It only takes a simple scroll through the nightclub reviews on this very site to realise we really are ‘spoilt for choice’ when it comes to where our drinking pleasure takes place. With so many bars, yet so little dimes for us twenty-somethings, the choice between one venue and another can depend on one simple factor: entry fee.
In the case of bar hopping, heading to just a couple of bars in one night can rack up quite a few twenty dollar notes. And when it gets to the very last venue of the night, it isn’t uncommon to hear drunken cries from friends before entering the building, “Entry fee? NEXT!”.
Luckily for us, a recent trend in venues nationwide has been to drop the entry fee altogether. And if it hasn’t been dropped altogether, owners are likely to offer free entry within the first or last hour of opening.
In a bid to encourage more venues to follow suit, here are a few reasons why we believe those pesky entry fees belong in parties of the past:
The more it costs to get in the less people will spend on booze
We’ve all been in the situation where we’ve well and truly drawn a limit to just how much we will spend throughout the evening. For some, a lack of numerals in bank balance statements make the choice in budget non negotiable, while for others it’s more a case of self restraint. Most of us head into a bar or nightclub with our wallet holding all that we are willing to spend for the evening. When that entry fee takes a large chunk out of the ensuing night’s funds, there’s less room for alcohol- which is what the venue really makes their bucks on. No entry fee? We’ll spend more on watered down booze. Simple.
A happy patron is an obedient patron (sometimes)
After being faced with a snide remark about your horrible ID photo upon enterance, the last thing you want to do is hand over cash before even stepping foot on the dance floor. Research shows, patrons who enter venues without opening their wallets for an entry fee are twice as likely to be friendly and compliant with other patrons (*friendliness may be direct result of alcohol consumption noted above).
No more cash registers at the door
There’s an old saying, “All you need for a movie is a gun and a girl”. Well, here’s a new one: “All you need for a clubbing robbery is a skanky reception girl and an open cash register”. Having an (often ditzy) bar girl sit at the entrance of the club dealing with more money than she knows how to count is a recipe for disaster. Bypassing the entry fee altogether makes clubs a safer place to be. We’re sure of it!
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