A cigar lounge without lively conversation, laughter, and positive vibes is a cigar lounge people won’t come back to. That’s because cigar lounges aren’t just about cigars, they’re about bringing people together.
Hosting events at your cigar lounge is a perfect way to do just that — but what separates a so-so cigar lounge event idea from a great one?
In this article, we’ll explore:
- Why hosting events regularly is worth the investment
- The key elements to cigar lounge event success
- Six creative ideas you can try out at your lounge
Events and cigar lounges are a winning combination. The good news? Running a popular event might be less demanding than you think. With a little bit of creativity, a consistent (but not complicated) marketing plan, and the right tools, you’ll be hosting events that customers can’t get enough of.
Benefits of Running Events at Your Cigar Lounge
A cigar lounge isn’t just a place to buy premium tobacco — it’s a place to come together, unwind, and meet new people. And running events isn’t just an effective way to boost sales and reach new customers — it’s how you build a community.
Here are the key reasons why you should run events at your cigar lounge:
- Events expose customers to new cigars and products they wouldn’t know about otherwise. They’re an excellent chance to upsell, too.
- They create a sense of exclusivity and a club-like atmosphere that builds loyalty to your business.
- A well-planned event gives existing customers the perfect excuse to come back in (and to bring friends).
- Events give you a chance to network and connect with other local businesses, opening up more opportunities down the line.
- Regular events encourage people to check in to your website and social media more often to see what’s new.
- Nothing beats having a face-to-face connection with your customers, and events are a great way to meet directly with them.
- Fun events can help boost sales both in the short and long term. When people get a curated experience, they’ll be more confident to come back and shop on their own.
We might be preaching to the choir, but there’s a reason many successful breweries and distilleries regularly host events — they’re good for business.
5 Elements of a Successful Cigar Lounge Event
The question for most cigar lounge owners isn’t if they should run an event, but how to host them in a way that’s worth the time and money. So, let’s dive into the five elements that turn a great cigar lounge event idea into a successful reality.
1. Don’t Slack on Digital Marketing
Putting together a fun event is a lot of hard work, and that effort won’t pay off if nobody knows it’s happening.
You’re a cigar expert, not a digital marketing whiz — but the good news is, you don’t have to be. To get the word out about your upcoming events without a ton of effort, try these tactics:
- Create an events calendar on your website and a unique page for each event so people can read more about it and share it with friends. Make sure the events page is prevalent and easy to see from your homepage.
- Start promoting events on social media a few weeks before the event, with posts ramping up as it gets closer.
- Include event information in your newsletter or send event information directly to your cigar lounge members via email.
- Send text messages to customers using the SMS integrations in your point of sale (POS) system.
Create a consistent digital messaging schedule for each event so that you’re not winging it every time. Over time, the marketing aspect of your events will get easier. Some free platforms even let you create social media posts or emails in advance so you can spend a day on it and be done!
2. Create Appealing Signage
Online marketing is important, especially for grabbing the attention of new customers or customers who haven’t been in for a while — but don’t forget about in-person cigar lounge marketing, too.
Having a mix of newcomers and regulars at events is a great way to create a welcoming atmosphere, so create eye-catching posters and signs to advertise your upcoming events in your lounge itself. Put up calendars with the current month’s event schedule, along with signs for individual events.
You can also entice your regular customers to come by offering deals that are exclusive to current lounge members or certain tiers of membership.
3. Decide on Paid vs. Free Events
Depending on the event, you may or may not want to charge a fee for entry. Consider what the goal of the event is first and foremost: Is it to spread awareness about a particular brand, to offer a “luxury” or “premium” experience for select customers, or simply to socialize and relax?
Generally, events that are primarily about socializing (e.g. movie nights or trivia nights) should be free or have a very minimal entry fee. The goal of these events is to create a welcoming atmosphere, especially for newcomers. If you do your job right, people will be happy to buy a few extra cigars or drinks while they hang out.
