Reverend Mike Posted August 28, 2010 Share Posted August 28, 2010 We have just launched a hookah program at my smoke shop and I have a few questions. What is a fair rental price for a hookah? We are using Starbuzz shisha. Do we need to offer more than just Starbuzz and if so, does the rental price need to vary with the brand of shisha? What do other hookah bars do? What is a fair price for a refill? Do most bars limit the number of smokers per hookah? I'm a cigar guy, and this hookah thing is alien to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hassouni Posted August 28, 2010 Share Posted August 28, 2010 Are you a tobacco shop or a cigar bar? Are you hiring out the pipes, or just adding them to what you serve in-shop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoapplesplease Posted August 28, 2010 Share Posted August 28, 2010 I deff recomend checking into the unflavored traditional hookah tobacco's if your more a cigar kinda smoke shop.Use natural coals also Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcane Posted August 28, 2010 Share Posted August 28, 2010 $10 bucks a pipe...no limits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chreees Posted August 28, 2010 Share Posted August 28, 2010 I like $10, as Jay said. Or maybe $15. Good middle prices. With $5 you won't make any money, with $20 you'll be asking too much and it'll discourage people from coming back... I would know, as the lounge RIGHT next door to my apts charges $20 for a bowl of Starbuzz. As for what brands you should carry, I think you should carry atleast two brands... Starbuzz is decent (I personally don't like it that much), but they have a huge list of flavors, and a lot of casual hookah smokers are attracted to that. For the people who like more of a buzz, I'd offer Nakhla. They have good flavors, with a good kick in the buzz department. Probably what you could do is offer the Nakhla for $10, and the Starbuzz for $15, as the Nak is cheaper... This is what most places do. As for what coals you should use, I recommend naturals. They'll have to be lit on a stove or heating element of some sort, like this: http://www.google.com/products?hl=en&q=electric%20coil%20burner&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wf . I use my stove, but those work just the same. Takes about 5-10 minutes to get the coals fully lit, but your customers will thank you for the extra effort, trust me. A lot of people get headaches from the quicklights, I know I do, and also most have a distinctive flavor that messes with the flavor of the tobacco. Now if you really wanted to get fancy, you could carry Tangiers, which is a favorite brand of tobacco here on the forums. Very few lounges carry it, because it pretty much requires the use of a Tangiers phunnel bowl to smoke properly. Also takes more technique to pack to smoke properly. So no one would expect you to carry and use it, but it'd be something out of the ordinary and special, as most lounges don't have it. It'd set you apart from other places, if competition or uniqueness is what you're going for. What kind of hookahs will you be using? And is this going to be a full-out lounge setup? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joytron Posted August 29, 2010 Share Posted August 29, 2010 The lounge near me that serves starbuzz sells it for $12 a bowl, two people per hookah, I would say let at least three people to one hookah though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reverend Mike Posted August 29, 2010 Author Share Posted August 29, 2010 Gods honest truth is that we ordered commercial grade hookahs from Tobacco Imports. I don't know if they have a brand name. Were using Deezer Charcoal -- it's a quick light. We have set the price at $16. I think adding Tangiers is definitely doable for us at that price. I'm a cigar shop primarily but we have about 1500 sq ft of lounge, so we can easily do both at the same time. And were the only game in town for hookah smoking. You've got to go 30 miles north or west to Baltimore or DC for another hookah bar. I'm sitting here smoking a cigar and watching the UFC fight while we've got a couple of hookahs being used, so I think were on the right track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chreees Posted August 29, 2010 Share Posted August 29, 2010 Sounds like you're on the right track, Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoapplesplease Posted August 29, 2010 Share Posted August 29, 2010 sounds really good man...Love to see some pics of the hookahs you ended up getting......If ya can try to get some Nakhla zaghoul to try for yourself..this is a strong non-flavored hookah tobacco probly much more to your personal liking then the candy flavored hookah tobacco's....the nakhla zaghoul is kinda like a strong black cavindish with a hint of molasses sweetness... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcane Posted August 29, 2010 Share Posted August 29, 2010 sounds expensive... then again, if the demand for hookah is high...you can charge as much as people are willing to pay... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ih303 Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 The prices at my lounge are tiered - $12 / "Standard" (13" Mya QT), $16 / "Premium" (28" KM Amir), $20 / "Elite" (35" KM Pear). We carry five brands (Starbuzz, Al Fakher, Nakhla, Tangiers, & Romman) and don't restrict our hookahs to any number of people. As far as refills go, we offer a refill of the same flavor half-price. If they want another flavor, it's just like buying another hookah. The coals we use are Coco-Nara and the QL's we use are Hookah John's CH's. For what it's worth, our top-selling size is our Premium and our top-selling brand is Nakhla. Per brand, our top flavors are: Starbuzz - Blue Mist, Pomberry, Tangerine Dream Nakhla - Strawberry, Watermelon, Mango Romman - Good Times, Blueberry, Summer Crisp Al Fakher - Vanilla (mostly used for mixing), Peach, Orange Tangiers - Kashmir Cherry, Static Starlight, Sour Grape Hope this helps. