Learning patterns

STUDENTS are well known for doing minor study and majoring in socialising, and they thus bring healthy profits to pubs. But many publicans wish they didn't have to rely on them. During term time in Sheffield, for instance, students account for 9% of the total population, but even if only half of the 49,000 students leave the city for the Easter, winter or summer holidays then the fall in profits can be severe.

Bigger spenders

One pub that gets good business from students in Sheffield is the Howard. Manager Rolston Taylor says that students make up about 80% of his custom and are bigger spenders than other customers, especially when they get their grant funds. During term time he targets students with a 99p full English breakfast, which has increased business in the usually quiet time of 10-11am, when most people are at work. It's not a deal that he offers when the students leave for the holidays, however.

"We find students flood in when the food is cheap, and once they're in they will spend more on drink," Taylor says. "There are loads of pubs to choose from, but the students will often come here at least twice a week, whereas other customers may just come in on a Saturday night. The business does suffer during exam times and when they go on their holidays, but we budget for the loss."

While Taylor takes a philosophical view and simply holds tight until the students return, other publicans try to attract alternative custom in the holidays - which can total 22 weeks a year. Paul Stockdale is landlord of the Nursery Tavern, sited in an area surrounded by student accommodation close to Sheffield University, so he has no problem attracting customers in term time. But when the term ends, profits drop by 25%.

One plus point is that seasonal trade is matched by seasonal staffing, as one-third of Stockdale's employees are students, who leave with the others out of term time.

To combat the drop in trade, however, Stockdale has to make the most of the students while they are around. Like Taylor, he uses food as an added lure. The meals are priced to suit the student purse, so a full mixed grill with chips and peas is £2.99, burgers are £1.50 and soup of the day is 99p. "A meal here can be cheaper than going to the supermarket and buying the stuff," says Stockdale. "When the students finish lectures, at maybe 4pm, they often come and have a meal and a drink here instead of having to go home and start cooking."

To keep business ticking over in the summer holidays and win local custom, Stockdale relies on his two outdoor seating areas. If the sun shines, he reckons it can add as much as £1,500 to his trade in one day.

But, as Britain isn't known for its Mediterranean summers, having outdoor seating is not a foolproof solution. Keiron Bailey, who manages the Old Angel in Nottingham, attracts a 60% student clientele from the university, just a short walk away, but he has started a members' deal to attract local loyalty year-round. There's no charge to join, and members get a card that entitles them to pints of draught lager for £1.70 between 3pm and 7pm. There's also access to the upstairs music venue and discounts in various local shops that have agreed to participate in the scheme.

This goes some way to bringing in custom from locals, and the Old Angel has gained a core of regulars from the 3,500 members. But Bailey's assistant, Steve Hamson, says that the profits generated during term time will never be matched because, essentially, there are fewer people to attract into the pub. The worst months are usually July and August, before the students arrive for a new term.

"By September," says Hamson, "people are coming back to university and our profits and custom shoot right up. On average, our dry sales increase by 25% and wet sales increase by 35% - students tend to drink more than they eat, which is one of the reasons why the members' deal works so well, as it makes buying pints a lot cheaper. I think the fall in profits during the student holidays is unavoidable, really, because of our location - almost all pubs in the area will be facing the same problems."

But, for some fortunate pubs favoured by students, location can work for them as much as against them. Many university towns are also, for instance, tourist hot spots. A case in point is Bath, which has a population of 80,000, including roughly 12,000 students - and an estimated 3.2 million tourists.

The Porter is a pub patronised by students in the centre of Bath that benefits from this influx of tourists. But owner Philip Andrews feels that it's the diversity of what the Porter offers that makes the profits consistent year-round. "If you hitch your wagon to any one thing, you are vulnerable," says Andrews, "so we always go for a spread across the board. Although we are a reasonably student-oriented pub, we work hard to attract everyone - from students to tourists to professionals."

But this is often a hard balance to get right. Andrews says that it is important not to alienate any one group, but equally crucial not to be too wishy-washy - which won't appeal to anyone. In his view, the art is to offer something that catches each market's attention. "For some," he says, "it might be the veggie food or the pool table, and for others the real ale, the comedy nights or the DJs - you have to work every angle you can."

Andrews believes that the ebbs and flows in takings that his pub experiences are unrelated to student holidays and more to do with, for instance, the weather, the mood of the nation and the money in people's pockets. Average biweekly takings in the Porter, from September 1999 to September 2000, show there's little difference between term time and student holidays - both the highest and the lowest takings that year occurred while the students were at university.

Based on his own experience, Andrews reckons that pubs in university and college towns should take an active role in minimising the effects of the student holidays, which account for much more than one-third of the year. "We don't sit and wait for custom to come to us," he says. "You have to try not to rely too heavily on a group of people who may disappear for good in three years' time when they finish their degree - be astute and think of ways to attract everybody's attention. We've managed, through hard work and determination, to build up a business that can survive the student holidays, because we can draw in a varied clientele both in and out of term time." n