£15 to Store a Bag: How Cloakroom Fees Became Nightlife's New Cost

Coat storage at UK venues now costs up to £15 per bag. A decade ago, the same service cost £2. The price of a night out has followed: average spending per head rose from £20.95 in 2020 to £28.06 in 2026, according to the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA).

The figures stack up quickly across the country:

• £11 for a large locker at Outernet Live in London's Soho
• £9 at east London nightclub Fold, with a second payment to retrieve items
• £13.20 at Drumsheds, north London, the UK's biggest nightclub (reusable, no extra fee)
• £11.99 at a nearby Premier Inn for large bags at the Warehouse Project in Manchester
• £15 at Manchester's Co-op Live Arena dedicated bag facility
• £9.99 near the 3,000-capacity Edinburgh Playhouse and £9.90 at Testbed in Leeds

Why have prices doubled?

NTIA chief executive Michael Kill attributes the rises to operating costs. "For years, nightlife businesses have faced relentless increases in the cost of operating, from energy and employment to taxation, business rates and supply chains," Kill said. "Many have had no choice but to pass some of those costs on to consumers simply to keep their doors open. But the reality is that consumers have now hit an affordability ceiling."

With customers drinking less alcohol, lockers and cloakrooms offer venues a way to recover revenue. Kill added that "the consumer cannot be the industry's financial shock absorber indefinitely."

What changed the rules?

UK storage policy shifted after the 2017 attack at an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena, which killed 22 people and injured more than 1,000. "Martyn's law" legislation requires "appropriate public protection measures" at public events. Many venues, including the nationwide network of 18 Academy Music Group sites, banned bags over A4 size and offloaded them to external partners — in London, often kebab shops, restaurants and barbers.

Carrie Wang, a London-based spin instructor, learned this before seeing Hot Chip at O2 Academy Brixton. "I was fuming," Wang said. "They charged me £10 and it wasn't a proper facility, it was just a random storage room – it's not like they had lockers and my things were actually safe there." Academy Music Group did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Ahmed Khan, owner of Kentish Delight in Kentish Town, has stored bags since 2022, when O2 Kentish Town Forum's management asked about spare space. "They had a look and said my premises are perfect and secure for the customer – and I said yes, why not?" Khan charges £5 per bag and says nothing has ever gone missing. "Although the bag people never buy kebabs."

What does this change for clubbers?

Some now take risks with their belongings. At an AEW wrestling event at Wembley Arena, fans queued at a nearby Premier Inn paying £10 a bag. Soul singer Danny Toeman stashed his rucksack behind a carpark vending machine. "I could stuff most of the valuable contents into my pockets," Toeman said. "So I thought: let's just stash it somewhere and if it gets stolen, so what?"

An unattended bag is itself a security risk that could trigger evacuation. One Reddit user reported hiding a bag outside O2 Academy Southampton: "They will literally not let you in. I was forced to leave it outside the building entirely and it was stolen when I came out."

Is there a cheaper model?

Willem Pelle, head of sales at Dutch company eLockers, which works with Drumsheds, Fold and Warehouse Project, said venues faced staffing challenges after Covid. Venues typically pay no upfront cost and share the takings. "It's important that the pricing works for both the venue and its customers, while creating a sustainable additional revenue stream," Pelle said.

Not every venue has gone down this road. Hackney Bath House offers a free cloakroom. Sneaky Pete's in Edinburgh has charged £2 per locker since installing them in 2012. Peckham's 200-capacity Carpet Shop charges £3 per item. "No need to charge more, it's a tiny bit of space and a rail," said general manager Cam Prentis, who values the cloakroom as a social space with its own music. "It's a vibe up there."

As affordability pressure mounts, the split between £15 lockers and £3 rails will test which model nightlife can sustain.