Has Jomtien Complex Peaked?

[arsenal]

Reading on Gaybutton that BC Bar and Double Shot have both closed. This added to Dorothy's being up for sale and my own first hand experience suggests that JC has indeed peaked and is now on the path trod by Sunee a few years ago. With rents at about 40'000 baht a month plus add ons this is no great surprise. If DS has gone and it's one of the most popular bars then there's little hope for most of the others.

I do find it fucking tragic that landlords the world over allow greed to lead to their properties becoming wastelands.

[Oliver2]

Too many bars offering the same product as far as we could see in March. I counted twenty of them two years ago. And predictably, most were empty. The more vibrant area is just beyond the gay soi where new bars have sprung up since the post-Covid reopening. Are they gay bars? are there guys for offing ? I've no idea.

Our hotel, The Agate was an identifiably gay-friendly place when we started staying there five years ago. It is still friendly but we are outnumbered by straight couples. Occasionally, heaven help us, accompanied by sprogs, who aren't welcome in the swimming-pools when I'm around.

Plenty of massage joints are still open. I'd guess about nine in the immediate area.

From what I can see on Youtube , the JC is still busy at seasonal highs such as New Year, Songkran and Hallowe'en (?). We're back in a month and I anticipate few of us being around.

One further indication of the declining numbers of gay tourists-at least UK ones- can be observed at the check-in queues at lHR. I'm often the only single guy.

[Moses]

=== With rents at about 40'000 baht a month plus add ons this is no great surprise. ===
40K THB is just slightly above USD 1000... I don't see it like too high price for shop in the most attracting for gays site.

[Dodger]

[QUOTE=Oliver2;296700]

Too many bars offering the same product as far as we could see in March. I counted twenty of them two years ago. /QUOTE]

Absolutely!

The closure of a percentage of the bars in JC was inevitable IMO. As you stated, just too many bars with the same offerings for the average flow of customers.

There's probably somewhere around 30 bars now - and I can see around 15 surviving the long-term and making a decent profit.

[aussie]

With rents at about 40'000 baht a month plus add ons this is no great surprise.

A bar owner informed me last night that rents for the larger bars are around 80,000 baht each month plus add ons. Double Shot will be re-opening soon with the new owners rejecting their initial thinking of buying BC Bar. Double Shot is in much better condition with little work to be done although the Complex did remove all the refrigerators and fittings last week. Divarium bar was closed and locked up two days ago.

The smaller bars like Sunee Intimate and Meeting Place are doing well with much lower rents and promotions at Sunee Bar with their happy hour which is very popular and well attended. Maybe the larger bars need to be more pro-active with promotions and entertainment to encourage more customers.

[arsenal]

"A bar owner informed me last night that rents for the larger bars are around 80,000 baht each month plus add ons."

Right Lads. Back to Sunee everyone.

On a more serious note. Good news about Double Shot. M Barseems to be a good business model to follow. Small with loads of ever changing boys.

[gerefan2]

As I understand it two or three bars have closed, One is being taken over (Doubleshot) and one is for sale.

So the net loss is only about 2 bars closing …and they may well be taken over in due course.

Now if the same happened in Chinatown (sorry Boyztown) it would make a HUGE difference but in Jomtien with its 30+ bars is only a minor blip.

[Moses]

===are around 80,000 baht each month===
I think it depends on how many units at front it takes... 1-unit bar should be like 40K...

===M Bar seems to be a good business model to follow. Small with loads of ever changing boys.====
For me advantage of M-bar is in it location - next soi, not too much noise, not so loud music and no heavy cigarette smoke

===Maybe the larger bars need to be more pro-active with promotions and entertainment to encourage more customers.===
I think these are important, but more important is unique offer... something what other bars don't have...

[Jellybean]

Maybe the larger bars need to be more pro-active with promotions and entertainment to encourage more customers. I think these are important, but more important is unique offer... something what other bars don't have...

Something the other bars don't have? Well, I’ve got just the idea. Bring back Boy Bingo! That’ll draw the crowds in! ;) :):):)

13457

[gerefan2]

Or open a Gogo bar in the Main Soi near the girls Gogo bar, but opposite Supertown.

The powers to be couldn’t object to one there!

[Moses]

=== a Gogo bar ===

Instead of the banned gogo format, owners could consider competitions such as Mr. Tuesday, Mr. Wednesday, etc., which include swimming trunks, or fashion shows for lingerie and swimsuits, Tarzan, gladiator, and Spartan costume contests. etc. - there are many topics in which costumes leave little to the imagination and do not consume more than 1/4 square meter of fabric, for example.

