Queen sacrifice

In this series we introduce original ideas that may help to make a restaurant more opular. Part three is dedicated entirely to the ’bring your own bottle – BYOB’ concept. It might sound outrageous to some that guests could consume their own drinks in a restaurant, but in the United States and Australia it is a common practice of restaurants to use the BYOB system. This concept is not a product of the crisis, but it is a sales method that might help restaurants to survive at the time of crisis. What is BYOB about? Well, guests are allowed to bring any kind of drink to the restaurant ithout having to pay for it. Experience is that drinks sales are falling, but the increased number of guests compensate for this as more food is consumed. People have become really pricesensitive, but they do not wish to quit eating out – and BYOB helps them to keep going to restaurants.

Experts say that at the time of crisis people do not spend less in restaurants once hey go there, it is just that they go less often. BYOB may lure more guests to restaurants. It also depends on the restaurant’s profile whether this concept works or not. In several US cities BYOB Guides (even in Internet versions with maps) are available, which inform customers about corkage fees or help them decide where to go if they want to bring their own drinks.

The BYOB concept may involve a moderate corkage fee (calculated after the number of bottles), especially by high-profile restaurants which – this may seem odd in Hungary – also apply the ‘bring your own’ system. BYOB can be considered as some kind of promotion, as it can be used on certain days or in certain parts of the day just
like happy hours. Experts say that the BYOB system may bring extra profit to the staff as well: research proved that in restaurants where guests drink their own wine tips are significantly higher.