Every cheap room in this record has the same hole in it: a village hall, a community centre, a warehouse, a barn and a marquee all come without a bar, and for an evening event the bar is most of what a venue normally supplies. The trade that fills the hole is a mobile bar operator, and it is priced in a way that catches people out, because the question is not only what the bar costs but who keeps what the guests spend. This is what arrives, who has to hold the licence, what the venue has to provide for any of it to work, and how a bar you bring in compares with simply hiring a room that already has one.
Ask three suppliers for a price
Bars for hire: the trailer, the horsebox and the unit that arrives flat
The stock splits three ways. A converted horsebox or trailer arrives complete, is the most photographed and needs somewhere outdoors to stand, with access wide enough to tow it in and firm enough to leave it. A demountable bar arrives flat in a van and is built in the room, which is what most halls and warehouses use because it fits through a door. And a hired counter with nothing behind it is the cheapest option and means you supply the staff, the stock, the glassware and the ice yourself. Ask which of the three a quote is for before comparing two figures, because they are not the same product.
Rent a bar or let the operator run it: the cash bar against the tab
There are two commercial models and the difference is larger than the hire fee. On a cash bar the guests pay for their own drinks, the operator keeps the takings and the hire is reduced or waived, often against a guaranteed minimum take that you underwrite if the room drinks less than expected. On a hosted bar or a tab you buy the drink, the operator charges for the service and the staff, and the guests pay nothing. A wedding usually wants some of both, a tab for the first hour and a cash bar after it, so ask for the two figures separately and ask what happens to the minimum take if half the room is driving.
Bars to hire and the licence that has to come with them
Selling alcohol in England and Wales needs a premises licence or, for a one off, a temporary event notice given to the council in advance with a statutory notice period, and somebody with a personal licence to authorise the sales. Most established mobile bar operators hold personal licences and will apply for the notice as part of the job; some expect the customer to do it, and a few do neither and work only where a licence already exists. A cash bar is a sale and needs this; drink you have bought and are giving away does not, which is the one case where the paperwork disappears. Ask in the first email who is applying for what, and get the answer in writing, because the notice has a deadline and a room with no licence on the night has no bar at all.
Bar venue hire and pub hire against a bar you bring in
Compare the two totals rather than the two hire fees. A pub or hotel room with its own bar costs nothing to hire against a minimum spend, and the staff, the licence, the glassware, the stock and the washing up are already in the building. A hall plus a mobile bar costs the room by the hour, the bar, its travel, its staff and often a licence application, and it wins when the room is the point, when the guest count is large enough that a per head package would be punishing, or when you want your own drink at your own prices. For an ordinary evening for sixty people the room with a bar in it is usually cheaper and always simpler.
What the venue has to give a mobile bar, and what it charges for it
A bar needs power for fridges and often for lighting, a water supply or enough containers, somewhere to put waste and ice, and access wide enough and close enough to unload kegs and crates without carrying them across a field. It also needs permission: plenty of venues that let a room will not let an outside bar in at all, because the drink is where their own margin is, and others allow it against a corkage charge per bottle or a fee for the privilege. Ask the venue three questions before you book the bar, namely whether an outside bar is allowed, what the power and access are, and what corkage applies, and ask the bar operator what it needs of each.
Private bar hire London and private bar hire Manchester: what the city adds
The same mobile bar costs different money in different cities and the difference is mostly logistics. In London the operator is pricing a vehicle into a congestion and emissions zone, parking or a loading bay, a longer carry from the van to the room, and staff who are paid London rates and need to get home after midnight, so the quote carries all of that before a drink is poured. In Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham and the other big cities the travel is shorter, the parking is easier and the same bar with the same staff is materially less. Two questions settle a quote anywhere: what the travel, parking and access charge is as a separate line, and how far the operator is coming from, because a bar based an hour away bills that hour twice.
Questions people ask about bar rental
Is a mobile bar cheaper than hiring a room that has one?
Usually not for a straightforward evening. A pub or hotel room with its own bar is normally free against a minimum spend, and the staff, stock, glassware and licence are already there, while a hall and a mobile bar means paying for the room, the bar, its travel and its staff. The mobile bar wins when the building itself is the reason for the event, when the numbers are large, or when you want to supply the drink yourself.
Who applies for the licence for a one off bar?
Either the operator or you, and it has to be settled in writing before the date. A sale of alcohol needs a premises licence or a temporary event notice given to the council inside its statutory notice period, authorised by somebody holding a personal licence. Most established operators do this as part of the job; ask, because a bar with no notice cannot legally sell a drink.
What is a minimum take on a cash bar?
A figure the operator expects the bar to turn over, which you make up if the guests spend less. It is how a cash bar can be supplied with little or no hire fee, and it is the line to read closely if a lot of your guests are driving, are not drinking, or are leaving early, because those are the rooms where the shortfall lands on the host.
Will a venue let me bring my own bar in?
Many will not. Drink is where a licensed venue makes its margin, so a room with a bar usually requires you to use it, and a dry hire space that permits an outside bar may still charge corkage per bottle or a fee for the right. Ask before you book either the room or the bar, since the answer decides which of the two you are actually buying.