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UK pub prices overview:
- Who: Pub company Stonegate Group has announced that it will adopt surge pricing at 800 of its pub locations across the UK.
- Why: Stonegate said it is adopting the surge pricing model — which will go into effect during peak hours, such as weekends — in an effort to offset rising costs for licensing and staffing requirements.
- Where: Stonegate is the largest pub group in the UK.
The pub company Stonegate Group has announced that it will be adopting a surge price model at 800 of its locations across the UK.
Pubs owned by Stonegate have already begun putting up signs warning customers that they will experience increased costs for drinks during peak hours, with prices for a pint of beer increasing by as much as 20 pence, reports Morning Brew.
Stonegate, the largest pub group in the UK, is reportedly shifting to a surge price model during peak times — like weekends — as a way to offset a higher cost for both staffing and licensing requirements.
The decision also comes in the wake of the pub group losing $28.7 million during the first half of year, a financial hit that has been attributed to a cost-of-living crisis in the UK, reports Morning Brew.
Stonegate says beer prices will return to normal during non-peak hours
Beer prices at Stonegate-owned pubs will reportedly go back to normal once peak hours are no longer in effect, however, the decision to switch to surge pricing has already garnered criticism, including from the consumer advocacy group Campaign for Real Ale.
Campaign for Real Ale dubbed the new policy “unhappy hour surge,” and said the move could discourage customers who rely on affordable prices at pubs when choosing to spend their time at them, reports Morning Brew.
Other pub owners in the UK have reportedly taken advantage of the apparent bad faith created by Stonegate’s move by announcing that they will not be raising their prices or adopting a surge price model.
Stonegate, which owns pubs such as chains Slug & Lettuce and Yates’s, among others, said it has previously used a surge pricing model during events such as the World Cup, reports The Guardian.
The pub group previously made headlines in July 2021 after it lobbied an £845 million lawsuit against its insurers over claims they failed to properly calculate its financial losses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
How do you feel about Stonegate’s decision to adopt a surge pricing model? Let us know in the comments!
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