Setting up your pub as an informal working space might not be the most obvious of activities, but it is something that can be
organised quickly and easily.
Setting up your pub as an informal working space might not be the most obvious of activities, but it is something that can be organised quickly and easily. Attracting workers to your pub taps into a different segment of people outside of the people who already use your pub.
- People who are already remote workers/digital nomads
- People who work from home and are looking to get out of the house
- People who need to catch up on some work while travelling or on holiday
What are the benefits for my pub?
Food and drink purchased: Workers buy hot drinks and food while they are working.
Spill over: People who work from the pub tend to participate more in the other pub activities.
Utilisation of unused space: Space that you are already heating and staffing is being used.
Diversification: A Work From The Pub scheme could be used as a flexible and informal diversification opportunity.
Community creation: Create a community of workers to encourage them to consider your pub in their business and social decision making.
Low investment: A Work From The Pub scheme can be implemented using the facilities you already have in your pub.
What would a Work From The Pub scheme look like?
Setting up a Work From The Pub scheme must be right for your pub.
To give you some ideas, the founder of REEF, an app advertising laptop friendly venues, shared some of the best ways to encourage remote workers to your venue
Some pubs offered Work From The Pub packages to workers such as:
- Lunch plus unlimited hot drinks for £10-£15
- 10% to 20% off food and drinks
- A free hot drink
In their experience, simply offering free tea or coffee to workers was the most attractive proposition – pubs offering this got more bookings, and as 90% of people then purchased additional refreshments, they earned 2 ½ times more revenue than pubs offering the other packages!
Want more ideas?
The White Swan
The White Swan is a community run pub based in Norfolk. They have a small, converted barn they use as a quiet place people can work from during the day. It can also be hired out for work meetings. In the evening it is used as a space for customers to eat as part of their restaurant. The community who run the pub now actively consider the pub as a place to undertake their personal business activities including undertaking internal meetings and hosting clients.
Old Nick’s Tavern
Old Nick’s Tavern is a wet led pub in Lincolnshire. It is best known for its live music and darts. The building is old and has limited charging points. The pub has created a strong community of creative industries workers ranging from musicians, artists and crafters who use the pub during the day. This has strengthened their position in the market as a hub for people with a passion for the creative industries which has attracted greater interest in the wider pub activities.
First and Last Brewery
The First and Last Brewery based in Northumberland originally held a coworking day and invited local residents to participate. Since then, the brewery has been open on weekdays as a workspace where it regularly hosts a guest speaker to discuss business based subjects. They do not charge for working in the space and request a charitable donation for teas and coffees. They have found their regular workers often buy a case of beer to take home with them.
The Royal Oak
The Royal Oak in Nottinghamshire hired out an upstairs room to a group of local remote workers who met on a regular basis. The group worked alone around one large table to provide opportunity for networking and social interaction, although workers were encouraged to bring headphones if they were easily distracted. The sessions ran from 11:30am till 5pm and participants ate lunch together in the pub.
Dave and Sophie
Dave and Sophie run their own business. They went to the Welsh coast for a two-week camping trip with their children and dogs. Dave needed to undertake a couple of important last-minute business meetings that couldn’t be done over the phone. He contacted a local pub close to the camp site who found him a quite nook while Sophie, their kids and dogs ate some lunch outside in the sunshine.
The Logistics
Who can Work From The Pub?
- People using laptops
- People doing non-laptop tasks such as drawing, writing, crafting, music
- People working on their own
- People working together
What do people require when working from a pub?
- Wi-Fi
- Charging points for laptop users
- Sedate environment
- Warmth during the winter months
- Hot drinks
- Lunch
What spaces could pubs offer workers?
- General bar area
- Low noise space/cosy nook
- Small rooms that could be used for meetings
- Multifunctional spaces such as function rooms
Work From The Pub Marketing Pack
We know you are busy, so we’ve tried to make setting up a Work From The Pub scheme as easy as possible. The Work From The Pub marketing pack has been designed so you simply need to download the information, do some quick customisation and start promoting your Work From The Pub scheme.
The pack includes the following:
- Posters for your window
- Posters for your pub
- Pre-written social media posts
Fill in your details below to download the pack.