To introduce this format, they don’t even need to change anything - it’s enough for two bars located opposite each other to agree, and there will be enough participants and space for the show - a path between the bars.

But discounts will not help: a war of discounts will begin and this will only lead to a decrease in profits and losses - the core of visitors will simply move from bar to bar following the discounts, without increasing in size.

The only thing you can think about in the discount trend is happy hours that will be earlier than the time the core usually arrives at the complex - this will encourage the core to arrive at the complex earlier, lengthening the time the core is in the complex and potentially slightly increasing revenue.

[arsenal]

This is EXACTLY the same discussion we had about Sunee about 14 years ago.

Lots of boys flitting around flirting with customers and each other, a couple of em wearing little panties and not much else, music not too loud so you can hear the boy say 'I wuv you, I go wiss you' music the patrons like *, brightly lit seems more popular, and for fucks sake no bait boys, all they do is piss people off so they don't return to your bar that trip.

* DS used to play that Dutch band Topper continually which seemd odd but actually was just an endless stream of popular music classics and quite pleasant to listen to.

[Patanawet]

Rent from whom?
Who owns the land?
Is it like Silom Soi 4 with one family owning it all?
That used to be the story with them not liking ago go, so that was why never any there?

[Moses]

===That used to be the story with them not liking ago go, so that was why never any there?====

something like that... rumors "no agreement with local BIBs", "no agreement with local owners", "buildings allows only food/cafe/bars and doesnt't allows entertainment licenses"

[latintopxxx]

Sex sells...need to liven the place up...maybe not with gogos that arfe visible from the street so as not to offend sensibilities..but need more erotic type entertainment..

[latintopxxx]

some suggestions..
...gogos like stock bar in Canada or Puchos in Costa Rica...they actually strip and shake their money makers, beautiful guys too...after show is over & someone else is on the stage they circulate amongst the customers...allow themselves to be 'explored" for tips...hang around for an hour...lounge up against a back wall available to all with cash
..bars that are like Thai clubs, high tables, one can stand drinking. wander around...fiddle with the dancers/strippers who are on low individual podiums..
...put on entertainment...fuck/big cock/best butt/best naked twerk/best naked hula hoop/dildo shows...
...bar where staff are scantily dressed so one can easily access their bodies///play with their butts while they are taking your drinks order...and if u like what u feel invite them over for a heavy petting session..should be open from 2 pm onwards...full of available staff...not everyone wants to party late at night
...put on something very different once a week...like i experienced in Brazil...they pay dirt poor straight but fit guys to fuck girls on a low stage while up to 20 patrons surround them and explore their bodies while they go at it...pull his dick out of the pussy..suck it..stick it back in...2 fingers up his butt as he cums...apparently the rule was no cum no pay...got a bucket full of tips too...
'

[arsenal]

Latin. It's Jomtien Complex. It's considered a residential area and the demographic is old so it's basically Eastbourne in what you're allowed to do.

[aussie]

=== a Gogo bar ===

Instead of the banned gogo format, owners could consider competitions such as Mr. Tuesday, Mr. Wednesday, etc., which include swimming trunks, or fashion shows for lingerie and swimsuits, Tarzan, gladiator, and Spartan costume contests. etc. - there are many topics in which costumes leave little to the imagination and do not consume more than 1/4 square meter of fabric

Excellent suggestion and I have often mentioned to friends that many of the boys would get more customers if they took their shirts off more often or at least wear the see through mesh singlets and shorts which show off their bodies. There are too many baggy T shirts and trousers being worn by the boys at many bars.

M Bar have a session at 10.00pm and midnight where the boys get up on the stage shirtless for ten minutes and do the "Boyz Boyz Boyz" dance routine. They have a couple of straight boys with the best bodies but at least the customers can have a look at most of the boys who work in the bar.

Renovation has started on what was Double Shot today with the old bar area on the left side now a pile of rubble so it will be interesting to see how the bar develops.

[latintopxxx]

oh ok arsenal...and btw have very limited experience with the UK, London, Liiverpool and Bristol is all i know....

[arsenal]

"And now Divarium has closed down, and the rumour mill has it that 4T and Dorothy's will be next to close down."
Posted on gaybutton.

So

There was a time when the bugger burghers of Boyztown would close off the soi and charge people 1000 baht to watch hideous fat trannies lip synching to Britney Spears on one of their 'special nights'.

If 4 or 5 bars moved back to our spiritual home, Sunee, and collectively used some of the savings on rent to pay for an every 20 minute shuttle from JC they'd probably do OK. Fare 150 baht includes a free drink. Off fee includes the boys fare back to JC if you're staying there.