On the other hand, if you’re doing an educational or sampling event, you’ll need to recoup the costs of bringing in an expert or sharing premium cigars. If you have a paid, tiered membership program, consider reducing or waiving the fee as a perk of membership.
It might be difficult to decide which events should be paid from the get-go. Use the reports on your POS system to understand your costs and the sales boost you get from running an event to make a more informed decision moving forward.
Important note: In some states, an entry fee (even a small one) is required to meet local tobacco rules and regulations. Make sure you do your research before you announce the event, so no one is surprised with an entry fee for an event that was advertised as free.
Free Resource: The Complete Guide to Cigar Lounge POS Systems: 12 Must-Have Features
4. Make Sure Your Air Purification and Ventilation Are Up to Snuff
If you want people to be comfortable and spend a long time in your cigar lounge, you need a good ventilation and air purification system — especially if you’re trying to bring in bigger crowds than usual.
One way to make things easier is to set up separate areas for smoking, food, and drink that attendees can easily move between, instead of having everything in one smoking room.
For cookouts or food trucks, set up an area outside the store (just make sure customers don’t bring cigars outside). Even if it’s legal to smoke near a business in your state, you might generate bad will with the neighbors if dozens of people are smoking in your parking lot.
5. Offer Exclusive Discounts and Freebies
The goal of any event is to build brand loyalty and boost sales — and after spending all that money on setting up an event, it might seem counterintuitive to offer discounts, too.
However, offering discounts and freebies is an excellent incentive as it gives customers deals they can’t get anywhere else. When we say “freebies,” we don’t necessarily mean cigars or something expensive. Think free t-shirts, lighters, or even soft drinks.
Creating event-exclusive discount codes for attendees is also an effective marketing tactic. If your event is tied to a particular brand, you should offer event-goers a discount on that brand.
Why? This can be easily measured in your sales reports — you can see how many times that discount code was renewed during and after the event, or how much sales went up for that brand. This helps you understand your event’s return on investment (ROI).
Better yet, these discounts can be set up ahead of time on your POS system, so they don’t have to be manually entered during checkout.
Discounts are also effective if you have a paid membership program, as you can build in specific freebies and discounts depending on the membership tier. Just make sure the perks are worth the cost, or you may find people quitting your program if they feel they’re not getting a good deal.
EXTRA TIP: Be Vigilant About ID Checks
As a cigar lounge owner, you know the costs associated with underage sales — but events can get busy, and manually checking everyone’s ID can slow things down.
Our recommendation? Use an integrated ID scanner and create a custom age-restricted item on your POS. Even if you aren’t charging an entry fee, ringing up the item (e.g. “cigar lounge event ticket”) will prompt your staff to check ID, which they can do quickly with the ID scanner.
This way, you’ll also have a paper record of ID checks for all of your attendees, should any issues arise.
6 Cigar Lounge Event Ideas
Now that you have an understanding of what to do in the lead up to a great event, let’s jump into some specifics.
Here are six cigar lounge event ideas to try out.
1. Poker Night
Smoking a cigar over a friendly game of poker is a match made in heaven, so why not turn it into an event?
Hosting a poker night at a business is legal in most states, but a cigar lounge is not a casino, which means you have to follow local gambling rules. We’re not lawyers, so consult your state laws for specifics — but here are some general rules of thumb to follow to avoid common legal pitfalls:
- You can’t have a cash prize, but you can give the winner a gift certificate or a free gift as a prize instead.
- Entry fees should pay for something specific, like a free drink or a snack. If a seat charge is being used to pay into a pot, then it would be considered illegal gambling.
- The focus of the event should be social. Since there are restrictions on what prizes you can offer, the pull of the event should be to network and socialize, not win a big prize. Make sure to incorporate that aspect heavily in your marketing material.
In addition to cigars, offer drinks, snacks, and nonplaying seating areas to give attendants fun things to do, even when they’re not playing.
2. Cigar and Spirits Pairing
Nothing says class like pairing an aged scotch and a nice cigar. Give your lounge members a special experience with a curated flight of whiskeys to match with a hand-rolled cigar.
