Some things we know only when we see them. True love, say. Or the collapse of a civilised nation — which seems to be happening a lot lately. In the US, the signs were seen in the voting booths. In the UK, it’s happening in the pubs.
It began with what might be described as an epidemic of queuing at the bar — decidedly not the done thing — and things have worsened since: the O’Neill’s on Wardour Street has opted to put in place surge pricing for its drinks. It works as so: when the clock ticks past 10pm, drinks cost £2 more than they did all day beforehand. With the Irish-themed pub open till 3am four nights-a-week and 2am on the other three, the Chinatown boozer has cannily pushed prices up for 32 hours a week, or about a third of its total opening hours. Not that the menu advertises the hike: only an A4 sign at one end of the bar lets on, reading: “We operate a variable price list in this venue.”
The policy increases the price of a pint of BrewDog IPA from an already punchy £7.40 to £9.40, and a bottle of Budweiser from £6.05 to £8.05. Soft drinks don’t get off scot-free either, with tonic water rising from £2.15 to £3.15. “Dynamic pricing varies on a site by site basis as it reflects the local market conditions,” a spokesperson for Mitchells & Butlers, who owns O’Neill’s, told the Standard. “But temporary price increases tend to reflect the need to offset additional costs, such as at times when door security is required.”
The tactic is particular to the one branch in particular, and has been in place since 2022. “The policy at Wardour Street reflects a request from both the licensing authority and the police that we increase prices after 10pm to a level generally in line with the late-night market,” the spokesperson added. Westminster Council, however, say that drinks prices aren’t stipulated in their late-night licensing policies.
Still, a doorman ruining the night out for everyone? It’s not unheard of. Neither, sadly, is hospitality surge pricing: the UK’s biggest pub operator, the Stonegate Group, last year announced that pints would go up by 20 pence during peak business hours “to cover rising costs.”
Widely used it may be, but it is a practice that runs entirely contrary to what hospitality is meant to be about: these are places squeezing every last penny out of their punters. Are operators of this ilk really so surprised people go to the pubs less often now than before? Most of us no longer can afford to be a regular anywhere. The last thing most drinkers need is another couple of quid added on to what’s already fast becoming a luxury.
Price rises like these feel innately ungenerous and, worse, out-of-touch. Pubs are meant to understand their customers; this is meant to be in their bones. And charging more just because there’s a rush on? Come off it. Those of us on the drinkers side of the bar can’t very well turn around to our own bosses and ask for another few quid anytime we’re busier than we’d like to be.
The “door security” excuse doesn’t bear much scrutiny, either. During the hours the pub is so busy it requires a bouncer, it will naturally be making more money than in quieter periods. Money that might reasonably be expected to cover said bouncer. The surcharge, then, represents an instance of O’Neill’s simply passing on the cost to the consumer, in order to protect their own profits. Perhaps it is just business. But it is greedy.
Surge pricing is already a scourge on hotel rooms, gig tickets, flights, more. As prices rise, access diminishes for all but the wealthiest. Pubs were not founded on this principle; pubs are meant to offer the egalitarian ideal, a place where anyone, from any background, might mingle. It is why they have long been embraced as points of national pride and identity. As soon as they introduce exclusionary measures, their very reason for being comes into question: what is a pub if it can no longer with a straight face claim to be somewhere for everyone? The collapse of civilisation. You know it when you see it.
