Resources for Hospitality Establishments
With more than 100 liquor licenses within a one-mile radius of the UNL campus, the existence of responsible sellers and servers of alcohol makes all the difference. Refusing sales to minors and intoxicated patrons, providing a variety of services beyond alcohol, and avoiding high-risk price specials and promotions have all proven to be effective tools for reducing the harms of alcohol abuse for students and all patrons. But here's the best news of all: Responsible alcohol sales and service is also more profitable! Just ask Bob Jergenson, owner of P.O. Pears, who serves on the NU Directions coalition and is the President of the Responsible Hospitality Council in Lincoln. When his establishment got rid of high-risk specials (like $5 cover/penny a drink/draw), focused his marketing on food specials like 'burger madness" and found activities like sand volleyball, jazz and rock concerts, and other special events, he increased his revenue and decreased his costs on repairs and penalties brought on by intoxicated patrons.
The Linoln/Lancaster County Responsible Hospitality Council provides management training (required for licenses in Lincoln) and a host of other resources for establishments who want to learn how to increase their profits and improve their image in the community through responsible hospitality.
The Responsible Beverage Server Training is a web-based training program developed by a special task-force for NU Directions and funded by the NE Liquor Control Commission and the Office of Highway Safety to provide a low-cost, convenient way for managers to train their sales and service staff in responsible practices. The training is FREE for any licensed establishment in Nebraska!
Responsible Birthday Celebrations: A Guide for Hospitality Establishments is the result of a project created by a marketing campaigns class at UNL, where students researched and designed low-risk specials that were attractive to students who are looking for an alternative to the "birthday bar crawl." When students "crawl," bars lose out by increasing their risk of citations for service to intoxicated patrons and by limiting the time spent before moving on to another bar. The guide is filled with practical ways to create fun and profitable birthday celebrations for the thousands of UNL students who will become legal drinkers during their stay in Lincoln.
