Is inflation impacting local club attendance?
rickdugan
Verified and Certifiable Super-Reviewer
Around here, the clubs have been going gangbusters for well over a year. Indeed the J'ville clubs were the busiest I've ever seen them since I moved down here almost a decade ago.
But over the past few weeks the tide has started to recede a bit. I asked a local club manager if I was imagining it and he said that I was not. His belief was that price increases on "everything that people buy" (including recent spikes in gas prices) are starting to chip away at club spending.
Has anyone else seen this phenomenon play out over the past few weeks or months?
But over the past few weeks the tide has started to recede a bit. I asked a local club manager if I was imagining it and he said that I was not. His belief was that price increases on "everything that people buy" (including recent spikes in gas prices) are starting to chip away at club spending.
Has anyone else seen this phenomenon play out over the past few weeks or months?
67 comments
It isn't cheap to get up and move across the country so a lot of the people doing so are likely to have higher than normal incomes.
That said, I know people across the country where clubs have materially slowed down.
Any business based on disposable income will suffer now. And its only going to get worse without price controls on basic necessities.
I'm not optimistic. It will be a bad summer.
We are experiencing a similar influx of people in J'ville with all the tech and finance companies moving here. It's been crazy and is definitely blunting the impact of inflation to an extent. Things are definitely not as bad here as they are in some other places by the looks of it.
But even still, we are definitely seeing signs now. Like slower weekday night with fewer dancers. Even last Friday at Emperor's was a good example. At 11pm on a Friday night there were still a few seats open at the bar. Two months ago there were crowds two rows deep around the bar that late on a weekend night.
Filling up their tank of gas has double
Going out to eat has doubled
Going to the grocery store has almost doubled
- these are 3 lines I hear daily, and we all know it really hasn’t doubled but once something has gone up over 20% peoples math gets really shitty really quick.
At an average club here you're paying a $50 cover charge and buying a $15 drink. $65 spent as soon as you walk in the door.
It makes everyone think twice before going coz hitting up a couple of different clubs if one sucks becomes really expensive. I think club hopping I going to die off if this keeps up.
This year, there have been several Friday’s and Saturdays which were almost entirely empty.
Restaurants haven't quite doubled but many of them are up over 50%. While some groceries have nearly doubled I'd say the average is about a 25-35% increase.
I guess inflation is part of that. Beyond that I think that the official unemployment rate has always grossly underestimated unemployment.
SJG
The Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter - 2013 School of Rock AllStars Team 4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we-3Y3vh…
On a related note, I drive a hybrid car at the speed limit plus 5 mph. I'll be sympathetic with the gripes about gas price inflation when the people driving 18 mpg SUVs stop passing me. Gas prices contribute about two of the eight percentage points in current inflation, and in my view that's a good thing.
The number of dancers per shift will also go down. Why pay $6 gas and tip out to sit in an empty club.
More of the club activity will be by appointment with regulars.
So, for all of those guys, if money starts getting tight, scaling back on (or eliminating) strip club visits is step 1. Whereas for a lot of us here it's somewhere between step 10 and step 30.
A possible short-term benefit is fewer occasional perverts in the club and more opportunities to talk to in-demand dancers. The potential downside is more pushy or scammy dancers.
The ultimate down side for some clubs is the inability to remain open at all. Like dancers, some clubs plan for rainy days while others don't.
One could also argue that there's opportunities to haggle dancers down to lower rates, but I generally prefer to not do that. I don't want to overpay, but I also don't want a sullen robot-dance from a dancer I nagged into charging a lot less than what's fair.
Clubs will gave to get cheaper or go out of business
Agreed, especially if it's coupled with a stock market crash. Clubs were devastated during the 08-09 recession. Even in 01-02, which was much milder, clubs were definitely impacted, though I wasn't as much of a club hound back then.
Though also IME, for those who still have money to spend, a recessionary environment can be something special. I had a lot of fun during the last one - just sayin.
Plan to do maybe One SB Night for a $1000 and then one club night for $500.
Fuck Joe Biden…….Funny how most of the dancers that I personally know very well, did not vote for him either.
Where are all of you meeting these dancers who you know so well and who vote republican?
@botticellibimbo
the strip club is sadly a leading indicator and i can promise y’all we r in a recession lmao
https://twitter.com/botticellibimbo/stat…
That may be the stupidest thing you’ve ever posted.
I see all around me that retailing is really slow. So I believe that strip club revenue must be way down too.
Inflation is eating up many people's discretionary money.
SJG
SJG
Post 24-7, if it weren’t for your internet access to be reliant on tye public library hours👍.
Fewer customers. The average customer will be older and wealthier. More daytime, less night time. More spending time with favorites, less shopping around. More conversation and less wanna dance. More dollars spent per encounter and an expectation for more intimacy.
The best dancer strategy, as always, will be to build a base of regulars.
When I was young in the club, there were a bunch of old dudes spending money I didn't have. Now that I'm less young there are still old dudes spending money I don't have lol but I do ok. I hold my own. Or rather I go to clubs so someone else can hold it. Ba-Dum-Bump. Tss
Clubs are becoming more like regular clubs. A lot of that has to do with using the same promoters as regular clubs so bottle service is becoming more of a thing. No lap dances and just girls in your section.
New customers are groups of guys getting bottles.
Girls push bottles and vip if it's available. Not dances.
The traditional strip club is being relegated to dives
It’s a natural part of the business cycle, if you’re running your business well, this will clear out some of the weaker competition it’s good for the successful businesses.
Dumbass makes a bet on the website and refuses to pay
How about paying the lady what you owe her.
SJG
The term transitory will be a little longer than expected, but with the shorter news cycle it only seems like it’s persistent. The lower income suffer the most, and middle to upper will adjust and be fine, continuing SJG’s lifelong habit of preaching on his soapbox to the victim culture. How’s that organization building during this inflationary period SJG? Do you get to fuck two goats for the price of 3 yet?
I agree with desert scrub. But unless your income increases more than the real level of inflation you're being affected. You may just have enough money to not feel it yet.
As far as shrub is concerned the bush made a bet, he lost, he refused to pay up,that makes him a welsher, all the weasel words in the world won't make a bit of difference.