15 Jul How To Start a Hookah Lounge. Franchising vs Turnkey Shisha Bar
Looking for an answer to the question: how to start a hookah lounge? Dreaming of your own shisha bar, but don’t know how to implement everything? How profitable is it to open a hookah bar on your own? Which is more expedient: a turnkey business solution or a franchise? The article will partially reveal the intricacies of opening a hookah bar.
About us?
Proriat Hospitality Partners – for over 10 years in the hospitality market. He works hard in the following directions: management, opening and investment in hotel & restaurant projects.
Our advantages?
Management: successful development of the enterprise. We establish control criteria, optimize costs, estimate resources and guarantee an increase in sales by 10%, a reduction in costs by – 5%. Return on investment 45% per annum.
Proriat Real Estate – full support and qualified assistance in the commercial real estate market in the HoReCa segment. Own database of objects: we buy and rent restaurants at a profit.
Proriat Franchise Development – complex development of the restaurant brand. Creating a commercial offer, attracting new partners, opening new establishments.
How to open a hookah lounge, where to start?
Hookah lounge is a demanded and profitable business on the Ukrainian market, which is gaining rapid popularity. Opening a hookah bar is cheaper than a fast-food restaurant, and besides, this business is not very competitive. The establishment brings a stable income, and its cost is low. What are the features of opening a hookah bar, and what is the reason for such popularity?
Hookah lounge opening stages
Hookah lounge opening stages
Hookah lounge business plan
Even before choosing a premise and renovation work, you must clearly define the concept of a hookah bar. Think about what will distinguish you from others? What offers will pique the interest of visitors? Could it be a traditional oriental hookah, loft, casual or hi-tech? It is very important to take these points into account and start implementing them in the process of launching the project. It is the marketing strategy that will help to analyze the target audience and the market.
The audience. Social networking is not only necessary, but also fundamental to promoting your hookah bar. It is necessary to study what exactly visitors expect from us: good hookah, interior, wide range of menus, seasonal promotions. It is necessary to promote your product regularly, using a creative approach on Instagram, Facebook. Furthermore, it is important to provide customers with up-to-date information about new menu items, bonus programs. Do not neglect the feedback, because there may be guidelines that will help you become the best hookah restaurant in town. If you want to attract a younger target audience, then it is advisable to run Tiktok as well, but here the main thing is to present your brand in a creative and unobtrusive manner.
Interior Design. The design of the hookah bar directly depends on the concept and purpose of the establishment. So, there are establishments exclusively for smoking, and tea has a maximum in addition. Mostly they are equipped with Ottomans, thick rugs and a large number of pillows are placed on the floor. The second type is quite common on the Ukrainian market. In fact, these are cafés that, in addition to a hookah, have a wide range of menus, drinks and other entertainment. In this case, the institution may look like a lounge area up to the club, providing the corresponding services.
In order to clearly implement your project and accurately approach the decoration of the institution, you should draw up a design project. It is difficult for a novice entrepreneur to design, due to insufficient control and a number of organizational issues. Proriat Hospitality Partners, together with a talented designer, will develop a unique concept and interior for your establishment. The main element of our work is that we can save up to 25% of the budget.
Select Hookah lounge location
How To Start a Hookah Lounge? You can often hear the question of how to open a hookah bar and what is most important in this business, so that it makes a profit. The choice of premises is a crucial step, because the profitability and popularity of the establishment depends on it. When choosing a room for a hookah bar, you should take into account a number of features: location, pedestrian traffic, liveliness of the area. Consider if there are other hookah lounges near the premises. If the traffic is large enough, as in the city center, then this will not be a particular problem. In the case of a small population of the place, opening another hookah bar next door will not be the best solution. It is desirable that the premises be located next to public transport.
However, you should not avoid the neighbourhood with cafés, fast food restaurants, because the neighbouring establishments for the hookah are only beneficial. This gives a great recognition and confidence of visitors to the hookah bar.
When presenting a hookah bar with a ready-made concept, pay attention to the area, guests should not be crowded. The room must fully comply with the requirements of the services, as well as have a powerful hood. Otherwise, no one will give you permission to open an establishment.
You can familiarize yourself with the catalog of objects checked in accordance with the requirements, as well as get advice on the website 👉 Proriat Real Estate
Renovation work
The fundamental thing for a hookah bar is the presence of a correctly positioned and powerful hood. Remember, it is important to keep the amount of smoke as low as possible. Do not forget to study the floor plan, because you may need redevelopment. Check the location of the water lines so that in the event of a breakdown, you do not have to damage the designer’s work. Often, aspiring entrepreneurs do not pay due attention to these details, and from this they lose up to 50% of the total budget. Due to the lack of time and certain employment, it is rational to entrust the repair work to a company that knows the specifics and features of the work.
How To Start a Hookah Lounge? Staffing
At the initial stage, you will need at least two hookah men and two waiters. If you open a hookah bar for more, then increase the number of staff consistently. In the case of recruiting, pay attention to the following qualities: benevolence, sociability, stress resistance. It would be ridiculous if the staff of the hookah does not know about the intricacies of hookah preparation. Engage your employees by creating a comprehensive staff motivation system: training course, team building trainings, inspiring meetings with famous people in the field.
Hookah lounge launch
The staff has been recruited, the renovation work is over – it’s time to open. For further successful work, it is necessary to carry out regular monitoring of finances: accounting for the volume of net profit, employee salaries, operating and non-fixed costs.
Hookah payback. A small establishment will need about $ 10,000. Of course, the price depends on the location and traffic. A significant advantage of the hookah bar is the production cost. The margin is 70%, and this, in turn, is 2/3 of the income – net profit. The payback period for the hookah bar is quite fast in comparison with other establishments in Ukraine.
Buying a hookah lounge franchise
Buying a franchise is an alternative and feasible solution. You will save yourself from energy-consuming work: creating a brand, logo, marketing strategy. Consider which franchise will be successful in your city. The current list of franchises, detailed information, as well as asking questions of interest can be found on the website 👉 Proriat Franchise Development.
Rent or purchase of an established business
How To Start a Hookah Lounge? It is worth paying attention to the commercial real estate market, because a large number of objects are concentrated there, which are rented or sold as a ready-made business. Rationally, with a finished product that can be sold in a prepared room. We have already prepared the best offers, which can be found on the Proriat Real Estate website. Our experts will be happy to answer additional questions.
Turnkey hookah lounge
It is advisable enough to contact a company that will go all the long and sometimes difficult path for you. We can offer our terms of cooperation with guarantees of profitability and open a turnkey hookah. To see our ready-made solution, follow the link 👉 (turnkey hookah lounge)
Conclusions
We tried to provide a basic roadmap and answer the question of how to open a hookah bar. The hookah bar is in high demand on the Ukrainian market. In addition, the institution generates a stable income. Opening a hookah bar on your own, purchasing a franchise or a turnkey business – everything has its own nuances and subtleties of work. So, specialists will help to implement the project and avoid significant loss of funds. We recommend that you contact us because we guarantee the successful management of hotel and restaurant projects.
Do you want to open your own establishment, realize your dream and start making money steadily? You have found the right company that will provide all the necessary range of services for opening a hookah lounge, burger joint, coffee shop, restaurant with a guarantee of efficient management and stable profitability.
We are waiting for your application for a consultation and look forward to working on opening and managing a hookah bar.