Happy Hour Cartel ?
 

As observed by our golf group at least three local establishments have raised their drink prices in the last few weeks - DEMSHAR'S, PALMER'S and BONIFAY. (given Bonifay did I suspect the other three same owner CC's did also or are about to). What is this - a cartel. Do they have a secret meeting and decide if they raise the prices in unison it will minimize the competition. What is the logic of doing this at this time of year ? My thought process would be give the full time residents a break until next snowbird season. Maybe they are planning on issuing customer loyalty cards. Remember how well that worked

That used to be the case the first few years we were here. Snow Birds left prices dropped. The last few years not so much.

Too many frogs now. Not enough snowbirds.

:bigbow:






:1rotfl:

Businesses make decisions all the time. Some are meant with agreement some are not. Vote with your $$$.

You could always arrange a "home-pub crawl." Three homes host the party, and everyone goes from lanai to lanai, with one drink per per guest per visited home. The next week, three different homes host the party. My house would feature fresh-made pina coladas and rum and cokes.

Learning to communicate like gas stations are magically price coordinated!

Happy Hour
 

Restaurant owners complain and joke about all the tightwad old timers ordering The Villages cocktail -- water with lemon. So, yeah, raise the drink prices and see what happens next. Must be graduates of the Alfred E. Nueman School of Business.

If they were smart, they'd declare the tap water unfiltered and not intended for drinking, and charge $4 for a bottle of spring water and 50 cents for a lemon wedge.

Guess the loss of snowbird income is having its effect someplace besides the golf courses! :0

We've been here almost nine years and prices increase. Check outside the bubble and you'll realize we still have it pretty good.

Although the OP didn't mention which drinks have increased, I will make this observation. A few months ago, the prices of canned and bottled beer sold at grocery stores in this area dropped about 5%-10%, in other words, a couple dollars per case. Hmmmm.

I asked a barkeep a while back here in TV what was the most popular mixed drink. The answer was a manhattan or an old fashion. At DEMSHAR'S, PALMER'S, and BONIFAY the minimum increase on a manhattan recently was between 30%-50%. For years we have observed the local supermarkets raise the prices during high season and lower when the snowbirds leave. This probably corresponds to your observed drop of canned and bottled beer. My point is why would a restaurant raise the price during low season. That defies supply and demand unless they have a cartel. As an example I would drop DEMSHAR's in a heartbeat and head to PALMER's for HH. But the game is rigged.

Just stop going to these overpriced and mediocre country clubs.

Find good restaurants outide the Villages