Re: Reviving Boyztown. What does it take
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roger
Quote:
Originally Posted by aot87
Taking the cafe , which is what most guys are talking about, the trouble is that Craig the owner lives in the uk , is st8 and only visits abouts 2 times a year. When Ian was alive and was in the bar every nite, things were not the same , the thai guys who now visit dave , or nab used to come in after midnite and the place buzzed .
In those days there was no Dave or NAB, or for that matter XRay or Dude or any of the other gay discos that have come and gone. Granted there was Hollywood but that was very mixed and not liked by many guys.
Get real. Thai boys went to Cafe Royale after hours because there were few places else for them to go, and they could often find someone there to buy them a drink or take them home.
Times have changed and there are less boys around who make their living from selling themselves down in Boyztown. Now they have jobs in Big C or some other shopping center or in any of the several new hotels that have sprung up since the days you talk about. After they finish work they now go onto Gay Romeo or go to a karaoke with their Thai friends.
The advantages of Gay Romeo are obvious: No expensive drinks to buy; the ability to ignore pushy customers they don't like; a wider selection of customers and they can do it all from their laptop or i phone while watching the TV in their rooms.
It is a vicious circle for Le Cafe - less boys means less farang customers and less farang means less available boys in the bar. People have moved on and getting back the days of Ian, Robbie, Mick etc. is pie in the sky ... no matter who the host is or what type of music is now performed in the new Cafe Music bar.
ABC
Re: Reviving Boyztown. What does it take
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Author: bucknaway ┬╗ Sat 16 Apr, 2011 9:31 pm
Yeah, many of us go to the bars for the guys and the bars force the drag queens on us!
Re: Reviving Boyztown. What does it take
well having just returned from a short trip to Bangkok and pataya, i found the whole sean boring and dead ,Soi twilight has not changed except they have increased there prices yet again ,can they not understand we can not afford to pay over ┬г6.00 a drink, around about ┬г12.00 for two drinks ,its way too much , the shows dont change ,there still the same ,so what are we paying for .i know i only entererd one go go bar in soi twilight because i really will not pay those silly prices ,its works out far too expencive if you are with your boy friend.
Pataya was really very quiet ,, again over priced drinks , no atmosphire, boys bored ,no customers ,WHY?? people can not offord it any more ,there getting completely ripped off,
Gay romeo the internet is a much cheaper option all around. reduce the prices i am sure you will get a lot more customers,100 baht is a reasonable price for a drink ,lower these silly prices and you will sure get a bigger audiance,,wake up boys town ,,before it complewtetly goes down the pan .
Had dinner at Cafe royal , boring over priced ,no customers ,no atmosphere,dead .what has happened there ,i Used to love going there a few years ago ,always ended up in cafe royal ,great late night venue ,.
I will be amazed if it gets back on its feet , its all to do with greed , and greed bites you .
Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter28
Report this postReply with quote Re: Reviving Boyztown. What does it take
Author: bucknaway ┬╗ Sat 16 Apr, 2011 9:31 pm
Yeah, many of us go to the bars for the guys and the bars force the drag queens on us!
Re: Reviving Boyztown. What does it take
ewen Panaroma is to expensive for what you get, moved on after one or two drink. if there even was some fun as before, I would pay the prices. But is is borring to death. BBB was fun before with the small dancing area, when the shows stopped. Royal was nice before like a nice late venue.
I went on to Sunee and after that went to Bangkok Silom soi 4 and 2. Getting a thunderstorm Gin/Tonic or even Kemicase drink for 100 bht. in DJ and the others bars in Soi 2 is still good value for the money.
Re: Reviving Boyztown. What does it take
The expatas cannot afford the drink prices even if you brought them down to 99 baht as we do. I mean look at Sunee who have their unaircon no show bars at 50 baht and it is still empty! The clubs that have aircon and shows cannot afford 99 baht for everyone all the time. Boyztown rent prices are much higher than Jomtien, Jomtien Complex, and Day Night. I went for the expats originally and, well to tell you the truth, they dont come so often. Its the tourist that still pays the bills. So the bars think, why change the show, the tourists are only here for a week or 10 days.
I can tell you that price, plus value, plus customer service, plus changing the showsplu a healthy economy, and getting the old crap out, makes for a sucsessful bar. We do it and again last night had only TWO seats left unfilled. Bars like this bring customers. Customers into the area revitalize the area. When you start having OWNERS who get the message, then Boyztown will have a fighting chance.
Re: Reviving Boyztown. What does it take
The ways things are going the baht may be trading at 24 baht's to the US Dollar. I may have to drink in my room or outside the 7-11 like the construction workers! :alc:
Re: Reviving Boyztown. What does it take
Quote:
Originally Posted by gaymandenmark
went to Bangkok Silom soi 4 and 2. Getting a thunderstorm Gin/Tonic or even Kemicase drink for 100 bht. in DJ and the others bars in Soi 2 is still good value for the money.
DJ Station and other Soi 2 venues have to remain good value for money because most of their customers are Thais, not farang. And from what I've seen there's no way DJ Station could not make money... it gets PACKED! And the customers tend to stay there most of the night, rather than move onto other bars.
From memory, you pay around 200 baht (includes two drinks) for entry on weekends and 100 baht (includes one drink) on week nights for entry into DJ Station.
Re: Reviving Boyztown. What does it take
Quote:
Originally Posted by Beachlover
And from what I've seen there's no way DJ Station could not make money... it gets PACKED!
So according to the Australia's greatest young entrepreneur, turnover = profit. Not when I did my MBA, son.
Re: Reviving Boyztown. What does it take
the baht was pegged to the U.S. dollar at an exchange rate of 25 baht from 1984 until 1997.
before that, it was even lower. there were only a few years during the asian financial crisis
that the baht rose and the exchange was better for foreigners. the exchange rate is not
the problem. the problem is rising prices in a poor global economy.
it's been said here already, the straight bars, and even the tourist bars on walking street
often have drinks at 99 baht or less. i'm ok with paying a little more, but if i'm gonna
pay ten bucks for a drink and be expected to buy drinks for boys and hang out for a while
ordering more, then there's got to be more going on than a few queeny boys walking around
in their underwear. the clubs, discos and other venues are just more attractive.
one of my favorite gay bars in san diego has $2 drinks every wednesday all night. that's
cheaper than 99 baht! they have free pizza another night every week. every night is a
different themed event.
expats will always complain that prices are too high, and that there aren't enough boys...
while they sit around and wish for the old days before the internet. for a lot of gay
tourists (notice i didn't say sex-tourists) who want to enjoy thailand and all it has to
offer, they're not going to be too concerned about pushy mamasans and music that's too loud.
they'll simply leave and go do something else...like a concert or disco or full moon party or
a million other things.
Re: Reviving Boyztown. What does it take
Quote:
Originally Posted by thonglor55
Quote:
Originally Posted by Beachlover
And from what I've seen there's no way DJ Station could not make money... it gets PACKED!
So according to the Australia's greatest young entrepreneur, turnover = profit. Not when I did my MBA, son.
high turnover with a low margin of profit beats low turnover with a high profit, daddy.