Bringing my own beer to a beach club

[Rissask]

Originally Posted by ryberg

Unfortunately what folks are discussing here would be the equivalent of going to a restaurant with a nice view of the activities on 5th -- say The Glass Bar -- sitting down with your own food and drink and telling them you'll pay for the table and chairs, but that's it -- no double dipping or paying their prices for their food! Or perhaps the equivalent of going there and buying the food but pulling your own cans of beer out of a cooler at your feet that you brought with you.

It's a business, folks. The establishments pay a hefty premium to be able to operate there. If you don't like their operating rules, don't go there. But it doesn't make sense to go there and then complain about the business's rules. And even less so when those rules are entirely legitimate and logical, once you take into account the context.

Steve

hmmm. But I don't pay 'rent' for the table and my chair in a restaurant. So why should I at a beach restaurant?

[January Guy]

Originally Posted by Babaloo

i doubt they are paying for the passes
the beach clubs want the hotels to send you to their club...a chair is a loss leader...they want your cash for food and drink
If you don't buy their beer then they are getting nothing except a few bucks for a plate of guacamole

Good to know, starting to feel more guilty...

[Buggirl]

I am not a fan of the "double dipping" that the beach clubs do- but I consider it a fee akin to cover into a club. I don't really go to clubs like that, either. I'm a towel and cooler girl at heart- some days I'll feel like a splurge and you'll find me at el pirata, sipping a margarita. But I don't generally go to the more popular beach clubs because I'm too cheap to pay for seats and drinks/food.

That said- I would never consider going to one of these places with my own drinks/food. That seems disrespectful to the establishment- to me You all are free to feel differently, however.

[January Guy]

Originally Posted by Buggirl

I am not a fan of the "double dipping" that the beach clubs do- but I consider it a fee akin to cover into a club. I don't really go to clubs like that, either. I'm a towel and cooler girl at heart- some days I'll feel like a splurge and you'll find me at el pirata, sipping a margarita. But I don't generally go to the more popular beach clubs because I'm too cheap to pay for seats and drinks/food.

That said- I would never consider going to one of these places with my own drinks/food. That seems disrespectful to the establishment- to me You all are free to feel differently, however.

Thank you for the way you phrased that. I felt that some of the other posters (but certainly not all of them) had come across as somewhat judgmental whereas you simply stated your opinion and didn't try to tell me what I should do.

I was getting to the point where I was going to ask that people feel free to share their opinions and disagree with me, but only judge me if they are perfect and do not break any laws or disregard posted signs anywhere (including speeding or cheating on taxes perhaps).

[actran]

People cheat on their taxes
(Do they get away with it? Will they tell me how?)

actran who is getting ready to send a BIG check to the IRS. And would much rather spend it in Playa

[January Guy]

Originally Posted by actran

People cheat on their taxes
(Do they get away with it? Will they tell me how?)

actran who is getting ready to send a BIG check to the IRS. And would much rather spend it in Playa

Many people lobby that beer should be deductible as a necessary medical expense.

[Tommygurl]

Originally Posted by January Guy

Many people lobby that beer should be deductible as a necessary medical expense.

You are not going to hell. I give you credit for admitting it. I can't afford to eat & drink all day long at Mamitas so we usually take advantage of the beach chairs & palapa early in the day....have a snack...one or two drinks then leave.

[BKScott]

We were at Mamitas in February and they had a hugh crowd by 10 am or so. A young couple with 2 small children showed up and put an umbrella (their own) up at the edge (near the beach) to keep an eye on their children - who as small children wanted to be in the water. The security guards had it removed but after several patrons complained one of the Mamitas workers came and had it "replanted". They did not have a cooler, use any beach chairs or umbrellas - all they wanted was for their children (both in life jackets) to have a good day at the beach - under an umbrella.
We have used the beach club - ordered their drinks, used their chairs, palapas, etc and eaten at their restaurant. We did not think it was fair the way this young couple was treated - they probably were actually ordering food/drinks. Just our opinion.

[Shammy]

Originally Posted by Babaloo

i doubt they are paying for the passes

I believe the hotels do indeed pay a fee to the beach club when they purchase their passes. I've been told by a hotel owner that they do anyway.

