Hiring a bartender during Covid restrictions.
Can you hire a bartender during the Covid restrictions?
Yes, (as current of 22.9.20) you can still hire a bartender for a gathering in your home, provided the total number of attendees including the bartender does not exceed 6 people.
Under the current guidelines (published 22.9.20) The English Government have stated that you can still gather across different households, provided the total number does not exceed 6 people in England.
Although Scotland, Northern Ireland & even Wales have gone one step further & restricted inter household gatherings. For England it is still a total number of 6 people, regardless of however many households they come from.
For what purposes would I hire a bartender for 5 other people.?
Dinner parties. We have been trading again since June when Boris Johnson announced you could have one other person in your home.
Our calendar immediately began filling up with tiny little Micro cocktail parties around London. Pockets of people, no bigger than 4, just ordering restaurant takeout & playing games, with a bartender hired for the evening to work in the kitchen making cocktails.
Some have gone a little further & ordered private chefs in addition, but bare in mind, with a bartender & a private chef on board. Your guest numbers to stick within the Government guidelines, then drop to just 3 guests as yourself would be included in this total of 6.
Hire a flair bartender in London
Is hiring a bartender still viable during Covid restrictions?
Up to you as a potential client. I think if you’re hiring a bartender, or considering hiring a bartender during this time for a dinner party or small gathering of only 6 people. Cost shouldn’t be a factor in this, it is a pure luxury & one that is considered worth it. If labouring during your social gathering is not something you wish to do.
We do know that since March 12th, we have not done any corporate level events, made cocktails for any established companies & our entire clientele have been 100% domestic clients, only making cocktails & hiring bartenders out to the smallest home gatherings.
Weddings involving 30 people or less have been our limit in which we could take on, which there have been a surprising number of. Its so nice that people are still able to have marriage ceremonies during this time, even if its not the one of their dreams, or the one they planned for originally. They have still been able to make it happen & its been a pleasure to hire a bartender to them, or in a few cases also, hire a mobile bar to them also.
One of our clients booked in originally started with a 350 person wedding involving their entire community. This is now restricted to 15 people under the current guidelines & somehow, they’ve still made their wedding work.
What about hiring a bartender for a wedding in Covid restrictions?
Yes, you can still do this also (according to the 22.9.20 government announcement) Provided the total number, including the bartender is not exceeding 15.
Which makes for an extremely streamlined guest list. But its not impossible. If making drinks is not something you want to do in a best Tux, or tailored wedding dress, its still an available option to hire a bartender & hire a Mobile bar too.
We are happy to admit, based on the new restrictions, we have had bookings cancel on us like crazy all week. However, we do still have a few weddings where we are hiring mobile bars & hiring a bartender to a gathering of 15.
If you hired a bartender but the Covid restrictions have prevented you from having your event?
No problem, we are offering completely free re-scheduling of events. If your event was booked in with us & deposits were paid, even entire balances. We will re-schedule your event & re-organise all the extras without adding any additional cost onto the booking.
We have heard so much over the phone since June when it began ringing once more of people looking to hire a bartender. Too many companies have been charging cancellation fees on top of events already paid for, re-scheduling fees for events that have been called off by government restrictions & fees for even being able to speak to you about your event in one case.
You will not experience that with us. This is a situation we’re all in & we want to do our absolute best to make sure that hiring a bartender or hiring a mobile bar, is not something you should be concerned about during this current time. All our clients that are booked in, know that their event is all sorted, for when restrictions allow & that they will not incur further costs for such re-scheduling.
Hiring a Bartender & being Covid Safe.
All of our bartenders, are very conscious of Covid & are taking the necessary precautions to prevent transmission the same as anyone else. Over a bar, or kitchen island, distance is maintained without clients even realising it. All the bartenders have their own complete sanitation kits with them, to keep their hands & equipment completely sanitised throughout the event. Many events have required, even demanded that face masks be maintained, albeit odd at a social gathering, but no problem. We can comply with all of the said guidelines & even go further with making sure we are completely Covid safe during these times.
Mobile bar hire & Multiple bartender hires.
Mobile bar hire during this time is completely acceptable & as we mentioned. We will go to every step possible to ensure everything is Covid safe with all the relevant steps to be taken.
However, it is VERY important to state that during this time, we will only be sending ONE bartender to each gathering. Our numbers have always remained the same for calculation of event staffing.
One bartender for every 50 guests. If you’re booking a Flair Bartender, One Flair Bartender for every 40 guests.
Under the restrictions been in place since March of this year, there has not been any situation where 2x bartenders have been required for any event based on this simple numbering system.
So all bookings for 2x bartenders until number restrictions have been lifted, will be politely convinced to only have 1x bartender.
Hiring a bartender for Cocktail Classes for small gatherings.
Usually, we have a minimum number of 12 for all cocktail classes, however, given that this is simply not allowed at this time & we do still need to do business, we have changed this minimum number now down to 5.
In order to make the event worth it, we have now adapted the cocktail classes & added an additional cocktail to the service, but its pricing including all ingredients, ice, glassware, the bartender & any other additional items needed, is £200 for 5 people (travel not inclusive) Its a great service to have in your home. But even if your numbers are less than 5, im afraid this price does not get reduced.
So yes, in Summary. You can hire a bartender, or a mobile bar, or both during these current restrictions in England. Although, as long as the total numbers, including that of the bartender being hired, remains below 6.
There is someone still in the office, should you have an enquiry, please don’t hesitate to fill out our enquiry form below & someone can contact you about your gathering & answer any questions you may have.
Thanks
The Cocktailhire Team.