Drink prices in Bangkok Gogo bars

[christianpfc]

Yesterday (Saturday 19.10.2013) I was in Soi Twilight and noticed some bars changed their drink prices (from their advertising in the Soi).

X-Size 290 Baht (down from 300, that's new, but I remember they had a promotion some months ago with 250 Baht drinks),
Dream Boys 380 Baht (in words: three hundred and eighty, up from 350),
Fresh Boys 320 Baht (up from 300)

I don't know if these are the same for any day or weekend prices (like in Tawan: weekdays 300, weekend 350).

Anyway, for me number of visits to Soi Twilight bars are now counted in events per year. I walk through Soi Twilight every time I am in Silom/Sathorn/Hua Lampong area (which is up to twice per week), but save my money for Pattaya (where I go into several bars each weekend I am in Pattaya).

Yesterday was one of the rare occasions that I went into a gogo bar in Bangkok (X-Boys, drink 300 Baht). Customers were mainly Asian, and during show time they were full at about 80% capacity.

A question I have asked before and nobody could answer: is it really that expensive to run a gogo bar in Bangkok and owners are just breaking even or making a loss or does the money you spend on drinks funds the owner's luxurious livestyle.

[kakadai]

Yesterday (Saturday 19.10.2013) I was in Soi Twilight and noticed some bars changed their drink prices (from their advertising in the Soi).

A question I have asked before and nobody could answer: is it really that expensive to run a gogo bar in Bangkok and owners are just breaking even or making a loss or does the money you spend on drinks funds the owner's luxurious livestyle.

You are always at liberty not to use these services, so why complain about someoneтАЩs luxurious lifestyle. This is not a government service paid through your taxes.

[bucknaway]

A question I have asked before and nobody could answer: is it really that expensive to run a gogo bar in Bangkok and owners are just breaking even or making a loss or does the money you spend on drinks funds the owner's luxurious livestyle.

We talked with our guide in Chiang Mai about the high bar prices and he informed me that many of his customers comment on the fast rising costs of the bars. He told us that he spoke with a few managers and asked them why the cost is so high and was informed that the internet is eating into their profit. The phone apps, the web sites and the like. The manager also said that he knows many of his guys are online and working without the bar and earning more money than they do while at the bar.

He said some places are having their guys get online to get customers into the bar.

It's not just the young using modern tech, I saw many older guys sitting at dicks cafe in Bangkok flicking their finger in their smart phone, and why not? You go where the guys are and the guys are online.

[firecat69]

Yesterday (Saturday 19.10.2013) I was in Soi Twilight and noticed some bars changed their drink prices (from their advertising in the Soi).

A question I have asked before and nobody could answer: is it really that expensive to run a gogo bar in Bangkok and owners are just breaking even or making a loss or does the money you spend on drinks funds the owner's luxurious livestyle.

You are always at liberty not to use these services, so why complain about someoneтАЩs luxurious lifestyle. This is not a government service paid through your taxes.


If you bothered to read that is exactly what he said. He chooses to take his business elsewhere most times and was providing the current prices and asking if anyone knew why the prices are so high. Certainly a legitimate question and the answer is because their clientele are well off Asians from other countries that think the prices are quite reasonable because 90% of them have never ventured to Pattaya.

Lucky for the owners of Soi Twilight Clubs!! Frankly it is ridiculous to say he complained. Maybe English is not your first language???

[Jellybean]

To be honest ChristianPFC, I am not sure if anyone here can answer your question to your full satisfaction, well not without inside information from one of the bar owners or seeing their тАШbooksтАЩ.

And what constitutes an excessive profit or, in your words, a тАЬluxurious lifestyleтАЭ is a moot point.