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reverend Mike Posted August 30, 2010 Author Share Posted August 30, 2010 I appreciate all the input. Creating pricing tiers seems like the fairest way to do it. I want to keep it all high quality because it brings in serious smokers rather than roudy people. So far we haven't had any push back on our prices. I think we will run some coupons to get exposure for the new lounge. I'm adding a hostess / waitress to maintain the pipes and generally service the customers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ih303 Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 I like to think I cater more to serious smokers, although we do still get a lot of, um... NON-serious smokers. Every place has its own dynamics in regards to hookah, as I'm sure you probably already recognize. For instance, I was in Salt Lake a while back visiting Santino and told him Nakhla Mango was one of our top sellers. He told me he couldn't GIVE the stuff away. The advice I'll give you is this - know your stuff. If you have people working for you, make sure THEY know their stuff. There's a reason why I buy home theater equipment from a local dealer rather than from Best Buy. It's because they are experts, not just high-school dropouts working to get a discount on X-Box games. In other words, people feel better about paying more for product + knowledge than just product alone. Dig? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reverend Mike Posted August 31, 2010 Author Share Posted August 31, 2010 That's why I'm here on this forum. I'm filling in the holes in my knowledge base. I rock with cigars and pipes, but my hookah knowledge is more limited. I want to make sure I am an expert. I also hired some guys that are experts to run the department for me. They are younger and have more in common with our hookah customer base. I'm definitely more in tune with the cigar crowd (meaning I'm 48 and my guys are in their mid 20s.) Having the hookah lounge in the "cigar" shop let's me take the time to do things right, experiment and generally provide better service because I'm not under pressure to do things a hookah only business would require. And, with the synergy that being both hookah and cigar I can do things like live music and events that I wouldn't otherwise. And, frankly, the hookah business brings in some pretty good looking girls. My cigar guys like that! The two groups are meshing together pretty well actually. I have some cigar guys that are already converts after just one week. And, it gives me an option for the non cigar smoker that might be tagging along with a boyfriend or husband (or girlfriend or wife) that comes for a few hours to relax. We do football games, movie nights, food nights and parties all the time. Having hookahs available fills alot of holes that cigars can't or don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoapplesplease Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 Mike this sounds like a real smokers lounge very awsome...think its gonna do really well for ya...please keep us updated with any new developments..sounds like a really cool place Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IainUM Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 this place sounds pretty sweet. wish it was in south florida ih303, i wish the lounges around here were like yours. yours sounds sooooooooooo much better. mine are all like a flat rate of 18 bucks for hookah-hookah tobacco, or 22 for starbuzz. the good side is that they DO use MYA QT's and Acrylics. atleast they aren't shitty no-names Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcane Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 i'm making it a point to visit South Dakota one day...just to go to Ifrit's... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ih303 Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 Thanks for the kind words. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camelflage Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 Reverend Mike, PM me the name of your shop, i will try and come out there to smoke.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt. Morgan Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 Might be worth noting that if you decide to carry Tangiers, that you would need phunnel bowls as well. It also requires practice when it comes to packing to get an enjoyable smoke out of it. The lounge nearest to me charges $12-16, I haven't seen them put a limit on how many people per pipe, ND $6-8 refills for the same flavor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoapplesplease Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 I've been to Ifritz it is a awsome place Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ih303 Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 [quote name='Capt. Morgan' timestamp='1283351984' post='480908'] The lounge nearest to me charges $12-16, I haven't seen them put a limit on how many people per pipe, ND $6-8 refills for the same flavor. [/quote] That sounds very similar to the way we do it. What kind of hookahs/bowls/hoses and tobacco do they use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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