Q: Does the booking fee include drinks at each place?
A: No, drinks are not included, the booking fee keeps the business running and allows us to run more events.
Given the prices of drinks in Toronto, I would be very surprised if any bar crawl could offer free drinks.
Q: Why would someone pay the booking fee to follow you around and buy their own drinks?
A: The bar crawl's target market is tourists and visitors from out of town (or suburbs) looking for a curated drinking experience with friendly folks to party with for the night. We also do get a small percentage of locals who find value in the social dynamics of jumping into a drinking group.
The biggest value of the bar crawl (and any bar crawl really) is getting together and drinking with other fun and friendly people. The bars, the type of drinks, the music are all secondary to the experience.
Feel free to go through the following reviews to see why previous guests have found the experience worthwhile in the past: https://www.airbnb.ca/experiences/99860
Just as paying for cover charge at a nightclub is not for everyone, booking a commercial bar crawl might not be interesting to some. However it is another entertainment option that many find value in.
Q: What are the kinds of bars you take these groups to?
A: I have multiple routes that we run through based on a complicated set of considerations. For example the night of week, or if there is a street festival in our way, etc.
All the bars are simple down to earth bars with no attitude. Although I am limited by having all our bars be walking distance, if I can, I try very hard for the bars to have a contrasting experience. I think its more interesting if they are as different from eachother as can be than to go to similar bars.