MONDO STEVE

Grand Hotel Exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery is really something to see.  It makes you think about Hotels and their place in society.  Design is a big aspect.  However, never ever take your personal security for granted simply because a place disarms you and creates a sense of bliss or "...at home".  You aren't.  Lock your doors and always check with the front desk if you get a call from someone saying they are from the hotel and need access to your room.  

If everybody brought their own beer to the pub, how would it make money? What is corkage but a way to recover the overhead and service variable costs? If a pub had to charge corkage to stay in business, the cost to the patron would be close to what they already pay. A pub might save a little for not having to inventory the stock, but all the other costs are still there.  To diners, the BYOB concept is attractive because it means spending less money. However, it takes a lot of cash off the table for restaurants that on Average in Canada only earn a net profit of 3-4% on average revenues of less than $1m. Take away the existing revenue from marked up wines and you take away a lot of "contribution margin" to cash flow. Making rent will become even harder for many.  This article does not touch on the business side of the equation. The rationale that diners will have more money to spend in more restaurants is false. They'd be spending that money sure, but it is low contribution margin spending just like a discount. It isn't sustainable. If you are a restaurant above the norm and earn a 10% profit, how much can you discount revenues and not go out of business? yup 10%, easy math.  There is a large body of academic research that demonstrates empirically, discounting does not increase demand. It just spreads it around really thinly.  Never mind the affect on Servers that depend on their gratuities. There's enough whining about how diners tip on discounted, couponed meals. The issue is that many only calculate their generous 15% tips on the final total after the 2 for 1, DineOutVancouver, or groupon discount - despite the fact all the service and running about wasn't discounted, it was all the same as if not discounted. You won't find any fans for BYOB there.  Sorry to be so negative. I just think the article needed some balance with another point of view.

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