Having Liquor At Community Events

I was wondering if it would be a huge liability if we served wine at some of our community events. I understand about not allowing minors or obvious drunkards access to the wine but we offer cooking classes, game night, etc. & it would be great to have some alcoholic beverages.

Great Question Patricia!

I haven't served alcoholic beverages at any of my retentions, but I did have a bottle of champaign in as a prize at one of them. Ironically, the first person drawn as the winner was too young so I gave an alternate prize, then the second winner was a non-drinker who gave it away to two other residents at the party. The two residents enjoyed it together and became great friends!

Hopefully some of the more experienced managers on the board will have answer for you, but I will ask my attorney when I see him in a few weeks.

We have served alcohal at Appreciation parties, but it was only served by TABC certified bartenders with strict instruction to card everyone. The beer was donated by a local distribution company and we didn't sell it or accept tips...

My VP was nervous, but I think it went over well and was one of our more successful gatherings.

Maybe I'm not doing the "right" thing, but I'll have tenant BBQ's all the time where I bring a bunch of beer and food. Don't see the big deal in doing so.

We host a annual spaghetti dinner for our residents and serve them a small glass of wine with the dinner. We of course monitor this and do not serve to minors. It has never been a issue and the residents really enjoyed it.

While having alcohol may seem like a nice touch, especially in the case of a superbowl party or a cooking class, the inherent liability that comes with the of serving alcohol at a community sponsored event make the practice undesirable in my opinion.

The residents who attend these events are not participating because they are looking for a free glass of wine, or a can of beer. They are participating because they want to learn something new, meet their neighbors or to get free food. But alcohol is not, and should not be the reason, and therefore I feel it's unnecessary.

Alcohol, or the lack thereof, will not make or break the event. It's not the 99 times that alcohol is served and nothing happens that we're concerned about. It's the 1 time, and that's 1 time too much.

I think I'm with Jonathan on this one. While there may not be a problem with serving beer or wine at a community event, better safe than sorry.

Definitely not. A resident in an accident after attending an event where alcohol was served by the management agent will seek redress from the property, management company and owner.
Not only is there the risk of loss in a lawsuit but also the ramifications on future liability insurance premiums.

If you host food at an event but allow the residents to BYOB, do you take on the same liability?

I manage a primarily student property and there is no way on the planet I would host a gathering where alcohol is served by me or my company. Nor would I allow residents to bring it in. Not only is there liability but if they decided to really start drinking and got out of control I would not want to be the one to have to manage such things. All events in my opinion should be non-alcoholic ones. Even on a non-student property. Better safe than sorry.

I am not particularly a fan of alcohol, I may have a beer about twice a year.... I see that if you SERVE alcohol at a property sponsored function and someone partakes too much, there may be a liability if that person gets hurt or causes some damage. It is better safe than sorry....

Someone mentioned cooking classes; and as someone who watches the Food Network, I realize that some recipes actually call for alcohol in some form (usually wine); but when cooked; the alcohol actually cooks away. Given that, I think it would be okay to include alcohol in a cooking class, but not a party.