What I can say is, that when looking at тАШnormalтАЩ bars in the United Kingdom I would have expected to see a gross profit rate (GPR) in the range of 40 тАУ 45%. Anything below that and I would have wanted to find out why. Anything above that range and I probably would also been interested in knowing why. For example, what was different about the bar to justify such a large return? And if the GPR was so excessive I might even have considered the possibility of money laundering. I do recall one such case, a nightclub not a bar, whose GPR was way above average and when I took a closer look there were links to people in the Irish Republic. And after contacting the Irish tax authorities, through exchange of information provisions, I found out that they were known to be some rather dodgy characters and on a тАШwatch listтАЩ. At that point I pushed the case up to one of our more specialised units.

But to return to the Bangkok go-go bars. We all know they are not тАШnormalтАЩ bars with every day expenses. I think I mentioned on another thread that one of my exтАЩs, who works in Boys Bangkok/ Dream Boys, said that the boys involved in the big cock show are paid 1,000 Baht a night in addition to their turn up fee. And there are quite a few boys involved in the line-up, so quite a high nightly expense. We also have heard that payments in respect of s─нn-bon (bribes) or what is euphemistically known here as тАЬtea moneyтАЭ is paid out to you know who.

To gauge how much is paid out, you might be interested to know that back in January/February a boy from the old Solid Bar came to visit me in Hua Hin. I asked him about the reasons for the closure of the bar. He told me that the bar had to pay out 2,000 baht a night or, approximately 60,000 Baht a month, in s─нn-bon. In addition, the owner had to pay rent of 50,000 Baht a month before the ordinary bar expenses were paid. Those who know the bar intimately will immediately realise that the bar simply did not have enough turnover of customers to support that high level of expenditure. So goodness knows how much the mainstream bars in тАШSoi TwilightтАЩ are paying out. So your suspicion that the bar owners are living aтАЭ luxurious lifestyleтАЭ might well not be justified on the basis of the three expenses so far mentioned, two of which are exceptional and unique to the go-go bars.

In the early years of coming out to Thailand I would say that Boys Bangkok/ Dream Boys was my favourite go-go bar. I spent more time in that bar than any other. I also offтАЩd more boys from that bar than any other. It saddens me that it has become so expensive and that I can only visit once or twice during each trip. But the fact and I and other fa-r├аng donтАЩt go there in such numbers does not seem to be of any consequence to the owner, for, as you know, the bar is packed most nights of the week and with mainly Asian customers.

Two things that normally drive prices down are competition and withdrawal of custom. I donтАЩt know for certain, but there is the strong possibility that some sort of cartel is in operation, as it appears that the prices are charged at roughly the same rate with little sign of any real competition.

And, as kakadai suggests in his post above, no one is forced to go to the bars, so you are free to withdraw your custom and patronise other establishments at any time. And your decision to go to Pattaya at the weekends seems like a sound one, if you wish to avoid the high charges of Bangkok. But since the bars now appear to be attracting a different customer base, such action will, I venture to suggest, probably have no effect on the Bangkok bar owners pricing policies.

Last February, I was told by a Cambodian boy, who currently works in Dream Boys Bar, and came round to my apartment with a Thai friend of mine, that a Chinese customer had paid out 10,000 baht for a few hours with one of the тАШboysтАЩ. Well, the bar and тАШSoi TwilightтАЩ bush telegraph works extraordinarily well, as most of us know, and you can bet within a short period of time this information was well and truly circulated up and down the soi. So who would want a cheap Charlie fa-r├аng when there are rich pickings from Asian customers, flush with cash, to be had?

In short, I really think you will just have to accept that the age of cheap prices, in Bangkok at least, are a thing of the past and are not likely to return any day soon.

[bucknaway]

In short, I really think you will just have to accept that the age of cheap prices, in Bangkok at least, are a thing of the past and are not likely to return any day soon.

Things are moving fast. At this rate, drink prices will soon hit 500 baht per beer. The bars are putting pressure on their customers and the customers are feeling the strain and something will give. Either the tourist will go elsewhere or the drink price bubble will pop and return to normal prices (Whatever that is).