[steve balt]

heres what you do. bring a soft cooler with 10 beers on ice in your beach bag. buy 1 for 3.00 , drink 1 of yours for about 75 cents. repeat this 10 times. after 20 beers youll be happy . then leave the waiter a nice tip. ok this thread is done . next problem

[monte]

just purchase a bottle of tequila from the beach club, it will come with a bucket of ice and you will have a chilled drink to sip on aaaalllll day long. I doubt they will care if you bring your own beer once you order a bottle of tequila. Bonus, you can share with all your rff and new friends you'll meet

[ryberg]

Originally Posted by Rissask

hmmm. But I don't pay 'rent' for the table and my chair in a restaurant. So why should I at a beach restaurant?

Sure you do: you order their food and drinks and they make sure that you pay enough to cover whatever their rent costs them, and their chairs and tables and their employee salaries and so on. They just don't do you the favor of breaking it out for you, because nobody would think to try to come and sit down at a restaurant table and say, oh, no thanks, I don't want to order anything, I just want to sit and people watch, or whatever.

OTOH, some beach clubs do do you the favor of breaking that out for you because some people do just want to sit there on the beach and enjoy the sun or fall asleep or read a book or whatever and not order anything. If there were restaurants where that was tolerated, I think you can be sure they'd start breaking out the table/chair rental fee for you in the same way, and in a big ol' hurry, too, because otherwise you'd be using their stuff and their space and the location they're paying rent for and all of that for free while they couldn't seat other paying customers at your table and get on with the business of actually running their business.

I don't know -- I didn't mean to sound overly harsh, either, and was not singling anyone out -- but in the end, I think people would have a much more legitimate beef on this if you couldn't just bring your own stuff and set up somewhere else and have at it. Since you can do that, well, I just don't see the complaint, myself. I mean unless it's a general sort of, "Aw, man -- Playa's popular and people charge you for stuff, and sometimes more than I want to pay!!" sort of complaint, which is not about beach club policies but just about a popular destination.

Steve

[Rissask]

ryberg:
Sure you do: you order their food and drinks and they make sure that you pay enough to cover whatever their rent costs them, and their chairs and tables and their employee salaries and so on. They just don't do you the favor of breaking it out for you, because nobody would think to try to come and sit down at a restaurant table and say, oh, no thanks, I don't want to order anything, I just want to sit and people watch, or whatever.

OTOH, some beach clubs do do you the favor of breaking that out for you because some people do just want to sit there on the beach and enjoy the sun or fall asleep or read a book or whatever and not order anything. If there were restaurants where that was tolerated, I think you can be sure they'd start breaking out the table/chair rental fee for you in the same way, and in a big ol' hurry, too, because otherwise you'd be using their stuff and their space and the location they're paying rent for and all of that for free while they couldn't seat other paying customers at your table and get on with the business of actually running their business.

Aha, but restaurants solve that problem by setting a minimum per person charge, of whatever amount- not charging for the table/chairs. That is something the beach clubs could do, if they were having a problem making a big enough profit.

I'm just sayin'.

I doubt that the reason they do it in Playa more than anywhere else in Mexico is anything sinister or anything...it's nothing more than 1) the beach club next to mine does it, so we'll do it too- soon everyone is doing it, and soon it's the 'norm' for the area. (Whereas in Zihua and other areas, none of them charge for chairs, and if one guy started charging, then people would stop going to his establishment.)


and

2) pure unadulterated greed. Mo money, mo money. Playa is a popular place, it attracts tons of tourists and it is higher end than other places- prices are whatever people will pay. Kinda like hotels charging more at the peak holdiay weeks- because they can. Doh!

[Tommygurl]

I wonder if a mod can branch this thread off after the first few posts. Not really a Luna Blue thread anymore.......More like a "Is it wrong to bring my own booze into a beach club?" thread.

Just sayin.

[louden48]

Originally Posted by Tommygurl

I wonder if a mod can branch this thread off after the first few posts. Not really a Luna Blue thread anymore.......More like a "Is it wrong to bring my own booze into a beach ckub?" thread.

Just sayin.

Good point!