Everything You Need to Know About Bottle Service vs. Table Service

Key Takeaways

• Table service in restaurants involves a dedicated server handling orders, meal preparation, and delivery, offering a range of experiences from casual dining to fine dining.

• Bottle service, often interchangeable with table service in nightclubs, provides an exclusive VIP experience with a reserved table, premium alcohol selection, and personalized service.

• Bottle service pricing is based on a minimum spend, which varies depending on factors like venue, celebrity appearances, time of visit, and table location.

• High markups on alcohol (often 1000% or more) make it easy to meet the minimum spend, contributing to the luxurious ambiance rather than just increasing drink sales.

• Financial considerations include additional costs like tax and gratuity, making it essential to budget properly before committing to bottle service.

• Nightclubs benefit from offering bottle service as it enhances exclusivity, increases revenue, and provides a premium guest experience, making it a worthwhile option for many venues.

You might have heard the terms “bottle service” and “table service” being thrown around in restaurant management circles and nightclub scenes. But what do these terms mean, and how do they affect your bar or nightclub?

What is Table Service?

Table service in the restaurant industry simply means that the customer experience is led by a dedicated server.

The server takes the order, sends it to the kitchen, and serves it to the guest when it’s ready. Table service is basically anything that doesn’t involve the customer ordering at a counter (counter service) or having to serve themselves in any way. Table service requires much more restaurant labor when it comes to setup, clean up, and preparing and presenting meals.

There are various levels of table service, ranging from super casual to white-glove fine dining.

What is Bottle Service?

The term table service is often used interchangeably with the term bottle service in the bar & nightclub industry.

Essentially, bottle service happens at private tables in well-defined, elite, areas of nightclubs or lounges with VIP treatment. These areas are usually roped off to the general public and are booked in advance. This means that the clubgoers paying for bottle service get to skip the line that other patrons have to wait in to get into the club. While bottle service is generally the more commonly used term, both terms still mean the same thing.

With this hot plot of club space, you’ll also get exclusive, VIP service. Hence the name, bottle service. Not only do you get to attend special events  in a posh, restricted location - you'll also get perks like an abundant selection of spirits, mixers, sparklers, and a dedicated “bottle person” or “bottle girls” to engage with patrons as they help pour drinks, make shots, and maintain the table’s drink inventory.

Is Bottle Service Worth It?

Of course, this exclusive experience comes with a price. Often, a very steep price depends on the club or lounge.

Bottle service is priced using a “minimum spend” amount, where each table reservation is committed to buy bottles of alcohol at a predetermined amount throughout the evening (and into the wee hours of the morning, if we’re being realistic here). Plus, there are a number of factors that will impact how the minimum spend is determined.

Attendees

If the nightclub, bar, or lounge has a notable celebrity attending, or if a reputable musician or DJ is spinnin’ that night, the minimum spend will likely spike to accommodate demand of the special occasion.

Time of Visit

It’s not uncommon for the day of the week (obviously, weekend nights will have increased prices) or for the table's location and ambiance to affect the minimum spend. The closer the table is to the excitement, the higher the minimum spend.

Markups

One slight thing to note is that alcohol prices, on varieties like tequila, vodka, and whiskey, are marked up considerably... and by "considerably," we mean 1000% considerably. So it’s safe to say that clubs make it relatively simple to meet their minimum spending amounts, and then some! The concept of the cost of bottle service isn’t necessarily to increase alcohol sales, but more to create an environment that makes patrons feel a sense of luxury and indulgence. 

The Appearance

Bottle service is definitely an acquired taste, so to say. Sometimes it makes more financial sense to go up to the bar and buy individual drinks and shots as you go. Alternatively, if you have a big group of people who are willing to pitch in to the night’s festivities, at least you can use the minimum spend amount as a baseline for who will owe what at the end of the night.

Keep in mind though, that minimum spends don’t include tax and tip! So just remember to add a reasonable gratuity amount and calculate tax into the mix when getting a quote for a table. It’ll save you and your party people from too much sticker shock when you get the final check.

Should my Bar or Nightclub Offer Bottle Service?

There's no real downside to offering bottle service packages aside from taking your staff out from behind the bar. To plan for this, you can staff extra or charge appropriate markups to pay for the service.

Additionally, if you have a bar POS system, it's easy for bartenders and servers to keep track of the running bill. Instead of memorizing orders and forgetting to input information, employees can keep the ongoing tab right on their handheld POS.

Plus, it’s fun to order bottle service! Whether a group of locals are out for a bachelorette party and want a VIP experience, or it's the wildest nightlife in the cities like Las Vegas, New York, or Miami, at least offering the option of bottle service doesn't do much harm.

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