How to increase profits in a nightclub

Making money with a nightclub can be tough. It's sometimes difficult to get a the finances of a club healthy and stable, especially in first two years. We have some ideas on how you can increase profits in a nightclub which may help you.

Throw an event

Hosting an event can add extra excitement to your nightclub. You can charge for entry and some events might be cheap to throw.

You need to pick a date and advertise it prior. Advertisements can be placed around your venue or online. You may want to have an events page on your site and advertise them on social media.

Check out our nightclub event ideas.

Learn more about promoting a nightclub and its events.

Have a cover charge

While I don't like this option as I prefer not to pay a fee for entry this could be a good to increase revenue. If your club is regularly packed you could experiment with this.

It is also an option for quiet bars but you also need to be careful. Some people will complain if they are charged to get in and not many people are there. A solution might be to offer free entry before a certain time.

Alternatively you may want to give out membership cards so your regulars get free entry.

Increase drink prices

To get a quick burst of revenue you may want to suddenly raise drink prices. You may want to try increasing prices a little bit at time over time until sales drop and/or you get too many complaints.

Offer new drinks

You may want to occasionally assess what drinks are popular in the nightclub industry and add items to your list to see if they sell.

You may to additionally add drinks that people can't get from anywhere else to make your nightclub unique. Creating your own cocktails can be another way to do this.

Train your staff effectively

Ensure your staff members are pouring drinks without too many spills. Ensure they know how to pour the right amount. You also want them to be serve drinks quickly and be pleasant to customers.

Staff can be trained to recognize when customers need additional drinks. When they see a glass is 1/4 full they could ask if the customer wants another drink. This is more likely to be possible during the quiet times.

Your staff could also suggest premium brands to customers when they order Vodka as an example.

Get a promoter

The job of a nightclub promoter is to get people going to a nightclub.

They can be independent contractors and they usually exist in bigger cities.

This can be a good option if you're not satisfied with how many people are going to your nightclub. They will sometimes work for commissions.

You can try it for a short term and if the results are not desirable the arrangement can end.

Rent out your space

Renting out your space could lead to an increase in revenue. If you provide a good experience your regulars will be more likely to hire out your venue.

A page on your website could be a good place to advertise that your space is available and along with contact Information.

Stating how many people can fit in your venue could be a good idea. You can choose to put pricing information on your website or give the potential customer the information when they contact you.

Offer a VIP experience

If you have the room you can reserve some space for a VIP section. Usually this would be by stage or DJ booth. Comfortable chairs can be part of this section but your staff could also remove them when necessary.

Your club could have a membership card system to do this.

Alternatively you can have the section just for events and sell higher priced tickets.

In the United States of America many nightclubs sell bottle service to give a VIP experience. Read about bottle service here.

Sell advertising

Allowing others to put up posters or advertise on your TVs can be an extra source of revenue. You can use these outlets to advertise your own events to bring in more people.

Utilize advertising space in other ways

Your own advertising space can be utilized to promote events at your club or you may display logos for premium liquor brands.

Sell merchandise

Selling merchandise can lead to a bit of extra revenue and increase your brand awareness.

The cheapest option would be to use a Print-On-Demand service so customers can order from a website. If you want to order some merchandise to sell at the bar and/or to display then you can purchase it from the same supplier. There may be local Print-On-Demand companies so do a search.

Typically you or a graphic designer would upload images to the printing company. They will have prices for each product but you can edit the prices for people ordering form your site.

While this may not be your biggest money maker it can be a good way to advertise your brand and make a little bit of money at the same time.

Reduce hours

If you notice that your venue is quiet and not earning significant money when you first open for the night your might want to consider opening an hour later. You can also do this on certain nights.

You may want to have several weeks of data to assess your situation.

Alternatively reducing staff during the first slow hours could be an option.

Move to a smaller space

If you have frequent quiet nights it might be time to consider moving to a smaller space. This could save you money on rent each month. You could also hire fewer security staff if the area is significantly smaller space.

The same amount people in a smaller amount of space can giving the impression that the nightclub is packed.

There may be short term costs to this so ensure that the costs are less than the savings over a reasonable period of time.

You might be better off trying to bring more people in rather than moving to a smaller nightclub but this option is available at a last resort.

Good luck

I hope you now have some extra ideas for increasing the profits of your nightclub.