is gayromeo killing the hostbars

[dutchkiwi]

Is Gayromeo Killing the Hostbars.

In one year i discovered a big increase on line members on gay romeo.

Asking the boys why they prefer gay romeo instead working in the hostbar

Generally the answers are
. I am my own boss
. I have quicker a customer then working the whole evening in the bar
. Customer do not have to pay the bar off fee
. When i am sick i have one day no income, when i work in the bar, i have to pay 200 bath.

Is this really ???

For the customer it is allways a certain risk taking a boy from gayromeo
. in a hostbar you having more secure boys, i mean when there is a problem with the boy you can always go back to the bar
. many pictures are picture of boys on younger years, in the bar you see the boys in real

Please tell you if you prefer gayromeo or boy from hostbar, please tell you negative or positive experience
with boy bars or gayromeo boys.

It is nice to see what other peope like or dislike

[joe552]

I can see the advantages of GR for the boy - as you point out, they are their own boss and can choose when to work or not. I prefer host or go-go bars so that I can chat to the boy and get to know him a little. I've never really been into "anonymous" sex (even in my younger days - and yes, I can remember!). I have contacted one guy on GR who I hope to meet on my next trip - solely based on his photo. We'll see how that goes. But generally, I expect to spend most of my time in host or go-go bars as before.

[newalaan]

Is Gayromeo Killing the Hostbars.
Not sure about killing them, but no doubt it must affect them in some way. I think most holidaymakers still probably prefer the experience of visiting a bar having a drink as well as offing a boy he can see is genuine and not relying on possibly inaccurate info/photos on the internet via GayRomeo (i know there are no guarantees in bars too but the chances are better). Boys selling themselves outwith the 'bar system' is nothing new though, they've done that for years mostly through repeat/regular liasons with customers after exchanging info on mobiles etc. Many expats after the first encounter with boys simply keep/save up contact info to save going through the bar off routine. Many boys have relied on those repeat liasons with expats and regular visitors for years, for many it's those meet-ups which pay the basic rent regularly.

I daresay expats and very regular visitors who have multiple partners and like day-time hook ups will use Gay Romeo regularly, but as i say i think many non-regular visitors who want a more guaranteed hook-up, in looks and face-to-face talking will continue to use the 'off boy bar system'. The thing about Gay Romeo is that it is often not much of a long/interactive experience as many boys on GR only want short time and as short a time as they can...in-and-out asap, so to speak. Some customers no doubt are just as happy with that arrangement, but many farangs/customers who visit on holiday want a more 'boyfriend-like' experience where you take a bit of time to select a partner, enjoy visiting the bars and enjoy some romantic-style or social interacton/chatting-up as well as the sex.

Many boys use the bar system and the Gay Romeo together for maximum 'exposure'. However there are still loads of bar boys who do not use GR for business and many who have such limited understanding of english they can't use it. I would think the 'bar system' would still be the preferred way of most/many customers and boys to do business based on the 'what-you-see-is-what-you-get' rather than the 'chancing your luck' thinking.

I have a bf so i'm not using the bar system or GR for offing, i enjoy visiting the bars anyway, but if i was regularly hooking up with working boys I would probably still visit the bars to hook up. I may use GR occasionally for a daytime quickie or coming across the profile of a suitable boy who doesn't work the bars. At the moment I mostly use gay romeo simply to keep in touch with guys i know in Thailand by using the GR messaging system as many boys change their mobile number regularly.

[vnman]

What I could make out from a previous thread, it's killing the GOGOs. I just gave GR a quick look and my first observation was that the Thai boys don't seem to have discovered Photoshop. It would also seem that they use their own pictures and not from some random Korean boy. Yes, Both of these things are very popular in VN. Boys can keep sending you pics of other boys and when you confront them with this fact at your meeting, they would simply shrug it off " so?"

But back to the GR story. My 5 minute visit has confirmed my earlier sentiment on the matter. It's just not for me. It must be what a fisherman feels like when he buys his fish online. GOGOs would be shooting them in a barrel and clubs (my cup of tea) a Canadian river where all the salmon swim upstream and I can easily catch A good looking one but still have to put some effort into it.

Something that often happens to me: I find a boy and we have a good time. At some moment I might decide to take his picture. 90% of the time the picture doesn't do the boy justice. And when I show them to my friends, catch myself saying "he looks much better IRL." There is something called "being photo genetic," and that's not just an empty phrase. On the other hand, that coin flips two ways. There can be some nasty surprises waiting on the other end of a cuties pics.

