Open bar cost, does this sound right?

I'm on the app, so I can't remove the other photo and replace it with this one. I see that this one is blurry too. It's clear on my phone but shows blurry here. I give up! Lol. I think I'll give them a call to double check it. It didn't seem right to me but I didn't want to ask and seem cheap. Since it doesn't seem right to most of you, I feel better questioning it.

Our premium bar package for 4 hours was going to be $30/hr for the first 2 hours and then $13/hr for every additional hour after that per person, so it can definitely be high.

We are going with beer and wine only, which per person is $18/hr for the first 2 hours and then $9/hr for every additional hour after that. We're going with 4 hours, so it will be $54/person.

Is it 20 pp/ph and then does it lower?

She didn't say anything about it lowering.

No way you should be paying 12,000 for drinks!! That can't be right. Call asap and find out what's up

That is really expensive. Usually it's just a flat rate per person. The "per hour" part is odd.

Ours is $32 (basic) for the whole night; we have some upgrades bringing it to $42 pp

Thanks for all the replies! I don't feel so weird calling and questioning it now that I know I'm not the only one that thinks it's high.

Let us know what you find out? It sounds like there's quite a few potential outcomes here.

Per hour is insane. At this rate just do consumption, will be way cheaper.

I work in stadiums and arenas for food service, our busiest bar barely does 12,000 in a 5 hour time frame. And that is with 12 dollar beers, so that seems very high.

The only way I could see the venue justifying that price is if you are offering don Julio 1942, Johnnie Blue and all the other very high end liquors.

Absolutely unreasonably high, but I honestly wouldn't be too surprised if it is accurate. I see this is at a hotel. I work at a hotel myself, and our premium open bar package is $15 per person per hour. *Nobody* chooses that option because it would be incredibly foolish to do so. The pricing works out two of the most expensive drink on the menu per person per hour to break even on the package cost. I have been here over two years, and the only time I have seen the open bar package ordered were a couple of 1-hour social hour situations for corporate groups. Every single wedding does consumption bar because it is vastly cheaper unless every last person at the wedding is chugging dozens of premium drinks.

We have 6 hours of open bar with 180 people at 20-25$ per person so estimating the higher end it's $4,500 total for 6 hours. Yours seems ridiculously high

ETA: mine is also all inclusive and top shelf. Our price /pp is $145 for an 1.5 hour cocktail hour (ridiculous amount of food) 3 course dinner and the open bar. This is also Philadelphia

The one place that I looked that offered an open bar had the same pricing. A certain price her head/per hour, but the per head price lowered after the first couple hours.

Whether or not the price is outrageous depends on what level of alcohol you are offering. Can you just offer house liquors instead of top shelf to lower the price? Also are all 140 guests drinking age? I assume you wouldn't be charged the fee for kids.

That sounds kinda steep. Ours is a top shelf open bar, 40.00 per person, 5 hours. So that seems like an awful lot...

Our daughter is having a beer, wine and soda bar....(upgrading wine) with a sig cocktail. The bar is $39 per person and we will have approx 140 people over 21 that will be in that number. Bars are so $$$.......and in Maryland you also pay a 9% alcohol tax plus sales tax. The bar will be one of the bigger expenses in the wedding.

Sandi

That seems kind of high, usually it's a set price per person

Sounds a bit off to me also. Mine for open bar was $19pp for 3 hours then $6pp per hour after that.

We are having an open bar for 6 hours with beer, wine, vodka and bourbon. We are looking at $1,500 including bartenders assuming everyone has 1.5 drinks per hour which we are probably going to raise to 2 drinks per hour...our families like to drink