A night out in the recession

[ianash]

Last week I had a night in London with the GF. Managed to find a 4 star hotel for £69. This felt like great value. Looking on their menu, they wanted £16.95 for either a full English, or a continental breakfast. If you wanted porridge, this was a continental +£2 (£18.95). I ended up voting with my feet and having a coffee and sticky bun, at Starbucks for under a fiver. The breakfast room at the hotel was deserted.

The evening of my stay was a boozy affair at a gallery, where a sculptress and an artist were showing their wares. The fact I was invited shows a certain amount of desperation. After the gallery we got a taxi to the Bombay Brasserie, my favourite Indian restaurant. The taxi fare for a 2 odd mile trip was £10. No wonder there were so many taxi's about, with their for hire signs lit up. Travel to the gallery by bus/oyster card £0.90p. The restaurant which last year you had to book well in advance was practically empty. We had a main course with a few side dishes + a bottle of Pinot Grigio. The bill was £110.00. I kid you not. This is a nice place to eat. We had 5 waiters hovering to do our biding.

My point is, when do these business's wake up to the fact that we're in a new financial world. I know they will all have high fixed overheads, but surely it must be better to get the prices down, in order to drive up the volume. It feels like they would rather live in denial, than face up to the new realities. Am I alone in thinking this?

[rusal]

mmm for some some its just the math here. if they reduced their prices by 20% but then felt they just wouldnt get the volume to compensate then they are worse off but i get what you mean. some out there havent woken up.

[strudel]

110 seems fairly cheap for the bombay.

[ianash]

Probably what needs to happen, is that these business's fail and like a phoenix, re-appear after a "pre pack". This enables them to renegotiate their rent and reduce staffing. The cheap comment may be valid, but it'll be a very long time before I'll be thinking that over £100 for the visit is good value. Their loss.

[anonymous-user]

It will soon happen, it just takes the economy time to readjust.

Im sure that ski resorts will get cheaper soon too as they realise that people feel like theyre being taken for a mug... €14 for a bowl of Onion soup last week! Restaurant was empty

[johnfm]

£110 for a curry and bottle of wine for two?


Seriously??

I would want to fly to India and have a real curry for that sort of money.


Still, that's Laandaaan for you.

[magpie215]

It is the typical british solution to the problem

less people through the door----up the prices to cover the overheads-----less people through the door----up prices again------company goes bang

[Matt p]

Dude it cost me €79 for three portions of chips, five coffees and five panini (sp) in La Plagne last week.
Its fking criminal!.

nickg_44 said:

It will soon happen, it just takes the economy time to readjust.

Im sure that ski resorts will get cheaper soon too as they realise that people feel like theyre being taken for a mug... €14 for a bowl of Onion soup last week! Restaurant was empty

[steve.c]

So the carvery for £3.50 I was enjoying whilst working away in Milton Keynes end of last year was a bargain!

[bigandclever]

Matt p said:

Dude it cost me €79 for three portions of chips, five coffees and five panini (sp) in La Plagne last week.
Its fking criminal!.

Me and the missus paid 30 quid to play with a gang of three 5 month old tigers and two 11 month old tigers, for an hour, yesterday. Funny old world.

[jeff m]

I doubt one could eat $150 of curry in most countries.

I didn't think the full breakfast in the hotel was that excessive though.
How much is one the motorway now?
Plastic tables etc.

Edited by jeff m on Sunday 22 March 13:13

[jeff m]

bigandclever said:

Matt p said:

Dude it cost me €79 for three portions of chips, five coffees and five panini (sp) in La Plagne last week.
Its fking criminal!.

Me and the missus paid 30 quid to play with a gang of three 5 month old tigers and two 11 month old tigers, for an hour, yesterday. Funny old world.

But you weren't allowed to eat them for 30 quid.

[Bing o]

steve.c said:

So the carvery for £3.50 I was enjoying whilst working away in Milton Keynes end of last year was a bargain!

But you were in Milton Keynes?

[Clambake]

People are growing increasingly intolerant of being gouged.

[bigandclever]

jeff m said:

But you weren't allowed to eat them for 30 quid.

That is true (but lunch was included).

[BiggusLaddus]

bigandclever said:

Matt p said:

Dude it cost me €79 for three portions of chips, five coffees and five panini (sp) in La Plagne last week.
Its fking criminal!.

Me and the missus paid 30 quid to play with a gang of three 5 month old tigers and two 11 month old tigers, for an hour, yesterday. Funny old world.

Where was that and how do I get a go?

[Nolar Dog]

ianash said:

Last week I had a night in London with the GF. Managed to find a 4 star hotel for £69. This felt like great value. Looking on their menu, they wanted £16.95 for either a full English, or a continental breakfast. If you wanted porridge, this was a continental +£2 (£18.95). I ended up voting with my feet and having a coffee and sticky bun, at Starbucks for under a fiver.

After the gallery we got a taxi to the Bombay Brasserie, my favourite Indian restaurant. The taxi fare for a 2 odd mile trip was £10. No wonder there were so many taxi's about, with their for hire signs lit up. Travel to the gallery by bus/oyster card £0.90p.

The real problem here is that all the cheaper options were available before the recession.
If people had used some of them (instead of overpaying for unnecessary stuff) then a lot of people wouldn't be in the mess they are in now.

[mark_davies]

Nolar Dog said:

ianash said:

Last week I had a night in London with the GF. Managed to find a 4 star hotel for £69. This felt like great value. Looking on their menu, they wanted £16.95 for either a full English, or a continental breakfast. If you wanted porridge, this was a continental +£2 (£18.95). I ended up voting with my feet and having a coffee and sticky bun, at Starbucks for under a fiver.

After the gallery we got a taxi to the Bombay Brasserie, my favourite Indian restaurant. The taxi fare for a 2 odd mile trip was £10. No wonder there were so many taxi's about, with their for hire signs lit up. Travel to the gallery by bus/oyster card £0.90p.

The real problem here is that all the cheaper options were available before the recession.
If people had used some of them (instead of overpaying for unnecessary stuff) then a lot of people wouldn't be in the mess they are in now.

How very true

[jeff m]

bigandclever said:

jeff m said:

But you weren't allowed to eat them for 30 quid.

That is true (but lunch was included).

Not bad, where?

[King Herald]

ianash said:

Last week I had a night in London with the GF. Managed to find a 4 star hotel for £69. This felt like great value. Looking on their menu, they wanted £16.95 for either a full English, or a continental breakfast. If you wanted porridge, this was a continental +£2 (£18.95). I ended up voting with my feet and having a coffee and sticky bun, at Starbucks for under a fiver. The breakfast room at the hotel was deserted.

The evening of my stay was a boozy affair at a gallery, where a sculptress and an artist were showing their wares. The fact I was invited shows a certain amount of desperation. After the gallery we got a taxi to the Bombay Brasserie, my favourite Indian restaurant. The taxi fare for a 2 odd mile trip was £10. No wonder there were so many taxi's about, with their for hire signs lit up. Travel to the gallery by bus/oyster card £0.90p. The restaurant which last year you had to book well in advance was practically empty. We had a main course with a few side dishes + a bottle of Pinot Grigio. The bill was £110.00. I kid you not. This is a nice place to eat. We had 5 waiters hovering to do our biding.

My point is, when do these business's wake up to the fact that we're in a new financial world. I know they will all have high fixed overheads, but surely it must be better to get the prices down, in order to drive up the volume. It feels like they would rather live in denial, than face up to the new realities. Am I alone in thinking this?

This used to be an exclusively third world situation: oh, it's off season, we have very little income, so we'll double the prices of the rooms and services to make up for the shortfall.