I can see the advantages for the boys and Farang (god, I hate that word) But I'm not going to be using any GR this trip. Next to my clubbing, I am planning a quick (sober) barrel shoot in Pattaya though. :happy7:

[anonone]

I am the same as newalan, using GR to keep track of friends, advise them when I will be in town, etc. I really enjoy the total bar experience, so for me, GR is not used for hookups with someone I do not already know

BF and I started perusing GR one day to find a new friend for the evening. Gave up shortly thereafter. Looks are certainly a big part of the package, but I much prefer a guy with personality over a dud, no matter how sexy he looks in a photo.
Impossible to get a feel for the guy on GR.

Unfortunately, I am horrible about getting a guys phone number when the BF and I agree he is a lot of fun. I just do not think about it. Sometimes the BF takes care to get it, other times I have to search him out on GR later. :banghead:

[Wesley]

After 4 years with gay romeo, I find you have to know who you are dealing with. So, I have two rooms in my condo, one room I keep every thing worth keeping, in the other I keep every thing related to sex. If you are there and are in a motel keep it all in the safe and expect them to steal. They are hungry. But I pick and choose who I am with. I have 270 some guys in my plus account where I keep up with the guys I like and the ones I know and would have back. To me its better to go with those kind of guys and since I live in a condo, they still have to leave their drivers license downstairs. Anyway, and I can call after they leave and do a quick check. So, yes its made a difference for me, why fly to Thailand when I am getting all I can handle in the Philippines. I get many just because I am white mostly for free in the Philippines. I pay occasionally but usually just taxi fare, so , they can keep the taxi fare or, take the downtown train mostly for nothing then a motor scooter with a third wheel. similar to a tut tut. If I do pay a guy or call him in its usually when I do its because of some reason like I know the size of his appendage or something like how good he is in bed and how often I have had him back. But then I met one thata I like as a BF, a Bf that pays for most of the food and trips , so I am Happy with him most of the time, but some things in bed he don't like to do, so I do am allowed to pick out a guy I like occasionally and make it up when I want to. But mostly I am happy with him. If the marriage thing in NC had of passed instead of failed we would have waited gotten married Here. I met him on Gay Romeo. Very Nice Chinese Guy.

[Neal]

OK, I own a go go bar so I am prejudiced but I dare say that several times I have also tried Gay Romeo.
My honest honest opinion is this. Every time except one, I was disappointed that the picture was unrecognizable as to the picture on Gay Romeo. They were either much older, had photo shopped their picture or some other thing had ocurred between when the photo was taken and the time he was called. In the one instance that the boy was very good and the photo resembled what showed up, the boy again showed up the next day saying he had left his ring. When getting access to the bedroom it was evident that he in fact had not lost his ring as sat on the floor and started crying that hos friend has stolen everything of his and that he wanted to borrow money. It became obvious that he was on drugs. I found that the boys I called were constantly late by 30 minutes to half a day and many did not show up at all.
Maybe some of you don't mind that but I like to have exactly what I see, either on a picture or in person. I like to know that they are there when I want them and not when the feel like showing up. I kike the fact that their ID card is on file at the bar so that just maybe there might be recourse.
One last item. After reading this before, I got the idea to have many of the bar boys available for house calls just like Gay Romeo.
The first time around I got 5 boys to have their pics taken. The second calling I got zero. No more boys wanted their pics taken and put on the web for the second business I had in mind for fear that friends or parents would see them. No matter how much I talked to them it was no - way. This leads me to believe that many of the boys that are fem don't care as much but many of the boys who were very handsome, well you will never see them on Gay Romeo and you may be missing something.
Sure for you it is one or two drinks cheaper and a lousey $15US off fee less but I have exactly what I see and when I want.
I think if you have come half way around the world and need to save $15US and a drink, um well ummmm......... :8(

[arsenal]

I simply do not understand the appeal of Gayromeo. I look on the Websites of Krazy, Happy Place, Happy Boys, Eros. I look at the pictures and think that some of the boys are decidedly ugly. And yet in all cases I have actually offed those boys and in real life they are beautiful.
Neal is right. You fly half way around the world and then try to save ┬г10 on a couple of drinks and an off fee. Pathetic really. And....you ARE much safer with a boy from a bar.

[Neal]

Oh and a quick add-on. When a farang walks into a bar not only does he have all the pluses I mentioned above but the boys are also competing with maybe 15- 20 other boys maybe 30 in high season, whereas on Gayromeo the boys are a competing with a few HUNDRED!

[bucknaway]

For many of us, using Gayromeo is not about saving money. It is simply a way to meet guys. Will Romeoo kill the host bar? No as Television didn't kill radio and YouTube didn't kill TV. There is room enough for every different avenue of meeting.

I like the adventure of it all and some of the guys I meet on Romeo are guys I have chatted with for months. Now the guys I have met on Grinder.. That is another story.

