A guide to event bar hire – cocktail bar hire and dry bar hire

What is mobile bar hire?

Mobile bar hire is the hiring of a fully stocked, professionally staffed bar for your event. Mobile bar hire is popular for a variety of events including themed corporate events, weddings and private parties.  

The benefits of mobile bar hire for your event

• Mobile bar hire is perfect for a variety of events as a mobile bar can be set up pretty much anywhere. It offers organisers a degree of flexibility too as what’s on offer can be customised to suit the needs of the particular event.
• The hire company will also provide professional and appropriately licensed bar staff who can serve your guests, making cocktails to suit if required. This means your guests can enjoy custom drinks and you are free to mingle and socialise at your leisure.
• A mobile bar can be stocked with drinks of your choosing, including all popular wines, spirits, beers and lager. Non-alcoholic drinks can also be supplied. Mobile bar hire allows guests to have their favourite drinks and organisers don’t have to worry about the bar running out of stock.
• The flexibility of a mobile bar allows event organisers to create a unique experience for guests. The bar can be completely customised to complement your event theme and there are often different bar styles available too. Bar staff can look smart in generic bartending attire or can dress to suit the event.
• Specialist event hire companies will offer a choice of packages and options. One such example is where organisers can allocate a set amount of drinks or a set amount of money for each guest and once that has been met, the bar can turn into a cash bar where guests pay for their own drinks. This is referred to as a limited open bar. An open bar is where organisers foot the entire bill for all drinks consumed, calculated at the close of the event. Or a cash bar is one where guests pay for all their drinks.
• Mobile bar hire is convenient for organisers and gives them less work. Everything can be included in the package from bar equipment to glasses.
• Mobile bar hire can be more cost effective for organisers as the hire company will pay wholesale prices for their drinks and they may pass savings on to the consumer.

What is dry bar hire?

As the name suggests, dry bar hire is when event organisers hire all the facilities of a bar (including staff where required) without buying the alcohol from the bar hire company.

The benefits of dry bar hire for your event

• Organisers can set their own budget for drinks – once the provided drink shave run out, no more costs will be run up.
• Dry bar hire can keep costs down for organisers as it allows a great selection of drinks to be provided without necessarily stocking the bar with expensive wines and spirits.
• Organisers have full control over what drinks are served, allowing a drinks menu to be provided that exactly matched the tastes of your guests and that can complement the theme of the event.
• Guests can drink for free, which can be a great incentive to attend.
• With dry bar hire, organisers will need to arrange the hire of all equipment including but not confined to, fridges, glassware, and bar staff. This can be of real benefit to organisers with their own staff and drinks suppliers. If you aren’t sure what equipment you will need, a specialist hire company will be able to help and advise.

At the ALS Group, we offer mobile bar hire, cocktail bar hire and dry bar hire.

Mobile bar hire from The ALS Group

We provide a fully stocked and staffed licensed mobile bar for any event. We will tailor the size of the bar and staff numbers to suit your guest numbers and your venue and prices are on a sliding scale according to guest numbers. With our mobile bar hire, you can pre-pay for a drinks tab allowing guests a set amount of free drinks (after which, they pay for what they consume) or a set amount of pre-paid drinks of your choice e.g. cocktails or lager!

Cocktail bar hire from The ALS Group

We offer cocktail bar hire which includes experienced cocktail staff, equipment and glasses for any event. Alcohol is not included, allowing organisers to supply ingredients to make cocktails of their choice and where organisers would like to offer cocktail making classes, we can do that too!

Dry bar hire from The ALS Group

Dry bar hire is perfect for organisers who want to offer a completely bespoke bar with their own servers. Hire items individually, or allow us to create a complete package for you including fridges, ice machines, glass hire and even a till.

With over 25 years’ experience in event equipment hire, we can help you create the perfect bar for your next event. For an informal chat, call our friendly sales team on 01526 397995 or send us some details via email, including a contact number, and we will call you back.