Why do hookah lounges recommend multiple hookahs for large parties? In general 1 hookah is shared between 3 person at most. Otherwise the hookah would burn at a faster rate due to large stress caused by constant pulls. The lesser the number of people that smoke 1 hookah the longer the hookah lasts. Think of it as a runner who constantly sprinting. Usually exhaustion creeps up faster than if you were to run at a slower speed. We recommend at least 2 hookahs for parties of 4 or more and 3 hookahs for parties larger than 6. The reason behind this is to reduce stress on each hookah and minimize the wait times between turns. If a party of 9 smoking a hookah the wait is approximately 15-20 minutes between turns. With 3 person smoking 1 hookah this wait time reduced to approximately 3-5 minutes. Overall, the more hookahs a party gets the more pleasant experience it is.