A cheap night out is a rare thing these days. Between the transport to the club, the club entry, the £8 pints or £12 double vodka cokes, the 3am kebab and the cab back home, one night on the lash can do some real damage to the bank account. In the midst of a cost of living crisis, that means people simply aren’t going out as much. And that means clubs across the UK have bee shutting down left, right and centre.
But now, one club in Manchester has come up with a solution for Britain’s waning nightlife – allowing clubbers to bring their own booze. XLR in Withington launched as the UK’s very first licensed BYOB nightclub back in September.
Guests can bring in up to eight cans or one 70cl bottle of spirit per person completely free of charge. And you don’t have to worry about carrying all that liquid around the dancefloor with you – there are 100 lockers available for storing the any booze you bring in for £2 per shelf.
In order to cover the cost of becoming BYOB, the club increased its average entry fee from £6 to £15. But, it says, ticket prices will never exceed £20. The only rules are no glass, no backpacks and no re-entering the venue once you’ve left. And there is still a working bar at XLR, in case you’re craving a beer fresh from the keg.
In a video announcing the new concept, XLR’s owner Chris Hindle said: ‘We’re bringing a really new and exciting concept to the venue this year, where customers can bring their own alcohol into the venue.
‘Clubbing has come so very far away from what it used to be sort of back in the early 2000s, and the early 90s as well. Clubs were meant to be about the music, whereas now it’s become very corporate, very money grab.
‘We don’t want people feeling like they’re being priced out of venues anymore, it’s very important that anyone can come to a club. We all know the crisis that’s going on with clubs and hospitality this year.’
Micheal Kill, chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association, told the Times: ‘It’s the first of its kind that we’ve seen and an interesting innovation. Our industry is searching out new models considering the challenge around the limitations of disposable income. Now everyone is waiting with bated breath to see if it’s viable or not.’
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