How is surge pricing affecting hospitality and other industries?

Local TV

How is surge pricing affecting our pubs? Well, according to the BBC, one particular pub in central London has been accused of charging customers an extra £2 a pint after 10pm.

Transcript

00:00It was reported that in 2023, Britain's largest pub group, Stonegate Group, which owns chains

00:08like Slug & Lettuce and Yeatsies, said it was raising prices by 20p at 800 of its venues

00:14during peak times. The company then said that busier pubs incur extra costs, with more bar

00:19staff and bouncers needed. Back in 2023, when discussing the Stonegate news, the Campaign

00:24for Real Ale CEO, Tom Stainer, said, quote, we know pubs and brewers are having a difficult

00:29time at the moment, but we don't think an extra charge penalising customers that want

00:34to support the industry is the right solution. He went on to say that our fear is that it

00:38could convince people to stay away. Interestingly, consumer rights expert Scott Dixon also reportedly

00:44told The Telegraph that, quote, the hospitality industry needs to rethink their business model

00:49instead of inventing new ways to rip people off. There needs to be more transparency.

00:54He then added, quote, their pricing policies are underhanded and consumers are being misled

00:58into buying decisions they would not otherwise have made. Now, recently, many industries

01:03have been using dynamic pricing to increase fares during busy periods. One example of

01:08this is how Uber's surge pricing often kicks in when there aren't enough drivers on the

01:13road to fulfil the number of taxi requests. Furthermore, in a survey conducted by Barclays

01:18last year, close to half of UK shoppers said they'd noticed more examples of surge pricing.

01:24It was also found that one in three had seen an increase in the price of food and drink

01:29in pubs and bars during peak times. Merlin Entertainments, which owns places like Alton

01:34Towers in Legoland, announced plans earlier this year to increase prices on busy days

01:39across 20 of its global venues. Merlin Entertainments said it plans to use AI to determine price

01:45fluctuations, which it says reportedly helps avoid overcrowding during busy periods and

01:51as a result is hoped to, quote, protect the guest experience.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended