What Would You Want In A Hookah Lounge?

[Matto]

Hey everyone, I am in the process of opening up a lounge here in MO and am looking for your opinions on what you look for in a hookah lounge.

Specifically we are looking for opinions in the following areas:

Design: Modern vs Traditional
Music: What would you like to hear?
Hours of operation (when do you usually go out to lounges?)
Prices: how much would you expect to pay for a smoke? Just a baseline, prices will vary depending on brand.
What snacks or drinks do you enjoy while smoking?

Thanks in advance, I just need to get some opinions of everyday people who actually know what they are talking about and care about hookah.

[king_lunchb0x]

my opinion

design i like more traditional style stuff with nice comfortable booths or chairs.Music you can maybe change day to day. like wed is hip hop night or something. I think you should really serve alcohol if u can both beer and hard liquor. price for hookah would be fair between 10-13$ depending on the brand u plan to serve.and i would just close at what ever time alcohol can no longer be served. of course this is my opinion..and i dont own a lounge but best of luck

[ezxen]

[quote name='king_lunchb0x' timestamp='1285052084' post='482672']
my opinion

design i like more traditional style stuff with nice comfortable booths or chairs.Music you can maybe change day to day. like wed is hip hop night or something. I think you should really serve alcohol if u can both beer and hard liquor. price for hookah would be fair between 10-13$ depending on the brand u plan to serve.and i would just close at what ever time alcohol can no longer be served. of course this is my opinion..and i dont own a lounge but best of luck
[/quote]
pretty much the same , but on the price depending on how you set it up. From woking at a hookah lounge Generally you get people in groups of 3 or more come in and later in the day . Now if you use SB 1 can of SB cost 16-20 (depending on where you get it in shops) dont know the whole sale on it ,but if you charge 15 for unlimited bowls and you can get a average of a hour out of a bowl those people payed for a can and they probably wont smoke all night or enough bowls to use up that can and with 3 people at 15 each is 45 and they buy drink and snaks thats even more. The unlimited bowls draw people in. The only hookah lounge around here now charges i think 5 buck a bowl . And if im going to pay and smoke soemwhere i want to enjoy myself for a long period of time .
Also offer tangires but at a extra cost for the bowl like 5 buck more .Also the way the lounge was divided there was the front witch was also a smoke shop but it had small table for two people to smoke or one person and it was 5 bucks of a bowl up there since it was for more short period of smoke. On music change it up or even let people plug in there own ipods or toss on there own Cds for a few mins like 10 mins or so. Also As a owner go out and meet and greet your customers make each one feel important . IF they dont mind it sit and smoke for a few with then and get to know your regulars . When your a regular and the owner knows you by face or name it gives you a sense of belonging and wholesomeness that makes people keep wanting to come back and bring there friends.
That jsut my 2 cents

[JOE]

Design: modern interior styling with traditional pipes. and good bacco.
Music: how bout a laptop running music with plenty of choices for recommendations
Hours of operation: 6-2am
Prices: 15 tops
What snacks or drinks do you enjoy while smoking? chips and the normal snacks, unless you plan on getting a food license, and of course soda, energy drinks, teas, coffee

[Matto]

You guys have hit on pretty much what I had planned out so far, laptop for music so people can pick, prices are about right, I will definitely offer a variety of brands, and I will be out interacting with people as often as I can, but the interior is still a big question, Im leaning toward modern decorations with KM single hose pipes and MYA multi hosers.

Also ezxen you brought up a good idea with the unlimited bowl offer, did each person that smoked pay the $15? I plan on charging per hookah as opposed to per person, but on an unlimited setup I could end up losing money if i did it that way.

[ezxen]

[quote name='Matto' timestamp='1285054999' post='482679']
You guys have hit on pretty much what I had planned out so far, laptop for music so people can pick, prices are about right, I will definitely offer a variety of brands, and I will be out interacting with people as often as I can, but the interior is still a big question, Im leaning toward modern decorations with KM single hose pipes and MYA multi hosers.

Also ezxen you brought up a good idea with the unlimited bowl offer, did each person that smoked pay the $15? I plan on charging per hookah as opposed to per person, but on an unlimited setup I could end up losing money if i did it that way.
[/quote]
The 15 was per person and the back lounge was only opened from 6- 12 on weekday and 5-2 on weekends. Ive seen the 15 per person work tho but that is only here .

[dizzbizz]

I went to a lounge in Phoenix and it was my ideal lounge. It was modern, with black lights but it was done well, not like a lame black light party. The server knew exactly what he was doing and what we wanted. They had KM pears as their hookahs and offered fruit bowls as an option. I think it'd be nice to offer washed and unwashed shisha's and inform the customer on the difference, depending if they want more of a kick or not. AF and NAK as standard shisha's. SB of course and if you could get Tang that'd be epic. As far as the coals go, just use what you can as a lunge owner, I'm not sure which coals would be best. Bulk wood coals, I'd assume. I think offering bubbles would be cool so the customers can make smoke bubbles, its always a fun thing. Food and drinks of course. And the laptop idea id good too.

Also, I prefer the modern lounges. The traditional ones are cool, you can get belly dancers and stuff, but I just think they're limited to how "cool" they can be. The mordern lounges have more leeway and more potential, I think.

[ezxen]

[quote name='dizzbizz' timestamp='1285059156' post='482686']
I went to a lounge in Phoenix and it was my ideal lounge. It was modern, with black lights but it was done well, not like a lame black light party. The server knew exactly what he was doing and what we wanted. They had KM pears as their hookahs and offered fruit bowls as an option. I think it'd be nice to offer washed and unwashed shisha's and inform the customer on the difference, depending if they want more of a kick or not. AF and NAK as standard shisha's. SB of course and if you could get Tang that'd be epic. As far as the coals go, just use what you can as a lunge owner, I'm not sure which coals would be best. Bulk wood coals, I'd assume. I think offering bubbles would be cool so the customers can make smoke bubbles, its always a fun thing. Food and drinks of course. And the laptop idea id good too.

Also, I prefer the modern lounges. The traditional ones are cool, you can get belly dancers and stuff, but I just think they're limited to how "cool" they can be. The mordern lounges have more leeway and more potential, I think.
[/quote]
From my experience bubbles tend to be more messy and not worth it in the end

[Venger]

this
http://www.thegoldenshisha.com/
I love this lounge and go as often as my budget allows. The food is wonderful,the beer is cold and the hookahs smoke.
Ray

[ekomscipe]

I think personally that having a comfortable atmosphere is all that matters...traditional just doesn't make much sense for me, I am not going to sit on the floor on pillows and smoke. I want a couch or a table or booth that would be comfortable.
use good hookah's....I think this is one of the huge issues with lounges
use good tobacco...if you want a buzz..tell people that shisha "a" will have tremendous buzz, but shisha "b" will not...this is very important
even though I know alot of people here only smoke for a buzz...a ton of people don't want any...me being one of these people..I want a washed tobacco at all times
know your stuff...that is the biggest problem in every lounge I ever go to..know how make a hookah, know how to fix a hookah and be cool

[Woodsytheowl]

Where in Missouri are you thinking about opening a lounge?

[Epoch]

As someone on the other side of Missouri, this is also a question I wanna know!

[kmccoy90]

-$10 hookah setup, no more than 4 people per hookah, 2 per hose (limits accidents). Offer extra hoses (if everyone wants their own) for maybe $1 per hose.

-Price tobacco accordingly, per bowl, with an actual list of brands. This is my biggest pet peeve. Most of the bars around here don't list brands. They just have "Peach." I like AF Peach better than Starbuzz Peach, but have no way of knowing which is which among the different price ranges of tobacco. When I open mine up, I intend to have a menu based on brands, with a general description of flavor, nicotine content, and quality of tobacco, and price accordingly (Nakhla < AF < Starbuzz, etc.).