[homeseeker]

Good post from Jellybean who writes amongst other things:

"a Chinese customer had paid out 10,000 baht for a few hours with one of the тАШboysтАЩ. Well, the bar and тАШSoi TwilightтАЩ bush telegraph works extraordinarily well, as most of us know, and you can bet within a short period of time this information was well and truly circulated up and down the soi. So who would want a cheap Charlie fa-r├аng when there are rich pickings from Asian customers, flush with cash, to be had?"

-This is one of the problems with the BKK bars, namely, the Asian customers are prepared to throw tons of money at the Thais for very little coming in return. Over the years I have heard many similar stories including customers sitting for an hour or so in a bar with a boy and without offing him leaving the boy a 2,000 baht tip.
Notice also in the straight scene in the silom/surawong area there is a whole street devoted to Jap bars(farangs not allowed) as those bars can and do charge what most would consider ludicrous prices.
If the Thais can get away with charging large sums from what I consider stupid Asian customers then the fault lies with those customers for paying such exorbitant amounts.
Most sensible farangs will simply not pay and there is no need to do so with the likes of GR etc.

[colmx]

These prices may suit the average Asian customer that will go to the bar and sit on the same bottle of water or coke for 2-3 hours whilst waiting for shows etc
But for us farang customers that will spend 20-30 minutes in 6-7 bars in an evening it the 380B drink prices are just ridiculous...

There was a time where i would go to a gogo bar in Bkk have a drink for myself and then call a boy over that i was interested in and then order another round for him and myself... I still do this most nights in Pattaya... But it is something that i would never do again in a bar in Bkk...

For the price of 3 drinks in Bkk... (1140B) I can get a 700Ml bottle of 100 Pipers + all mixers in most Pattaya bars

It seems to me that a vicious circle is going on... The drinks are so expensive so the customers are buying less drinks - and buying less boy drinks + offing less boys
This then means that the bars have to pay the bars more money (to compensate for lack of offs)... which in turn leads to a further increase in price... and the circle begins again

There was another post recently where posters maintained that go-go bars are an essential part of their Thailand holiday experience and one poor prat who suggested they're over-rated, too expensive and he can do better on GR was lambasted as a sociopath.

[latintopxxx]

its not the drinks you arer paying for, its a cover charge to enter the whore house....and admire the stable of "boys".....to put it bluntly. Must say that having Asians throw excessive amounts of money around is distressing...makes my job so much more difficult...

[colmx]

its a cover charge to enter the whore house....and admire the stable of "boys".....
Thing is thats what i actually want to do... Admire the boys... Stupid damn shows keep getting in the way though!
Perhaps the BKK bars should have an express fee - 200B but u gotta be in and out in 30 minutes

[christianpfc]

I think I mentioned on another thread that one of my exтАЩs, who works in Boys Bangkok/ Dream Boys, said that the boys involved in the big cock show are paid 1,000 Baht a night in addition to their turn up fee. And there are quite a few boys involved in the line-up, so quite a high nightly expense.
There we have a hint. I am paying for something I don't want (show, in this case big cock show), even flee (in most cases I leave when the show starts). On the other hand, Pattaya bars without show have similar prices as bars with show, so it can't make that much of a difference.


Last February, I was told by a Cambodian boy, who currently works in Dream Boys Bar, and came round to my apartment with a Thai friend of mine, that a Chinese customer had paid out 10,000 baht for a few hours with one of the тАШboysтАЩ. Well, the bar and тАШSoi TwilightтАЩ bush telegraph works extraordinarily well, as most of us know, and you can bet within a short period of time this information was well and truly circulated up and down the soi.
As far as I can judge, the bar boys can't do maths. They might tell this story and hope for one such customer for themself, but don't realize that collectively they would be better off with ten customers tipping ten boys 1500 Baht each. I have heard from different sources that expected tip in Dream Boys is 2000 Baht for short time, but boys don't get offed! If I had nothing to do, I would sit opposite for an entire evening and count boys going in and out.