[jolyjacktar]

For me its got to be bars not some internet pickup parlour. As i only short time and change guys every night the bars and gogos are the best spot for me

[Neal]

Actually while I dont doubt that you pick up guys there on GR I just can't believe that at least here in Thailand GR is a falang to falang pick up site. I would believe that it is a falang to Thai boy pick up site and used mainly by falang on a limited budget who want to avoid the drinks and the off fee. Just like picking them up on the boardwalk or beach. As I mentioned before, I also cannot believe that the majority of those who use GR have an experience they were looking for and the person showed up looking like the picture.
Let me try thinking of a poll.

[firecat69]

For many of us, using Gayromeo is not about saving money. It is simply a way to meet guys. Will Romeoo kill the host bar? No as Television didn't kill radio and YouTube didn't kill TV. There is room enough for every different avenue of meeting.

I like the adventure of it all and some of the guys I meet on Romeo are guys I have chatted with for months. Now the guys I have met on Grinder.. That is another story.

My thoughts have been pretty well documented and I laugh at some of the reasons people give for not using it.

80% of the boys I saw this trip from GR, worked in Bars. They are the same boys. Photos are sometimes not current and just as often don't do the boy justice. And by the way how many have you picked a boy boy out of the bar and offed him , only to see him come out in street clothes and make up that looks nothing like the boy who sat next to you. I know I have and everyone I know has.

Conversation with Bar Boys. Please . In 90% of the bars the music is too loud to have a conversation and if you are able 80% of the boys have 6 standard phrases and after that there is no meaningful conversation. And how many of you have taken a Bar Boy out to other Bars and sit down with your farang friends having a conversation while your date sits there bored out of his mind.

Somebody says boys need to speak English to use GR. Ridiculous, it is for just that reason the boys can have a conversation with a faring by using a translator. Many of them are very good at it and you can find out a lot more about a boy on GR if you ask the right questions then you can in a Bar with a boy and his six standard phrases. And by the way I have never had a boy from GR that did not understand what I wanted in the bedroom and that his pay was based on him doing what was agreed.

How many of you have had a boy sit next to you at a Bar and tell you he does everything and when you get him to the room his definition of everything is different then yours.. You chalk it up to lying mamas an or boy who needs the off . This has never happened to me with GR.

Safety is not even a consideration. You should take the same precautions with GR boy or Bar Boy. You have no protection from the Bar. The boy might have started working that night. If you are stupid enough to put a big temptation in front of him and if he is dishonest, he will steal it and not go back to work. 100's of boys from GR and I have had one theft and it was my fault.

BF experience. You have at least as much chance with a GR boy as a Bar Boy and in BKK and even Pattaya you can get a boy who just wants to be with you. No chance of that happening in a Bar. All the boys there are money boys and by the way most of them currently prefer short time so they can hustle back and get another customer. They are in the Bar to make money and nothing else. Have you noticed some of the best looking boys are working massage for the same reason of multiple chances to make money.

You want a BF experience, you get a boy who works at a Hotel or restaurant who actually has Language skills and he is on GR. Maybe he is just looking for a hook up or maybe he needs the money because even a boy with a University degree makes shit in Thailand unless his family is connected. Now you might get a BF experience. In a GoGo Bar you can only get a Money Boy Experience!!

Now I understand the attraction of the Bars for all the reasons stated and especially for a visitor that is coming for 10 days or 2 weeks. Bars fit into that vacation mentality especially if you are a drinker.

For anyone who spends a lot of time in Thailand or lives here, they no longer go to the Bars. Sometimes because they have a BF and sometimes because GR fits a residents style much better then a Bar that is open 4 hours a day and really only 2 hours a day. Because some of the best looking boys don't show up until 930 and by 1130 most of the good looking ones are gone. So the Bar is really useful for 2 hours a day and that is if it is not closed for multiple Holidays and funerals of the Royal Family etc etc etc. GR is never closed.


I went out to the Bars like I always do hoping to find a reason to be there. What I found was the same loud music, the same 1 foot shuffle, complete lack of customers and in some instances boys. And every single boy I was attracted to at the Bar I had either already met on GR or had seen his photo on GR.

And the only boy who lied to me and failed to do what he promised was a boy from a Bar.

Bottom line, you bet GR is hurting the Bars. They have lost almost all the ex pats and long time visitors. By far the best looking Boys I saw this trip were in the Beer Bars. Now if you want to make an argument of r the Beer Bars , I think you will find a lot more reasons to visit there then a GoGo Bar.

[martin911]

I pretty much second all of the above -- i do spend a lot of time in Thailand and find little attraction in the bars anymore (gogo or beer)-- but I ( like a few more i know ) spend a lot of time on GR/Grindr etc --as does the boys here -
-its just easier to meet up than going round the bars -Simple as that INMHO

One more thing i might add --i think Facebook is becoming more and more of a meeting ground for gays -- ive just set up a meet(on FB ) with the most gorgeous guy --not in Bkk or Pattaya --but works in a hotel on Koh Samed --and he doesnt have GR !!-

The amount of "clubs " on FB for gay guys is staggering -- and the info that you can glean from FB is far superior to GR i think etc -
and the sheer numbers of guys on there -it would make your eyes water 5555

[TravellerDave]

This is an interesting thread for my as I am shortly to arrive in Pattaya for my next trip. I take 3 or 4 week holidays there and enjoy the 3s's Sun, Sea and Sex, with the emphasise on the last S. That is I like sex with attractive boys.

