So do you all think it is worth it to join a lounge that requires a membership fee?
I think it really depends on the lounge, amount of the fee, and location. As I said earlier, there aren't any lounges around here, so for me it would definitely be worth it to pay a fee just to be able to sit indoors. For others, who have options, a lounge would really need to do something to set themselves apart in order for the fee to be feasible.
I'm with Bill on this one. It all depends on the cost of the fee and what you get for it. The nearest lounge for me is literally 100 miles away and there is nowhere that I can go in the wintertime other than my truck for a smoke so I would be happy to pay a reasonable lounge fee if there were a lounge available. At 15 mpg in my truck I can easily burn $15-$20 in gas just driving around smoking one cigar.
As far as supporting your local lounge, in the end they need to make enough to keep their doors open. Electricity, rent, employees, etc. all cost something and they have to pay these expenses somehow. If they are not able to make enough cash from the cigars and accessories that they sell then charging some sort of a fee is reasonable in my mind. Otherwise the doors will close and that lounge will no longer be there.
Whenever I travel and go into a lounge I will almost always buy the cigars that I smoke from their humidor. If I do not, I will at least purchase an equal or greater amount of cigars from them to take home. Like someone said previously, you don't go into a restaurant and then have pizza delivered from somewhere else. You eat from the menu at THAT establishment.
