According to The Publican yesterday, pubs are set to be charged up to £200 for the privilege of appearing in the Good Pub Guide from next year.
Fiona Stapley, who has edited the book for 27 years, said the charges will be introduced for the 2012 edition. Fees will be either £99 or £199, depending on the size of the outlet.
Pretty shocking news for a guide that proclaims its independence. This must surely have the potential to undermine its integrity. If a significant number of pubs decline to pay up, will the guide become a slimmed down version of its former self? Or will it relax its standards in an attempt to maintain its current coverage?
Even if it maintains its standards for inclusion, discrimination on the basis of willingness to pay will introduce a perception of bias which can only hurt its sales as we all know from a customer relations perspective, perception is reality.
If the publishers need to increase revenue then in my view a better approach would be to offer pubs the option of upgrading the size of the entry for a price or even allowing them to pay for advertising on some colour pages, but let's leave the basic entry free and the integrity of the guide intact.
Sorry GPG, this is altogether a disappointing decision for both pubs and pub-goers and threatens your long-standing and well-deserved reputation as the pub-goers bible. Listen to your loyal customers and publicans and think again.
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