I find the advantage with GR is its 24 hour availability. Boys are available that way in the mornings when the bars are closed and boys have not yet appeared on the Dongtan beach. Sometimes on GR you see boys you recognise from the bars and maybe even offed, but more frequently its more a lottery than taking a bar boy. The photos are usually quite poor and they tend to repeat the same pictures several times. The text descriptions are generally gibberish (who writes that stuff for them ??). The guestbooks are sometimes full of entries from guys just giving scope to their artist talents by drawing pictures, although sometimes you will find usefull comments, so the guestbook is worth consulting before contacting the boy.
Once I recognised another farang I had met the year before and we were able to hook-up via gayromeo, but I have never had an approach from other farangs suggesting sex. The majority of them on GR located in Pattaya are in their 50's and 60's, whereas the Thais are 18-26. Its a commercial sex board. Wehn I get a message it usually takes the form of "what you look for" or "where are you".

No, I am sure I will shortly be enriching the bar owners with their high priced drinks and even higher boy drinks and off fees, lsitening to the deafening music in the gogo's and watching the boys performing the pattaya shuffle. But you know what ? I LOVE IT.

[bucknaway]

If you use Gayromeo at home than you are more likely to use it when you are in Thailand. Us guys who use the internet as a social tool will find it easy to continue to use that tool while on holiday and with so many mobile phone users having internet access than it only stands to reason that us guys are going to go where the available guys are and it just so happens that for now we can find them waiting for us on a stage in a bar as well as online and a sms away.

If anything the internet will grow and at some point a bar owner is going to find a way to capitalize on all the gay guys with smart phones who are near their bars looking for fun.

[christianpfc]

One more thing i might add --i think Facebook is becoming more and more of a meeting ground for gays -- ive just set up a meet(on FB ) with the most gorgeous guy --not in Bkk or Pattaya --but works in a hotel on Koh Samed --and he doesnt have GR !!-
I noticed the same. Many of my gay Thai friends on facebook have other gay Thai friends, and often the pictures are better than on gayromeo. I have yet to set up a meeting via facebook, but I already found several boys I remembered from seeing via mutual friends.

I estimate that there are ten times more gay Thai boys in Pattaya who are "available" than work in bars, if you restrict yourself to bars you only get 10% of what is on offer. Of course there are boys in bars who are not in gayromeo (I would gess that straight boys are very unlikely to register on gayromeo), but the number is small.

The big problem is the poor quality of pictures (I don't bother reading profiles without pictures) and problems with meeting the boy. In a bar you know what he looks like (with restrictions, I don't like the lighting in bars) and can get him now and here!

I use all available means to find new friends: bars (gogo or host), gay discos, saunas, gayromeo (and to a small extent camfrog and possibly facebook in the future). I even met a few in non-gay areas.

Firecat69 has some interesting points. On gayromeo, you can chat with a boy for free (and he can use online translation if he needs to, and there is no loud music), whereas in a bar a tip is expected. In a bar, you will find only moneyboys, on gayromeo you can get boys for free.

I had a few cases where I saw a boy on gayromeo and asked him what he does and where he works and find out that he works in a bar. Which is a relief: I know don't have to seduce him, I just pay the tip and more important: I know where and when (unless he is not at work) I can meet him and take a look in real life. But you can't argue that I go to bars more often because I want to see boys I saw on gayromeo, I just make a note to watch out for number xx in bar yy.

[joe552]

I hate to admit it, but I think there's an age differential going on here. I'm (only) 56 but less comfortable with "social media" than someone only 10 years younger. Host bars and go-go bars will remain a part of the Pattaya scene for a while, but like the decline of Boyztown, in 10 years from now I'd be surprised if there were the same number of venues. But who knows, by 2022 we might be all shagging 'virtual' boys in our own homes :dontknow:

[colmx]

But who knows, by 2022 we might be all shagging 'virtual' boys in our own homes :dontknow:
Some of us already are!

Havrn't you heard of a fleshjack?
http://www.fleshjack-international.eu/

Brought one of mine to Thailand and the boys loved it!
It was brent Corrigans butt:
http://www.fleshjack-international.eu/f ... -corrigan/ (http://www.fleshjack-international.eu/fleshjack-boys/brent-corrigan/)

BF asked me to bring one for him last trip so he could teach the village boys how to shag :party :party

[joe552]

jeez, you learn something new every day. thanks colmx for broadening my horizons (I won't be rushing to order one, though).