Stag and hen parties can bring a real boost to trade, but how do pubs handle the potential binge-drinking problems and is the extra business worth the hassle? Catherine Quinn reports
In the UK, stag and hen nights have become big business. Although stag nights used to involve a few too many drinks, a stripper, and a lamppost, they've become a more extended affair. Nowadays it's not uncommon for a stag night to involve activities like paint-balling, and hedonistic weekends away. Not to be outdone, the ladies have also caught on to an excuse for a knees up, and there are several companies now dedicated to organising pampering sessions, Adonis cabaret, or pub and club crawls.
For licensees, this might all seem like very good news. After all, packs of men and women geared up for a night to end all nights are certainly useful for lining the cash registers. And, according to a recent report by Morgan Stanley, stag and hen nights pull in a staggering £532m of business annually. To place that in terms of individual spend, it's estimated that friends of the bride and groom fork-out around £365 each celebrating a final fling.
And for large chains like Yates, stag and hen nights can supply a healthy chunk of custom, as chief executive Mark Jones explains. "Overall we're incredibly positive about stag and hen nights. Some of our bars in certain cities like Blackpool and Brighton are synonymous with stag and hen nights, and we have good landlords in those places who know how to manage the situation."
But in stag and hen hotspots, such as Brighton, many licensees feel far from welcoming towards the parties. In fact, negative feeling is such that the Brighton and Hove Economic Partnership (BHEP) recently suggested charging stags and hens a £1,000 deposit, payable to their hotels. Money could then be deducted for any damage caused by the parties during their stay in the city.
The BHEP was spurred to make its suggestion following the release of statistics that pointed to an 11% rise in violent crime in Brighton.
The organisation has, however, since backed down, following a lack of support from Brighton City Council. But the point remains that many licensees clearly feel strongly enough about the problem of stag and hen nights to risk doing without their custom entirely.
Rob Fredrickson is one such licensee. Fredrickson runs Heist Bar on Brighton's West Street an area notorious for stag and hen parties. Despite the location, Heist has remained determined to cultivate an atmosphere which deters such parties.
"We just don't let them in," explains Fredrickson. "We turn them away the minute they get to the door. If there's any suggestion that a party is a stag or hen night, they'll be asked to leave.
"We did actually let one stag party in on our opening week, and they just trashed the place. They trashed the toilets, there was silly string everywhere. Stag and hens are essentially about one long bender, and that's not what we're trying to promote.
"Some licensees don't see this as a problem, and you'll get places like Yates who don't care who they let in. I could let stag and hen nights in, but it would be a short-term benefit, which would damage us in the long term. If we're attracting stag nights, we're putting off the adult drinkers who have real money to spend.
"It's taken longer than we thought it would, but people are coming round to the idea that Heist isn't a place where they come to get blind drunk. We were turning away about 500 people a week in the beginning, and that's down to 20 or 30 now.
"Our numbers are levelling off, but our individual spend is going through the roof, because we're getting people who are staying longer. And to be honest, I'd rather have 300 people in here and take £4,000 than have 500 people and take £5,500. It just makes for a pleasanter atmosphere."
And it seems as though focusing on atmosphere and "adult" drinkers is a successful way of tackling the problem, although subtler methods than turning away punters at the door are possible.
In fact, if Brighton is searching for a solution to stag and hen rampages, they may well look to the Temple Bar area in Dublin, where the issue of stag and hen nights has long since been tackled and resolved.
Temple Bar was almost notorious in the '80s for attracting packs of rowdy stag and hen night revellers, out to drink cheaply and to generally misbehave.
Towards the end of the decade research was conducted by leading businesses in the area, which found that rather than bringing extra money to the area, the parties were actually having the opposite effect. In response, local traders formed TASCQ Traders in the Area Supporting the Cultural Quarter Limited. Among other things the group aimed to promote the Temple Bar area for its variety of attractions not simply cheap bars and pubs.
"TASCQ is about attracting a different demographic [profile] to the Temple Bar area than we were in the '80s," explains Martin Hart, executive manager of TASCQ.
"With regards to stag and hen nights in particular, it was something of a problem, in that they turned away other tourists from the area.
"In fact research conducted by the Tourist Board, amongst others, showed that stag and hen nights made up between 0.7% and 2% of visitors to the area. But they had a turn-off rate of 13% for higher-spending tourists.
"TASCQ is about making sure that we're seen in a way that isn't focusing on drinking as much as you can for the smallest amount of money. Instead we give out maps promoting the area in a holistic way. We promote shopping, cultural activities, and free public events, as well as enjoying a pint."
The efforts of TASCQ have met with real success, and Temple Bar is no longer a magnet for groups of women in wedding veils and L-plates. What's more, Hart feels that other cities can learn from TASCQ's experiences.
"Somewhere like Brighton, I'm sure, has a lot to offer," he says, "and maybe they should think about who they're attracting."
And certainly at a time when the binge-drinking culture is firmly at the centre of the Government's radar, it's understandable that some licensees are cautious about encouraging stag and hen parties into their pubs.
But Hart reasons that the "issue" with stag and hen nights might just as easily be one of snobbery or scapegoating.
"Stag and hen nights don't define obnoxious drinkers," says Hart. "You might have a group of lawyers who are spending £100 per bottle of wine behaving very badly, but they are not focused on as a problem.
"You have to be careful that stag and hen nights aren't just a byword for problematic drinking, and you also need to look at tourism in its broadest form."