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How to set a bottle service minimum that beats a normal night
A bottle table blocks seats all night. The minimum has to beat what those seats would have earned anyway.
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Set your minimumBottle service looks like free money until you count the table it takes off the floor for the whole night, the server who does nothing else, and the mixers and ice. The minimum spend has to cover all of that, plus a premium for the privilege, in whole bottles.
The formula
Opportunity cost = seats × normal spend per seat × turns given up. Profit required = (opportunity + dedicated service + mixers) × (1 + premium). Bottles = required ÷ (bottle price − bottle cost), rounded up. Minimum = bottles × price.
What a good number looks like
Sell it. The table earns more sitting still.
Only worth it for the atmosphere. Raise the premium or the bottle price.
You would earn more leaving the table open. Do not offer it on that night.
What to do about it
- Set different minimums for Friday and Tuesday. The opportunity cost is different.
- Count the turns honestly. A good table turns twice on a Saturday.
- Put mixers in the minimum. Nobody drinks vodka neat all night.
Now do it with your numbers.
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Set your minimum