Speaking of sitting opposite Dream Boys, I sometimes see the owner sitting in front of Dream Boys and he looks miserable. If I were owning Dream Boys, I would not sit in front of it almost every night and look miserable, I would do what I called "luxurious livestyle" in my op (e.g. having five of my favorite boys sitting around in their underwear in my pool in my condo).


Notice also in the straight scene in the silom/surawong area there is a whole street devoted to Jap bars(farangs not allowed) as those bars can and do charge what most would consider ludicrous prices.
You mean Soi Thaniya? I think I have been approached by ladies there in the past, next time I have to walk slow and look at them to see if the are interested in Farang customers.

I once followed a tout who had two victims in order to listen to their conversation. The tout said: "This soi is for Japanese customers. Small dick, but big money."

In the same vein the following joke: Japanese customers are 3x5: five cm (dick size), five minutes (short time), five thousand Baht (tip).


These prices may suit the average Asian customer that will go to the bar and sit on the same bottle of water or coke for 2-3 hours whilst waiting for shows etc
But for us farang customers that will spend 20-30 minutes in 6-7 bars in an evening it the 380B drink prices are just ridiculous...
It seems it is like this: the bars are geared to customers who come for the show, and for them 300+ Baht for spending a few hours in a bar and watching the show is a good deal. Whereas for me, who wants to have look a the boys and off one or be out after 30 minutes and into the next bar, it is too expensive.

[Patanawet]

A question I have asked before and nobody could answer: is it really that expensive to run a gogo bar in Bangkok and owners are just breaking even or making a loss or does the money you spend on drinks funds the owner's luxurious livestyle.
Nobody has answered because it is none of your business.
Do you go into a shop and ask about the state of the business and the lifestyle of the owners? What price they pay for their goods?
These are not monopolies; you have the choice to buy from these businesses or not. They have the right to charge whatsoever they please and even to refuse your custom.
If they are charging too much or not giving adequate service, customers will stop going.
Of course, you could ask to see their audited accounts and wait for the reaction.........

[Jellybean]

Speaking of sitting opposite Dream Boys, I sometimes see the owner sitting in front of Dream Boys and he looks miserable. If I were owning Dream Boys, I would not sit in front of it almost every night and look miserable, I would do what I called "luxurious livestyle" in my op (e.g. having five of my favorite boys sitting around in their underwear in my pool in my condo).
Yep, I have to agree, he does look a miserable old fucker! What has he got to be so glum about? If I was in his shoes I think IтАЩd have a perpetual smile on my face. And I also agree, if they wanted to work for me theyтАЩd have to come round and party by my luxurious pool and satisfy my every needs as if I was the Emperor Tiberius тАж well, I can dream canтАЩt I? :-)

Actually, that reminds me of a male brothel in London where every new boy had to perform for the owner before he was taken on. And he had to be available to the owner as and when required. I was told this by a friend who worked for him for a short time.

Later when the place was raided, I saw the meticulous records the owner had kept of all the boys, which included their dick size when erect and their sexual preferences тАж yes, very interesting!

[firecat69]

First of all he is a minority partner and manager. He has 2 partners with the real money that he answers too. Maybe he doesn't get along?

All Christian is asking if anyone knows the nuts and bolts of the GoGo Bars on Soi Twilight and whether their costs are so high that they need to charge these prices or is the profit enormous.

Certainly a reasonable question and of course there will be many people who might have an opinion even though they have no idea what they are talking about. heheh

Of course you are also able to question me if I know what I am talking about the partners. I can assure you I do but no reason for anyone to believe me.

[latintopxxx]

I certainly hope that the gogo bar owners are turning a healthy profit...need them to keep the stable full of "boys"open...as for the old German...he should be smiling...his "partner"is one of the most handsome gogo boys who used to do a strip show....maube he looks sad because his old...you know gravity tends to drag everything south...