- Offer an unlimited smoking deal. The knowledgeable, respectful regulars who come in and sit for four+ hours deserve a good deal, otherwise they'll be more likely to just sit and smoke at home, but price it so the people who come in and smoke like idiots with only two or three bowls will be more inclined to take this offer, sit for two or three bowls, and you'll make your money back.

- Modern decor is the selling point. People now want lounges that feel more like nightclubs. Clean lines on furniture and room design, less ornamentation, and simple lighting will go a long way (and be less expensive).

- Create the culture through video and music. The best lounges I've been to play traditional middle eastern music quietly to set atmosphere, and often have a couple satellite channels with English captions on.

- Have theme nights. One lounge I know of has a dance party night. The dj plays a great blend of American hip-hop/r&b and middle eastern pop music. It's great, because you can get up and dance, come back and smoke. Large groups of people come and there's a great mix of all races. It creates a true melting pot where many cultures can learn from one another.

- I'm hesitant to suggest serving alcohol. I would advise against hard liquor. Drunks cause more accidents and problems, and you'll wind up spending more money fixing broken stuff than you'll make selling the alcohol. If anything, sell good beer (crafts and microbrews) and wine, and don't allow BYOB.

[Matto]

You guys have given me a lot of great ideas, thanks so much for your input! For the time being we've decided not to get a liquor license for the lounge yet, but depending how the first few months go we may consider it as an option in the future. Also I think its clear that most of you like the modern interior, which is what I was leaning toward anyway. Again thanks, and if anyone else has opinions/ideas I'd love to hear them!



[quote name='jon bon' timestamp='1285081698' post='482696']
Where in Missouri are you thinking about opening a lounge?
[/quote]

Joplin, it's about 70miles west of springfield.

[warmoose]

I had a pretty good experience with a hookah lounge in Sacramento. All of the staff was super nice. They sold drinks, some snacks, nothing too much. The prices are what gets people I think. If you do sell food and drinks, make sure you dont overprice your waters for like $3 each. They did 1-2 people per hookah with one hose for $15. They had a nice mini furnace set up outside where they constantly had finger coals burning, might have been some exoticas. They had an ipod dock where people plugged in their own music. I went another night during the weekend and they actually had a DJ spinning some stuff. You could always do promotional nights with a live performance or a DJ or something like that. Good luck with this! I've always thought about opening up one myself.

[A13lackFish]

Mix of modern style and Traditional. Nice hookahs, which are thoroughly washed before giving them to the next person (it takes roughly 2 seconds to use a brush on the stems...), Good selection of shisha, anything from nak to starbuzz and fantasia (on your menu say which ones tend to have the most smoke to least smoke for those who enjoy blowing O's and tricking), TVs are a nice decoration but dont put sound on them unless its connected to the music playing, Good music, relaxing music, ive been 2 two bars now that played techno and loud ass rap, needless to say i didnt go back. Nice couches, and seating, cushion-y, this can go a long way in making customers comfortable and having them come back (id pay 15 for a place if they had good atmosphere and nice seating vs 10 for a place that had wooden benches) And good lighting, not too much but not too little that you cant see shit, mood lighting.

Hope this helps!

[Epoch]

Running on what other people said about the tobacco selection, make sure the menu has lots of info on them. Usually they are just listed by flavor name.

Instead, you could list the brand, cloud size, buzz, longevity of flavor, or just a brief description of the flavor and aroma. Any details you can think of telling the customers is appreciated.

