dry hire vs. wet hire
Are you looking to hire a Horse Box Bar for your private event but do not have experience with managing a bar? Which option offers better value for money? Dry hire might look like a money-saving option, doesn’t it? Well…it depends. Here are some pros & cons for dry hire vs. private hire you may consider.
Dry hire means you are hiring only a horse box bar and providing own alcohol. At a glance it is seems to be a good idea. But there are a few essential questions you should answer first before you make decision:
Who will be serving people?
Who is stocking up all drinks?
Who is proposing the menu?
What is the budget?
Is it worthy?
1. Who will be serving?
Ok, you are organising a party. Unless you, or someone from your friends/family, will put themselves forward then the other option is hire a bartender which will cost money. So let’s assume you or someone from the group will operate the bar. Does the person have enough of experience to handle the bar, deal with issues or possible damages? When you have a bigger group of drinking people, there is a chance someone will consume a bit too much alcohol. Trained staff is used to deal with those issues. Additionally, you may be responsible for possible damages and increase the unnecessary costs.
2. Who is stocking up all drinks?
Supplying own alcohol sounds like a cheaper option. But how much and what do you actually need? What if you buy too much or too little? Not that people will be picky. But if you are hosting a special evening, wouldn’t you like everyone to enjoy their favourite drinks or try something new? By hiring the bar you may still request the favourite brands, yet having a wide choice of soft drinks & alcoholic drinks. Plus some amazing cocktails to try! It is always a good idea to agree on prices of certain drinks to prevent surprise. As a bar owner, I always offer customer-friendly pricing and providing a good value for money. How will you share the costs fairly (someone might say that they will have only soft drinks). I can bet that at the end you will spend much less on your bill than you would spend on the supply (because I can guarantee you there will be leftovers - and try to share costs of a half-opened bottle with your friends or discussion about who will have the bottle of whiskey nobody likes).
3. Who is proposing the menu?
You might offer to stock the bar and then you must decide which drinks you will serve. Are you sure you included everyone’s preferences? Your best friend might love the classy “Old Fashioned” yet, are you willing to buy all extra flavouring garnishes just for one person? You may disagree but wouldn’t be great if everyone can their favourites without limitations? Bartender will make sure those little touches will be covered and satisfy everyone’s taste buds. I can imagine that is much less expensive to ask the bar to supply on request rather than buying all extras.
4. What is the budget?
Hmmm, that is a very good question, isn’t it? Regardless if you are sharing the costs or providing the drinks yourself as a treat. The amounts of drinks is one thing but budget is another issue. You may end up overspending for your supplies if you are not prepared to browse different online stores, checking the sales, or driving around supermarkets. And ok, you got your drinks. Now - ice. Then - cups. After - straws. Ahhh did you remember limes, lemons, different syrups, fresh herbs… It seems as not much but the costs will easily rise above the agreed budget.
5. Is it worthy?
Paying for dry hire is usually about £350-400/day. Yes, that is right - not that cheap - as you must bear in mind that the owner has to pay insurance, license, having another car for towing, travelling for set up & collection, maintenance costs. And as you hired the “source of income” bartender is not able to work at different event, market or festival. So before you even started you have to pay £350-400, spend time to stocking up, work around budget and people’s requests, and then someone still has to run the bar. Wouldn’t it be easier if you use those money towards the future bill and enjoy your free time with your friends & family?
