In a private club, the payment for the service of alcoholic beverages is primarily made by the club's members. Guests of members are not allowed to pay directly for alcoholic beverages; instead, any charges for guests must be billed to the sponsoring member or temporary member by the club. Guests cannot pay by cash or any other means at the time of service within the club. There are exceptions for private clubs located within hotels, where a hotel manager who is a member of the club may issue a guest card to hotel patrons staying overnight or longer. These guests may be served alcoholic beverages in the club or their hotel room, but they still cannot pay directly. Instead, the charges are billed to the hotel manager's account and collected with other hotel charges upon checkout
. Additionally, the club may use a "pool system" for purchasing alcoholic beverages, funded either by cash contributions from members or loans guaranteed by members. The replacement of alcoholic beverages is paid for by money assessed equally from each member or through a designated alcoholic beverages replacement account funded by a percentage of the service charges collected from members
. In summary:
- Only members may pay directly for alcoholic beverages.
- Guests cannot pay directly; charges for guests are billed to the sponsoring member.
- Hotel guests with a guest card may have charges billed to the hotel manager's account.
- The club itself may manage the purchase and replacement of alcoholic beverages through member contributions or service charges
