Price.
Depending on where you get bottles and what specials are on and which DJ is playing which could influence admission price, sometimes after doing the math, getting bottles will be worth your dollar. Going on a completely logical stand point, there are several factors that need to work out nicely to get your values worth. The first factor is the actual price of the bottles and what you plan to get. Knowing promoters could also help lower the costs of the bottles. If you are aiming more for having the atmosphere of bottle service and the benefits that come along with that(cheap way to meet girls, no admission cost, closer to the DJ, line cutting, area to relax sit and talk, view) then you may want to get the bottles that are having specials or the cheaper bottles like getting Smirnoff rather than Grey Goose. This will be the biggest way to save money and enjoy the bottle service benefits. As long as the girls you are bringing aren't stingy and judge you and that bothers you, go with something practical.
When you get bottle service, the majority of lounges will not charge you and your friends admission price so you should factor in how much you save from this. You cannot however, get one bottle of Smirnoff and bring a group of 10 friends into VIP all without paying admission cost. Usually a bottle will cover 4-6 people's admission cost depending where you go. Factor in that admission could range from $5-50 depending where you go, what time you are getting in and your gender, you'll want to make sure if the bottle(s) you are getting does not cover everyone, try your best to help save those who are paying. Typically, if its $15 for girls and $30 for guys and you are going with 9 people total, 4 guys, 5 girls, 2 bottles which each bottle covers 4 people- if you guys are taking the girls out, just give a girl $15 so its only -$15 for the extra person rather than -$30.
Don't forget to factor in tip as well. Most lounges have a mandatory 20% tip that is already put in the bill. Many people often do not realize this as they have just been drinking for the past 3 hours and place a tip ontop of the already included tip bill. So where a bill of $500 with a 20% tip now making the bill $600, people will put in 20% of that and end up paying out $720 when it really costed them $600. The hostess is now walking away with a $220 tip rather than $100. Hosting VIP tables is profitable yes as this happens quite often.
Overall when going for pure logic - look at the price of the bottles compared to the price of the drinks. Number of people coming in and admission costs saved. Estimate 20% tip added on.
Location of VIP Tables
Just because you have VIP Tables, doesn't mean it sits you at a great location. Depending on your end game of the lounge, it may or may not be worth it depending on what tables are remaining. Showing up to the lounge too early could guarantee you the spot you want(near the DJ, right on the outskirts of the dance floor, 2nd floor looking over the dance floor) however many lounges remove you from the VIP area once you have fully finished your bottles and do not plan to buy more. This could be costly if you plan to keep the area since it is your friends birthday or you plan to impress the girls you have brought. Showing up too late could simply place you into a location that does not feel at all like VIP. Location can make or break the VIP given you and your friends want to be where the action is. Being close to the action(dance floor) is more fun, easier to meet girls to bring into VIP and yea.... you do feel more special. You're paying to feel special and you know it and you still feel great being in there. The best thing to do is call ahead. Be very specific with the number of people coming with you ahead of time and where you would like to be located. If you've never been there before, just tell the host to seat you by the dance floor and close to the DJ. Some areas, the closer to the DJ you are seated, the more your minimum is required on bottles. So having a VIP table right next to the DJ booth requires a $1,000/$2,000/$5,000 minimum. Of course, when it is this high, you're in a club that knows every night they are able to do this and the seating area is bigger to fit more people in. Usually used for big party groups. Not so much for 6 people. Personally, if I'm not by the dance floor, I will not be there much as I will be on dance floor. However some people like being away from all the craziness. Some friends like to meet girls on the dance floor, ask them if they'd like to do shots at their table and being able to sit, drink and flirt with girls where the speakers are not ontop of them. Most people like being where the action is though. Make sure you are sitting where you want to be. You're dishing out several hundred, you should pick out your location.
DJ
If a big factor in why you are going to this location is for a DJ you're a big fan of, getting bottles could make the experience much more worth it. However many places raise the minimum in price to have a VIP table when big name DJ's come through. If you have enough friends that are willing to put in towards bottle service and its a DJ you love, get it. The last thing you want to be doing when your favorite track comes on is being stuck in between people at the bar trying to get a drink. By the time you get to the bar, the bartender gets to you, gets you a drink and you get back to the dance floor, the track finished. Enjoy yourself a little. Get VIP tables accordingly to if you want to be in the action near the DJ or have a view on the 2nd floor overlooking the dance floor and facing the DJ. Calling ahead of time to get VIP Tables when Steve Aoki is playing also grants you comfort knowing you are getting in, you are cutting line and you are enjoying the night to the fullest. Showing up to see your favorite DJ to see you have a line that wraps around corners is terrible.
Hassle saved
There are a lot of small hassles when trying to enjoy a night out dancing and drinking. Getting to the location, finding parking if driving, waiting in line, getting a drink, dealing with creeps hassling your girl friends. If these drive you crazy, VIP Tables may make sense for you. Notice: The driving situation isn't effected by getting VIP Tables. If the money isn't much of an issue, even if you are paying more on bottles than if you were to get in line, pay admission and pay for each drink at the bar, the extra money spent is for the hassle saved. Going out with a group of 12 friends, drinking in the hotel from 10-midnight and going to the club only to sober up waiting 45 minutes in line really kills the excitement of the night. If you are partying somewhere close to where you are hanging out before the club, many people go in early(9pm 10pm) to get in free or cheap to get stamped then go somewhere else to drink then come in to cut line at midnight or 1am. If you are going out to somewhere that is not so easy, VIP tables save the hassle of waiting in line which keeps the night going at the pace it started on. Being able to freely drink with your friends and not have to lose each other and struggle to the bar and wait for a drink is a nice benefit. Pretty much, remember the benefits of hassles you do not have to deal with when having VIP tables when considering buying bottle service.
