A campaign group representing pubgoers criticised Stonegate, Britain’s largest pub company for raising the price of pints in its busiest trading times by 20p, to offset high costs.
Owners of Slug and Lettuce and Craft Union said they had implemented a “dynamic price” system for drinks at about 800 of their venues on weekends and evenings to cover costs of additional staffing, licensing and security.
The pub group has made its surge pricing permanent. It had previously implemented it in some of their venues during the World Cups in 2018 and 2022.
A customer’s online review revealed that punters received a “polite note” at their tables informing them that “dynamic pricing was live during this peak trading period”. The first report on Stonegate’s policy was published.
Tom Stainer of the Campaign for Real Ale consumer group called the move “troubling”. He added that it could undermine pubgoers’ transparency about price if the message wasn’t clearly displayed.
“We understand that pubs and brewers face a tough time, but we do not think that imposing a surcharge on customers who want to support this industry is the best solution,” Stainer said. Our fear is that people will stay away.
In other industries, dynamic pricing is used by businesses to adjust prices based on demand at specific times. This includes Uber, the ride-hailing service, and Ticketmaster, a ticketing platform.
According to a YouGov survey published in December of last year, 71 percent of Britons are against dynamic ticket pricing for live events.
Stonegate stated that they regularly reviewed their pricing in order to not only manage costs, but to also ensure our guests received the best value for money. This flexibility could mean that, on occasion, prices may increase marginally in some pubs and bars because of the increased costs imposed on the business by additional staffing requirements or licensing requirements like additional door team employees.
Stonegate said that dynamic pricing allowed them to offer customers deals during off-peak trading hours. This included 2-for-1 cocktails, and discounts on food.
A rival pub chief said that Stonegate’s move set a dangerous precedent for pricing transparency. He described the use of dynamic prices as “not good” in many ways. They added that pubs should be transparent and not take advantage of their customers when they are busy.
Steven Alton said that the British Institute of Innkeeping (which represents the independent pub industry) was “indicative of reality of operating costs at the moment where pubs are looking for any way to generate decent margins”.