PUB PENALTY
Fury as another pub hikes prices by £1.80 at busy times
Scroll down to find out which other pubs have been raising prices during busier periods
CUSTOMERS have been left fuming after another pub started hiking prices at busy times.
Greene King added £1.80 to the price of a pint at one of its London boozers ahead of England's football match against Ireland yesterday.
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The Torch, in Wembley, bumped up the cost of San Miguel pints from £6.20 to £8, a 29% increase.
The pub said it implemented the "event pricing" model during "high-profile events" to cover the cost of additional staff.
It added the surcharge compensated it for losses relating to licensing laws that meant it had to close one hour before kick off.
But England supporters have branded it a "disgrace" and say it's "taking advantage" of customers.
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A spokesperson for The Torch said: "Alongside many other businesses in the area, we sometimes raise prices during high-profile events at Wembley to help cover the increased costs of safely managing our pub during this time.
"This does not happen for every event but was the case for Sunday’s England vs Republic of Ireland game, due to the higher number of people working, increased numbers of door staff as well as all pubs in the area being required to close an hour before kick-off and while the game is on.
"We strive to offer good value-for-money for our customers and give them a great experience before the game."
Greene King said its "event pricing" strategy was different to traditional "dynamic pricing", which sees pubs hike prices at busier times.
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The brewer said it implemented event pricing to cover the additional costs of operating responsibly during events.
It added that 7% of its pubs use the pricing strategy with more than half having only used it five times or less this year and almost 20% having used it once in 2024.
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We have asked Greene King how many pubs exactly use the pricing strategy and will update this story when we have heard back.
It comes after major pub chain O'Neill's started hiking the price of its pints at times of higher footfall on one of its busiest pubs.
Drinkers at the busy boozer on Wardour Street, in Soho, London, usually pay £7.40 for draught beers.
But the price of the same pint shoots up to £9.40 at 10pm.
The surcharge also applies to other drinks sold at the pub, with punters taking to X to vent their frustrations.
One said: "I imagine I'll never be drinking in an O'Neills pub ever again."
Meanwhile, another added: "O'Neills is pricey anyway so would not even bother going there."
A third chimed in: "They're already ripping people off with £7.40 a pint normally."
Stonegate sparked anger among customers last September after bumping up the price of its Peroni in one London pub from £7.05 to £7.60 on midweek early evenings and weekends.
It's not just pubs hiking prices at busier times of the day or week either.
The travel industry has been using the "dynamic pricing" strategy for years, offering customers more expensive flights during busier times of the year.
Airbnb also has a "Smart Pricing" feature which hosts can trigger that automatically changes the price of their accommodation based on demand.
The website says the tool helps hosts "optimise pricing without constantly monitoring it".
Ticketmaster has come under fire in recent months after it was found to be hiking the price of tickets for concerts.
In September, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the tactic of dynamic pricing would be included in a Government review of the secondary gig sales market.
She said: "This Government is committed to putting fans back at the heart of music.
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"So we will include issues around the transparency and use of dynamic pricing, including the technology around queuing systems which incentivise it, in our forthcoming consultation on consumer protections for ticket resales."
In other news, a major pub chain boss has warned the price of pints will rise by 10p after the Chancellor hiked employer National Insurance contributions.
Cheapest pints in the world
These 10 countries have the cheapest pints in the world
- Uzbekistan - 70p
- China - 90p
- Madagascar - £1
- Vietnam - £1.02
- Ukraine - £1.06
- Belarus - £1.07
- Philippines - £1.25
- Colombia - £1.28
- Azerbaijan - £1.29
- Kazakhstan - £1.34
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