Surge pricing in pubs: Uber-style price gouging will ensure this beloved institution’s extinction

We may have grudgingly accepted the £7 pint, but getting charged more for a drink at certain times? That’s a shortcut to last orders, argues Helen Coffey

That’ll be £9.40 please, love” – words you never, ever want to hear upon ordering a pint. But hear them you must if you have the audacity to purchase one from the Wardour Street branch of O’Neill’s in Soho, London. Though, in fairness, you’ll only be asked for this eye-watering sum at certain times of night. Yes, that’s right – the Irish chain is dabbling in “surge pricing”.

So far, this capitalist, market-driven form of price gouging has remained largely within the sphere of transport. It’s commonly been confined to cab companies such as Uber and Lyft, the idea being to literally embody the principle of supply and demand. At times when more people are booking taxis – ie, there’s a “surge” in demand – the price of booking a taxi goes up accordingly.

But it’s in the same family as “smart” and “dynamic” pricing, whose use has steadily wormed its way into nearly every facet of modern life. This, like surge pricing, is where the cost of something reflects how popular it is on a given date or time. It’s standard practice for airlines, as well as lots of hotels and Airbnbs; an algorithm is applied to determine how much to charge you for a flight or room. It’s unlikely a human was even involved in the process. At this stage, AI is the one in the driving seat.

Though customers are less likely to notice, even businesses like Amazon are doing it, with millions of price changes happening each day – the equivalent of one every 10 minutes for every product. From 2025, fast food will get in on the act, too: last year, the new Wendy’s CEO announced that the chain would “begin testing more enhanced features like dynamic pricing and daypart offerings along with AI-enabled menu changes and suggestive selling”.

Meanwhile, musicians and ticketing websites have attracted a lot more attention – and censure – for charging vast sums of money for gigs via this technique. Oasis used Ticketmaster’s dynamic pricing model for their 2025 reunion tour, angering fans who’d queued for hours online only to find that the cost of a ticket had more than doubled by the time they got to checkout (jumping from £135 to £355).

The issue garnered so much interest that it was discussed in parliament, with a proposal to introduce maximum ticket prices put forward. Culture secretary Lisa Nandy said she wanted to ensure tickets are sold “at fair prices”, and that it was “depressing to see vastly inflated prices excluding ordinary fans”. Even the European Commission got involved, with an acting spokesperson proclaiming that it is working on a “fitness check” of EU consumer law on digital fairness amid the furore.

Now, it’s the turn of O’Neill’s to spark criticism. The Wardour Street venue charges a still-fairly-dear regular price of £7.40 for a pint of Brewdog IPA, which shoots up to the aforementioned £9.40 come 10pm. A 500ml bottle of Budweiser goes from £6.06 to £8.05, while even soft drinks are not immune – water leaps from £2.15 to £3.15 the moment the clock hits 22:00.

Getting the drinks order in before 10pm could soon be a cause for celebration (Getty)

“Dynamic pricing varies on a site-by-site basis as it reflects the local market conditions, but temporary price increases tend to reflect the need to offset additional costs, such as at times when door security is required,” a spokesperson for Mitchells & Butlers, the company that owns O’Neill’s, said by way of explanation.

While rare, the strategy is sadly not unique to this specific bar. Last year, the UK’s biggest pub company, the Stonegate Group, came under fire for adding 20p onto the price of a pint at busy periods such as weekends. The business, which owns chains including the Slug and Lettuce and Yates, claimed that making drinks more expensive was merely an attempt to cover the costs of additional staff and cleaning at busy times.

“Across the managed business, our dynamic pricing encompasses the ability to offer guests a range of promotions, including happy hours, two-for-one cocktails, and discounts on food and drink products at different times on different days throughout the week,” a spokesperson said at the time. “This flexibility may mean that on occasions, pricing may marginally increase in selective pubs and bars due to the increased cost demands on the business, with additional staffing or licensing requirements such as additional door team members.”

At the O’Neill’s venue, at least, experts are deeply unimpressed by the way surge pricing is advertised – or rather, not advertised – to customers. Scott Dixon, a consumer rights expert, told The Telegraph that there needs to be “more transparency”.

Pubs have long taken up the mantle of churches, acting as the heart, soul and social hub of the nation’s communities

“Their pricing policies are underhand, and consumers are being misled into buying decisions they would not otherwise have made,” he said, taking aim at the fact that the Wardour Street branch does not lay out any of the “surge” prices on the menu or anywhere else. It instead relies on an A4 piece of paper at the end of the bar, reading “We operate a variable price list in this venue”, to do the job of informing patrons. “It’s immoral and it will rightfully be putting customers off,” said Dixon.

I can’t help but agree. Though a central London O’Neill’s wouldn’t be my first port of call for an after-work wine regardless, it certainly won’t be now. And neither will anywhere else that punishes customers for daring to buy a drink at a popular time of day by ripping them off.

The saddest part is that the British pub – our most beloved institution and one of the few things able to genuinely unite the country in patriotism – is already under threat. Data released in 2024 reveals that 239 pubs in England and Wales were demolished or converted for other uses over the first three months of the year – the equivalent of 80 a month. The official government stats represent a 56 per cent increase in closures year-on-year. Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, blamed the poor results on high energy costs and food and drink inflation, plus high taxation.

While it’s understandable that pubs might have to resort to extreme measures to keep the lights on under such circumstances, surely following Uber or Amazon’s playbook isn’t the answer? The idea that an algorithm is calling the shots on our shots feels completely at odds with the fact that pubs have long taken up the mantle of churches, acting as the heart, soul and social hub of the nation’s communities. There’s something just plain grim about it all being divided into “peak” and “off-peak” – as if one were trying to avoid having to sell a kidney to afford a train ticket via the National Rail website, rather than enjoy an excursion with friends.

We may have been forced to accept the indignity of the £7 pint. But surge pricing on drinks? That’s simply too bitter a bitter to swallow, I’m afraid.