How to Set Hourly Rates for Pool Tables

Your hourly table rate is the single most important number in your billiard hall. Set it too low and you can't cover costs, even on busy nights. Set it too high and tables sit empty while customers go to the competition.

Most hall owners set rates based on what nearby halls charge. That's useful context, but it's not a strategy. Here's how to calculate a rate that actually works.

Calculate your cost per table-hour

Start with your monthly fixed costs: rent, electricity (air conditioning is the biggest component), staff wages, internet, insurance, and maintenance. Add your variable costs per table (cloth replacement, ball wear, general upkeep).

Divide total monthly costs by total available table-hours. If you have 8 tables running 14 hours a day, 30 days a month, that's 3,360 available table-hours. If your monthly costs are $4,000, your break-even rate is $1.19 per table-hour.

That's your floor. You need to charge more than that to make a profit.

Factor in utilization

You won't fill every table every hour. Realistic utilization for a well-run hall ranges from 40-60%, depending on location, day of week, and how well you manage slow periods.

If you expect 50% utilization, you need to double your break-even rate to cover the empty hours. That $1.19 becomes $2.38 minimum. Your actual rate needs to be above that to generate profit, cover unexpected costs, and build reserves.

Competitive context

Check what nearby halls charge. You don't need to be the cheapest — but if you're significantly more expensive, you need to justify the premium with better tables, cleaner space, better atmosphere, or better service.

Many halls charge $3-8 per hour for standard pool tables and $6-15 for snooker or premium tables. Your local market sets the range; your cost structure determines where in that range you need to be.

Time-based pricing

Flat rates all day are simple but leave money on the table. Time-based pricing lets you optimize revenue:

• Off-peak rates: Lower rates for slow periods (weekday mornings and afternoons). Drives traffic to hours that would otherwise be empty.
• Standard rates: Your baseline for weekday evenings and regular hours.
• Premium rates: Higher rates for weekends and peak hours when demand exceeds supply.

The key is automation. If promo rates depend on staff remembering which hours qualify, they'll get applied inconsistently. Set the rules once and let the system enforce them.

Minimum charge rules

A 15-minute session at $12/hour is $3. That doesn't cover the cost of staff time, table reset, and wear. Minimum charges protect your floor revenue.

Common minimum charges: 30 minutes or 1 hour. This means a customer who plays for 10 minutes still pays the minimum. It sounds aggressive, but it's standard in the industry and most customers expect it.

Rounding rules

How you round session time affects both revenue and customer perception:

• Exact time: Fairest for the customer. Hardest to explain ("your total is $14.37 for 1 hour and 11 minutes"). Works best with digital systems that show the math.
• 15-minute blocks: Industry standard. 1 hour 11 minutes rounds up to 1 hour 15 minutes. Clear, predictable, slightly in your favor.
• 30-minute blocks: Simplest but feels aggressive on sessions that just cross the threshold. 31 minutes becomes 60 minutes.

Pick one and be consistent. Post it visibly. Customers accept any rounding rule as long as it's transparent and uniformly applied.

CuePoint lets you set base rates, promo rates, rounding rules, and minimum charges per table — and enforces them automatically.