profit margins<\/strong><\/a>, restaurants, clubs, and bars are all getting creative with the final bill. Below, we list the new fees you could soon encounter on the UK high street, and explain why businesses will lean further into dynamic pricing in 2025.<\/p>\n In June, experts reported that the average cost of a pint<\/strong><\/a> in the UK had tipped over \u00a35 for the first time. It was already well above this in London, but dynamic pricing there means it could soon cost drinkers a tenner.<\/p>\n According to The Independent<\/a>, O\u2019Neill\u2019s on Wardour Street will apply a \u00a32 surcharge to any drink <\/u>served after 10pm to pay for late-night door staff. That means even those who have switched to soft drinks<\/strong><\/a> won\u2019t be rewarded for struggling through a glass of soda water.<\/p>\n Only the eagle-eyed (unlikely to be anyone in an O\u2019Neill\u2019s pub after dark) would have seen the A4 sign outlining the fee. But after it was shared online, the news caused outrage. \u201cNo proper pub would ever adopt surge pricing \u2014 shame on O\u2019Neill\u2019s\u201d, wrote one X user.<\/p>\n Running a restaurant or gastropub costs much the same amount of money, whether you have bums on seats or an empty dining room. Owners will often be savvy by offering incentives such as a pub quiz or happy hours, to entice customers in during quieter times.<\/p>\n Now, however, all discretion has gone out the window. Many businesses are flat out charging more at peak dinner times, in order to capitalise on Saturday date-nights and to make an impromptu night out on a Tuesday seem more economical than waiting until the weekend.<\/p>\n Stonegate Group, which owns Slug & Lettuce and Yates bars, has said it will charge about 20p more per pint during busy evenings and weekends. US fast food chain Wendy\u2019s<\/strong><\/a>,<\/strong> which has outlets in the UK, has debated raising prices at busy moments for customers.<\/p>\n Third-party providers are also helping to plug gaps in booking sheets. For example, reservation app Ambl<\/strong><\/a> allows restaurants to contact users with promotions if a table opens.<\/p>\n In the UK, most of us are used to giving a tip<\/strong><\/a> at the end of a meal. Tipping your bartender is a less common practice that\u2019s associated with our crazy neighbours across the pond.<\/p>\n Not anymore. The Scotsman Group, which owns over 50 venues in Scotland, has adopted a US-style tipping culture<\/strong><\/a> which automatically adds a 2% charge on drinks. That means a Mojito, which appears as \u00a39.95 on the menu, would actually cost customers \u00a310.14.<\/p>\n Thanks to the new tipping law introduced this October, the money will go to wait staff<\/strong><\/a>, not businesses. But according to The Telegraph<\/a>, many customers don\u2019t notice the fee. They could be adding another<\/em> tip on top, considerably hiking the final bill.<\/p>\n Checkout fees will be familiar to anyone who shops online. These fees are typically to cover the merchant\u2019s own processing costs<\/strong><\/a> (essentially an added charge for taking payments online<\/strong><\/a>). But at some establishments, they have crawled off the screen and into real life.<\/p>\n Italian restaurant Gloria, based in Shoreditch, east London, made headlines earlier this year when it appeared to charge customers for \u201cthe privilege\u201d of paying for their meal. One disbelieving eater snapped a photo of the bill which showed they were charged a \u00a32.99 checkout fee on top of a 13.5% service charge<\/strong><\/a>, increasing their bill by \u00a329.14.<\/p>\n This rotten, checkout-cherry on top appears to have originated from Gloria\u2019s owner, Big Mamma Group. Restaurants in the group must use their own payment app called \u2018Sunday\u2019 to settle up with customers, which applies an automatic checkout fee to the bill.<\/p>\n Big Mamma has since clarified<\/a> that \u201conly those who want to use the fast and efficient payment option through the QR code are charged a small fee.\u201d Having added \u2018costlier\u2019 to that list of adjectives, we suspect customers won\u2019t be rushing to use the Sunday app soon.<\/p>\n London-based Chinese Dim Sum restaurant Ping Pong is probably regretting its decision to introduce a 15% \u2018brand charge<\/strong><\/a>\u2019 at the start of the year.<\/p>\n Source: reddit.com\/user\/Rowmyownboat\/<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In a statement, the eatery said it wanted to ensure a fairer, more stable side income for wait teams. But at the same time, it also scrapped its service charges and banned card tips, blocking one of the most common routes for customers to reward service staff.<\/p>\n Speaking to the Guardian<\/a>, Unite the Union organiser Bryan Simpson criticised the charge as \u201cdisingenuous\u201d, adding, \u201cno matter what senior management calls it, customers will assume that this 15% is a tip that should go to workers, but it won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s no secret that hospitality businesses are struggling. Labour shortages, combined with rising taxes<\/strong><\/a>, have drawn a bitter pint for many to swallow.<\/p>\n Since July 2023, Wetherspoons, the UK\u2019s most successful pub chain, has sold or surrendered the lease on 26 of its pubs in the last year. Even celebrities like Paul Hollywood<\/strong><\/a> and Jeremy Clarkson<\/strong><\/a> have reported struggling to pay the bills on their pubs.<\/p>\n But the biggest nail in the coffin for many has come from a surprising source. In October, the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act<\/strong><\/a> came into force, ensuring that 100% of tips and service charges will go to service staff, not businesses.<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to argue against the law change. But an indirect consequence is that many organisations have lost a key revenue stream (data shows that just one third of hospitality firms were giving 100% of tips to the workforce before the act was introduced).<\/p>\n Without tips to top up cash flow, brands have been forced to introduce new customer fees. Some, such as Stonegate Group, have been clear about the change. But others, such as Ping Pong or The Scotsman Group, have used murkier tactics to push up prices.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the key differentiator that can make dynamic pricing a trick or tonic for buyers. When consumers are aware of new fees and the reasons behind them, they are more likely to accept them \u2014 which is why being upfront about the charges is so vital for businesses.<\/p>\n Considering dynamic pricing? A more transparent option is to increase your prices. Our guide to <\/strong>raising pricing<\/strong><\/a> will help you weigh up the pros and cons.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The post Hidden ways bars and restaurants are charging you more<\/a> appeared first on Startups.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n \nFuente: https:\/\/ift.tt\/oQP2ejM Ever woken up after a night out, looked at your bank account, and thought \u2013 \u2018how much\u2019? Sometimes it can seem like your usual round of drinks cost a lot more than normal. And it might be because of dynamic pricing strategies. Dynamic pricing is where businesses set flexible prices based on customer demand. One…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[102],"tags":[75,76,77],"class_list":["post-6235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-news","tag-noticias","tag-viral"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hectorkott.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hectorkott.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hectorkott.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hectorkott.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hectorkott.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6235"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hectorkott.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6235\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6236,"href":"https:\/\/hectorkott.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6235\/revisions\/6236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hectorkott.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hectorkott.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hectorkott.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}1. Watershed charges<\/h2>\n
2. Dinner rush<\/h2>\n
3. Automatic tipping<\/h2>\n
4. Checkout fees<\/h2>\n
5. What the heck is a brand charge?<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.startups.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Ping-Pong-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\nWhy is dynamic pricing on the rise?<\/h2>\n
\nPublicado: November 12, 2024 at 08:14AM<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"