A self serve bar works for a small, casual party where guests pour beer, wine and one batched drink. Past about thirty guests, or anywhere spirits are involved, hire a bartender. The floor is 4 hours at $70 plus the $100 service charge, or $380 for one bartender, and you still supply the alcohol at that price.

Expect your bartender to arrive ahead of guest time in uniform, set the bar, work the shift, use judgement on alcohol service, and hand the bar back to you clean at the end. In return, staff need a clear call time, a defined bar location, access to ice and water, and a break on a long shift. Bartenders are $70 per hour with a 4 hour minimum.

A great private event bartender is fast under a rush, reads a room, remembers what people drink, keeps the bar area clean, and handles a guest who has had too much without making it a scene. Platinum bartenders are $70 per hour with a 4 hour minimum, are RBS certified, and are largely working actors and models hand-picked for presence as well as skill.

A private host in California generally does not need a liquor license to serve alcohol free of charge at a private party on private property. A permit usually comes into play once alcohol is sold or the event is open to the public. Platinum Bartenders can handle an ABC one-day permit at $1,950. Confirm your situation with California ABC and your venue.

Send your bartender four things at least a week out: guest count, event timeline, the drinks you want poured, and where the bar goes. Staff preferences go in earlier, at booking, because they change who gets assigned. Platinum takes requests such as an all female team, black tie, tattoos covered, or Spanish speaking bartenders.

Most people find a bartender in Los Angeles through their venue's preferred vendor list, their caterer or planner, a friend who threw a similar party, or a search followed by an hour of reading. All four are useful starting points. None tells you whether the bartender is certified, insured and free on your date. That part you check yourself.

A high-end bar in Los Angeles is usually a mixologist at $90 per hour running a craft cocktails and full bar package at $37 per guest at light consumption. Add the Platinum Vitality wellness bar at $38 per guest, a five-course plated dinner from $350 per guest, and a banquet captain at $90 per hour to run the floor.

The cheapest way to staff a bar in Los Angeles is to hire the bartender and supply the alcohol yourself. That is 4 hours x $70 = $280, plus a $100 service charge, so $380 for a four hour party with no per-guest charge. Everything below trims the same booking further.

Bartenders working events in Los Angeles need RBS certification, the state's Responsible Beverage Service training. The company sending them should carry general liability, liquor liability and workers' compensation insurance, and should employ its staff on W-2 rather than as contractors. Some events also need an ABC permit. Confirm what applies to your event with California ABC or your venue.

A Platinum Bartender costs $70 per hour and a mixologist costs $90 per hour, both with a 4 hour minimum. The extra $20 an hour buys craft technique: drinks built to order, real garnish work and a printed menu written for the event. If your guests mostly want beer, wine or a vodka soda, the $70 bartender is the right hire.

The guideline is 1 bartender per 50 guests, so 100 guests needs two and 150 needs three. Add a second bartender at medium or heavy consumption even below 50 guests. Each bartender is $70 per hour with a 4 hour minimum, so one works out to 4 hours x $70 = $280, plus a $100 service charge per staff member.

Most outdoor sites in LA have no bar, no shade over the bar and no heat after sunset. A bar rental is $1,195 and includes a 5ft white wood bar, 4 ice tubs, a trash can, delivery and pick up. Space heaters for evening events are $275 each. Sort out power, water and wind before the drinks.

Professional bartending in Los Angeles is three separate charges, not one. Staff are billed per person per hour, $70 for a bartender with a 4 hour minimum and a $100 service charge. Drinks are billed per guest through a bar package, from $19 per guest. Equipment such as the bar is a flat rental at $1,195.

A bartender for a birthday party in Los Angeles is $70 per hour with a 4 hour minimum, so one bartender is 4 hours x $70 = $280 plus a $100 service charge. Staffing runs 1 bartender per 50 guests. If Platinum supplies the drinks as well, a full bar is $19 per guest at light consumption.

A themed cocktail menu design is $375. That covers cocktails written around your event theme and a printed menu for the bar. The three craft cocktails themselves come with the craft cocktail packages, which start at $25 per guest at light consumption. The drinks sit in the package price; the $375 buys the theming.

Book as soon as you have a firm date, a rough guest count and an address. For a wedding or large corporate event, that usually means months out. For a house party of 30, weeks is often enough. The hard deadline is 48 hours: bookings made inside that window add a 20 percent rush surcharge, and no company can promise a date is still open.

A mobile bar is a bar brought to a venue that has none. The core piece is a 5ft white wood bar at $1,195, including 4 ice tubs, a trash can, and delivery and pick up. From there you add what the space is missing: a back bar at $365, glassware at $1.95 per unit, linen at $40, high tops at $95 and space heaters at $275 each.

The difference between a staffing company and a freelancer found on a listings site comes down to who carries the risk. A company employs the bartender, insures the work and can send someone else if the assigned person cannot make it. Platinum Bartenders charges $70 an hour for a bartender, 4 hour minimum, plus a $100 service charge per staff member.

Ask eight things before you hire anyone: are the staff insured, are they employees or contractors, are they RBS certified, who supplies the alcohol, what the hourly rate includes, what travel costs, how overtime is billed, and what happens if you cancel. Platinum Bartenders charges $70 an hour for a bartender, 4 hour minimum, plus a $100 service charge per staff member.

Yes. One night is the normal booking, not an exception, and you do not need a retainer or an ongoing contract to make it. Every staff member carries a 4 hour minimum, so a single bartender for one evening is 4 hours x $70 = $280, plus a $100 service charge per staff member, for a total of $380.