How Bottle Service Pricing Works

[Tyler Horvath III]

Just curious about all the details with bottle service pricing. I know it depends on day, club, people, etc. What are all the factors that go along with it? Do VIP Host get a percentage of the price you pay? Does all the money go to the club? Would love a detail explanation...

[Chuck]

The short answer is ALL OF THE ABOVE...

Pricing is driven 100% by demand
Hosts are given 'guidelines' of how much to sell a table for, and are expected to get as much as they can for each table they book
Some get a %, some don't
If a table is quoted at a low min, then demand spikes, management may decide to bump the low min to capture more $
"MANAGEMENT RESERVES ALL RIGHTS" is the key

[renator]

The short answer is ALL OF THE ABOVE...

Pricing is driven 100% by demand
Hosts are given 'guidelines' of how much to sell a table for, and are expected to get as much as they can for each table they book
Some get a %, some don't
If a table is quoted at a low min, then demand spikes, management may decide to bump the low min to capture more $
"MANAGEMENT RESERVES ALL RIGHTS" is the key

Yeah, i guess they have a base and then it's just simple economy/ supply and demand...
I think the minimums go to the house, the auto gratuity goes for waitress/staff/etc, the tax goes to the government and the handshake goes to the host...

[Chuck]

Hosts share handshakes....all tips are pooled....then everyone (including management) gets a % of the tip pool.

[Tyler Horvath III]

So who decides whether prices should go up or down for that night? Does it change daily? hourly? minutes?

[mgm32]

My experience has also been the earlier you get there (like 10:30...I know that's REALLY early for Vegas but still) the better off you are. I've seen tables jump from whatever they were at 10:30 to $2k + more after 11:30.

[peepete]

Yes, an hour makes a huge difference.

Your host will ask that you meet at 10:30, and its in your interest to show up on time, and at the latest before 11.

[Tyler Horvath III]

So is it possible to book a table months in advance at a price and that price stay what it was quoted? Or can they change the price on you depending on the demand?

[Chuck]

At a tier 2 you can book pretty far in advance and not worry about much...but in general, booking more than 3 weeks in advance doesn't make much sense. If it's a holiday weekend then prices can climb pretty quickly the week prior. But it's certainly possible that if you book a table a month or more in advance at a Tier 1, then they announce a big name DJ you minimum could go up. It's also possible to show up the night of and negotiate a great minimum because they didn't sell out tables.

[Chuck]

So who decides whether prices should go up or down for that night? Does it change daily? hourly? minutes?

Management decides...it's pretty fluid up until the moment all tables are sold. And even when all tables are sold, someone could come in the day of and tell them they'll drop $100k and someone who thought they were solid is gonna get bumped. This is very rare though.

[gwright]

The short answer is ALL OF THE ABOVE...

Pricing is driven 100% by demand
Hosts are given 'guidelines' of how much to sell a table for, and are expected to get as much as they can for each table they book
Some get a %, some don't
If a table is quoted at a low min, then demand spikes, management may decide to bump the low min to capture more $
"MANAGEMENT RESERVES ALL RIGHTS" is the key

Yeah, i guess they have a base and then it's just simple economy/ supply and demand...
I think the minimums go to the house, the auto gratuity goes for waitress/staff/etc, the tax goes to the government and the handshake goes to the host...

About the auto gratuity... I'm always drunk when the final bill comes, but I do remember seeing this. Are we supposed to tip the waitress above and beyond this? or is this considered the tip for them?

[fossil2k2]

About the auto gratuity... I'm always drunk when the final bill comes, but I do remember seeing this. Are we supposed to tip the waitress above and beyond this? or is this considered the tip for them?

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong but the auto gratuity gets split up between the wait staff, mostly to your server. If you feel your server was above and beyond, by all means, tip above and beyond.

One tip I picked up on here is you can settle your bill with the server right when you get to the club. This way you're not stumbling drunk trying to settle your bill. Seems like a good idea to me, especially if you're pooling cash from 10 different people, do it all before hand so you don't have a wad of money in your pocket all night.

[Chuck]

Yeah lots of people get a piece of the autograt. Even if you tip your server directly with cash they're supposed to report and split that tip also as I understand. Paying the bill up front is an option and definitely a good plan if you've split the expense with others.

[gwright]

I always wondered about that... Specifically because I remember my waitress circling the open "tip" spot on my credit card receipt on a bill that had an auto gratuity already on it. She didn't specifically say that the auto-gratuity wasn't a tip, but she certainly talked a circle around it and left me with the impression that the auto-gratuity had nothing to do with her... Frankly, I was pretty drunk, so I didn't really care about the extra couple hundred that I added on, but I've wondered if she was taking advantage of me.

[ocam]

I always wondered about that... Specifically because I remember my waitress circling the open "tip" spot on my credit card receipt on a bill that had an auto gratuity already on it. She didn't specifically say that the auto-gratuity wasn't a tip, but she certainly talked a circle around it and left me with the impression that the auto-gratuity had nothing to do with her... Frankly, I was pretty drunk, so I didn't really care about the extra couple hundred that I added on, but I've wondered if she was taking advantage of me.

Yeh she did unfortunately