[IainUM]

make sure your employees are knowledgeable about hookahs, please. out of the 4 hookah bars i have gone to there is only one i will ever go to again, because all the others have pretentious assholes doing the work that do a terrible job at it. to me, going to a hookah bar should be an experience with people that are better than me at it. being a cheap college student, i dont want to just go somewhere to smoke when i can smoke my own hookah for far less money. on top of the cheapness factor, i can set it up and make it perfect for me and do a much better job than any of the places i have gone to. if i am better than the people at their job, what is the point in taking my business there?

also, please don't let people try and make the bowls super fluffy to skimp out of tobacco usage. i know it is a business, but when you cut corners on the product you will most likely drive some customers away. Edited September 21, 2010 by IainUM

[dizzbizz]

[quote name='ezxen' timestamp='1285076584' post='482690']
[quote name='dizzbizz' timestamp='1285059156' post='482686']
I went to a lounge in Phoenix and it was my ideal lounge. It was modern, with black lights but it was done well, not like a lame black light party. The server knew exactly what he was doing and what we wanted. They had KM pears as their hookahs and offered fruit bowls as an option. I think it'd be nice to offer washed and unwashed shisha's and inform the customer on the difference, depending if they want more of a kick or not. AF and NAK as standard shisha's. SB of course and if you could get Tang that'd be epic. As far as the coals go, just use what you can as a lunge owner, I'm not sure which coals would be best. Bulk wood coals, I'd assume. I think offering bubbles would be cool so the customers can make smoke bubbles, its always a fun thing. Food and drinks of course. And the laptop idea id good too.

Also, I prefer the modern lounges. The traditional ones are cool, you can get belly dancers and stuff, but I just think they're limited to how "cool" they can be. The mordern lounges have more leeway and more potential, I think.
[/quote]
From my experience bubbles tend to be more messy and not worth it in the end
[/quote]

Yeah, probably cause you were using toilet paper rolls or something. I'd hope a business would be more clean about it and supply quality materials. It can be done with zero mess. And its fun and entertaining for the customer, it also doesn't cost much to supply.

[Arcane]

1. Modern Art, Family Business, Guillotine or some other fun board games….video games don’t seem to fit in a lounge environment
2. Drink: soda, water, Gatorade, etc. it’s nice to have a soda fountain, but I actually prefer bottled drinks
3. hookahs with a loose pull and CLEANED immaculately. (disposables hoses too, but that’s just my germaphobia talking)
4. Tangiers Tobacco
5. Competent Staff
6. Non-obnoxious music AND a big screen tv with a decent sized movie library BUT only one playing at a time.
7. my little brother, Adam Wright and KyleSD

[Chreees]

Design: I like both traditional and modern interior settings.
Music: No rap, hip-hop, rock... either something modern that's mellow or authentic Middle Eastern music.
Hours of operation: 5-6PM-2-3AM seems to be the norm.
Prices: I'm a fan of price tiers for different brands.
What snacks or drinks do you enjoy while smoking?: I like tea, water, sometimes Coca-Cola... and this lounge in Memphis had sandwiches and those Red Baron french pizzas that you cook in the oven for food to eat. I was a fan. Small stuff like that is nice. If you aren't going to offer food, atleast make sure you're in a good area with food options available close-by. Allowing outside food to be brought in is up to you.
Beer?: I could honestly care less if beer is served or not.
Brands of shisha?: Nakhla, Al Fakher, Starbuzz, and Tangiers are the brands I would carry. Like I said, price tiers.
Brands of hookahs?: I would use either Mya's or Khalil Mamoon's.

[Chaz1337]

Link to my favorite Hookah Lounge. I think their business model and setup matches your criterion pretty identically

[url="http://www.athenshookah.com/index.php"]http://www.athenshookah.com/index.php[/url]

[noodle]

How about a lounge that take a cue from the [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diogenes_Club"]Diogenes Club[/url] as described by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle? I'd go for that!

[Fumo1]

Looks like a great Lounge......
[quote name='Chaz1337' timestamp='1285123435' post='482760']
Link to my favorite Hookah Lounge. I think their business model and setup matches your criterion pretty identically

[url="http://www.athenshookah.com/index.php"]http://www.athenshookah.com/index.php[/url]
[/quote]

[Matto]

Thank you all so much for your ideas and opinions! As we take the lounge to the next step I'll keep you all informed and hopefully post some pics of the building renovation process!