Feeling special
There are sometimes where you should just put up the extra money. Birthdays are a very common reason why people get bottle service and it makes sense. Usually birthday groups are bigger than most other groups coming out to party so the people putting towards the bottles know they can divide up the costs without hassle. They also know the bottles will be finished and not wasted. Then there is making the birthday guy or girl feel special by cutting line, having bottles brought out to them and being able to drink surrounded by all their friends. As long as the costs of the bottles are not absolutely ridiculous, the cost of the bottles divided by the size of the group and making this person feel special for the night is worth it. Bachelor and Bachelorette parties are another reason to get VIP tables as this is a big night for going extra crazy before this person gets married. Usually celebrating anything is worth it to get bottles, given the price is reasonable. If its just a friday with the same few friends and your girlfriend/boyfriend you usually go out with and you're looking to just be on the dance floor all night, it doesn't make sense to get bottles. If you just finished Law School or earned a $10k promotion at work, go hard.
Meeting girls
The reason why it isn't 'Meeting people' is because girls do not get VIP tables to meet guys. They just don't need to. Having VIP tables is a cheap way to meet girls but whatever. There's a little game played as some girls are purely talking to the guys to drink for free and then slip away saying they need to find their friends or use the bathroom. I think we know the end game to every guy to brings in girls into his VIP section. Girls drink for free, guys meet girls and can talk to them privately and have somewhere to sit after all that dancing, club makes money. Everyone wins when bottles are bought. Remember, just because you got a girl a drink doesn't mean she owes you anything. Best advice is try talking to the girl on the dance floor a little before telling her you and your friends have 2 bottles 15 feet away. If she seems interested, ask her if she'd like to do shots at your tables. If she doesn't seem interested, you saved yourself time from some girl using you for your wallet. Sorry girls, I do feel bad for the guys getting used too often.
Didn't quite get it or a bit much to take in? I'll give you a few examples of when it makes sense to get bottle service.
2 guys are taking out 2 girls they recently met. A bottle covers admission of 5 people max. Guys and girls are $20 after 11pm. Smirnoff bottles are $200. Grey Goose is $375. The group goes with buying 1 bottle of Smirnoff. Included 20% tip, $220. Admission costs saved total $80. So for $140, the 4 of them cut the 20 minute line at 1145pm and have a nice table area to drink and flirt before going onto the dance floor. The bottle makes them approx 12 drinks which they can pour at their leisure rather than deal with a fight at the bar. Drinks at the bar are $10 a drink. At 1am they finish their bottle and spend the rest of the night on the dance floor.
Steve Aoki is playing. A group of 20 plan to go out and get VIP tables next to the DJ booth. Minimum cost is $1000. They cut line and waive the $30 admission cost saving them $600. They get 5 bottles that cost them including tip $1100. They split the bill evenly and each 4 people share a bottle. No waiting at the bar while their favorite track comes on.
Charles is going away for a year overseas for work. All of Charles friends are coming out to party with him before he leaves. A 6 close friends decide to put in towards 4 bottles costing $1200. Charles and all his friends have their own designated area to drink and party with Charles.
5 single guys with good paying careers go out to a new lounge. They split getting 2 bottles that costs them $550. John meets Kelly on the dance floor and they talk for a while. Kelly mentions she is there for her friend Michelle's birthday. John asks if Kelly Michelle and their friends would like to come do shots for Michelle's birthday. Kelly brings over 3 girls and they party with John and his friends. John's friends end up getting 2 more bottles as the first 2 finish. Some people hook up and other trade numbers.
Overall getting bottle service have a lot of benefits. Bottle service does seem quite expensive at glance but after factoring in how much it costs for a single drink at the bar, the price is fairly the same or not too much more expensive. Given good situations, you can actually save more money by getting bottles after factoring in admission costs saved and what bottles you get though the math needs to usually be close to perfect with having the exact number of people for the number of people the bottle waives admission costs. However, bottle service isn't about cost efficiency. It's about the benefits. Some people do not mind waiting in line. Maybe the line is only 5 minutes at midnight at one location and an hour at another location. Some people also enjoy meeting girls at the bar rather than the dance floor. Maybe you don't care for the DJ playing and you go to this lounge frequently so it's not anything crazy where you should be spending the extra money. The next time you are thinking of getting bottle service, ask yourself these questions.
Which bottles are we getting and how many?
How much is admission costs for guys and girls?
How bad does the line get and at what time?
How packed does the bar area get?
What DJ is playing?
Are we going for any special reason?
Overall getting bottle service is worth it if it is truly worth it to you. You are paying for the atmosphere, the line cutting, having drinks within arms reach rather than fighting the crowd at the bar, celebrating full out an occasion, the location you picked and an easy way to meet girls. If you've never done bottle service before, pull a group together to go in on 2 bottles the next time it's someone's birthday to try out. Sometimes it's totally worth it and sometimes it not. You just have to know when it'll be worth it for you.
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