To make the event truly special, connect with a local distillery and ask if they’re willing to send in a representative or one of their brewers to talk about the distilling process. You can also offer flights of spirits or cocktails that are specific to important eras or world regions that pair well with certain styles of cigars.
But remember: Even though you sell age-restricted products at your store, you can’t sell booze without a liquor license. Luckily, if you don’t regularly serve alcohol at your cigar lounge, most states will let you secure a short-term event license.
3. Brand Educational Event
Cigars are a niche business with many unique brands and styles. Many patrons might have heard of a Robusto or a Churchill before but are intimidated to dive into the details, or don’t know where to start.
Hosting an educational event can build up buyers’ confidence, helping them take their first step into a new world and potentially encouraging them to splurge on cigars they wouldn’t otherwise know about.
When people sign up, you can include a cigar as part of the entry fee or offer discounts on that brand for the night. Explain what makes the cigar special, how it’s made, any cultural or historical facts, along with tasting notes. You can also offer an “entry-level” event for people who are interested in learning more about cigars as a whole.
Consider offering a discount code for attendees to use on particular styles of cigars later on. That way, you can not only get them to spend money on the event itself, but encourage them to come back another time.
Related Read: How Much Does a Cigar Lounge Make? 4 Things You Need To Know
4. Private Space Rentals
Sometimes, the most special events are the most personal — whether it’s a bachelor party, a work celebration, or a reunion of old friends. If you already have a well-designed space, private events are an easy way to make use of it.
Here are a few extra tips for running successful private events:
- Instead of renting out your whole lounge, make private rooms available for paid members to book.
- Offer rental of the cigar lounge for business events and larger parties.
- Provide certain freebies for events like fresh coffee or free snacks — the space alone might not be seen as worth the price of entry otherwise.
- Charge a nominal cutting fee if you allow people to bring their own cigars.
- If you’re open to both paid members and the general public, offer discounted rates for room rentals for your members.
Advertise your space rental just like you would other events or offerings — don’t assume people will ask you about it. Also, be upfront about what’s included in the rental and how much it costs, and require a lead time to ensure you avoid any conflicts and are well-stocked.
5. Movie or Game Nights
Many people enjoy sitting back and watching a classic movie while puffing on a cigar, but don’t necessarily have the setup to do it at home. That’s where you come in.
Host movie nights where you watch classics like The Godfather or The Sting — provide cigars and maybe some free popcorn. You can also host groups to watch a big football or baseball game. If you’re not sure what to watch, ask your customers! Set up a poll and share it via email or social media so customers can vote on what types of things they’d be interested in watching.
Trivia nights are also a popular option that encourages regulars to bring in their friends.
6. Culturally-Themed Food Events
Cigar-making is tied closely with culture and location — so why not enjoy a cigar while experiencing some local cuisine?
Partner with local restaurants to serve up national cuisines while offering cigars from those regions at a discount. If you don’t have easy access to specific nationalities of food, having a general BBQ or cookout is never a bad idea.
Just make sure you ID all guests and follow food safety and zoning laws.
The Key to Better Cigar Lounge Event Ideas? Your Customers
At the end of the day, there’s no such thing as a perfect cigar lounge event idea because the vibe at every cigar lounge is different.
If your cigar lounge is a small, classy joint with no TV screens, a football-watching party probably isn’t going to go over very well. Similarly, if your patrons skew young, a whiskey pairing event might not be as popular.
At the end of the day, we hope these ideas inspire you, but what’s really going to define the perfect event for your cigar lounge is your customers. So, if you’re looking for some specific inspiration, start with what they love already.
Cigar lounge POS systems like Cigars POS make it easy to keep track of your inventory, add notes (like style of cigar and tasting notes), manage memberships, and use all that data to see what your customers are buying and which events are resonating with them.
With consolidated sales and customer data, you can plan events more confidently based on the types of products your customers already love.
Looking to upgrade your cigar lounge system, but aren’t sure where to start? Check out our free guide to cigar lounge POS systems to learn about important features, what makes a tobacco-specific system stand out, and other key considerations.
