tuscl

Is inflation impacting local club attendance?

rickdugan
Verified and Certifiable Super-Reviewer
Monday, May 16, 2022 1:49 PM
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?

67 comments

  • twentyfive
    •
    2 years ago
    I think it probably will have a detrimental impact on the clubs, especially as the price of gasoline spikes I bet that’s the largest impact of inflation to the most people.
  • DenimChicken
    •
    2 years ago
    I don't feel like I see this in Austin, TX. Inflation is absolutely impacting most people - but the ongoing influx of people moving here has sort of kept things going normally. 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.
  • Hank Moody
    •
    2 years ago
    Could be inflation. Could be the beginning of summer, though that’s a more likely explanation up here than maybe Florida where it’s warmer. Gas prices could be impacting travel, so you may just be seeing less clubbing from vacationers.
  • whodey
    •
    2 years ago
    My last couple of trips I have noticed fewer customers but the clubs around here typically fluctuate quite a bit so it is hard to tell if it is because of inflation or just a down cycle.
  • wallanon
    •
    2 years ago
    Not really. Overall the clubs have been slow compared to pre-COVID, even in 2022. I stopped going to two of the busier clubs in town because they had too many annoying dancers, but went to one of them the other day and it had the best lineup (and most action) I've seen there in a year. Chair forts and everything. Was kicking around stopping by the busiest club in town to sample the current lineup. The parking lot is always full so it looks to be doing alright. But it makes sense that inflation is impacting discretionary income, so wouldn't be surprised if that's the trend around the country.
  • Icee Loco (asshole)
    •
    2 years ago
    I've seen it. Clubs were a lot busier during the winter and when I was in Vegas it was doing better during traditionally slow season. It's not just strip clubs. Bars Clubs restaurants... 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.
  • ilbbaicnl
    •
    2 years ago
    Clubs in downstate Illinois have also been slow the past few weeks. For PLs who spend 4 figures per month, it could be they are spending less due to the stock market drop. For lower-income PLs, I wonder if the higher Fed discount rate is translating into higher credit card interest rates. I've never been sure what the ratio is in stripper income between the few big spenders and the many lower spenders. Probably differs depending on the club/area.
  • CJKent_band
    •
    2 years ago
    YES & YES
  • georgmicrodong
    •
    2 years ago
    Here in Louisville, it sure seems that way. Lots of factors though, so hard to say that "inflation is the cause."
  • Muddy
    •
    2 years ago
    You can only get squeezed so much before it taps into your fun money. Most people are feeling the gas/groceries thing hard. Then god forbid you had to buy a house/car in the past couple years. A lot people will be underwater on that coming real soon and if the gas thing doesn’t get under control it’s gonna attrit a lot folks. It’s gonna get rough here but as we know it should make the strip clubs better if you do still have any dough left
  • shadowcat
    •
    2 years ago
    If I compare things to Follies pre Covid then the whole club scene is in the dumpster. Dancers are coming in later in the day due to lack of customers and customers are coming in later in the day due to lack of quality dancers. Chicken or the egg?
  • gobstopper007
    •
    2 years ago
    I know gas prices have to be having major impact. Several dancers I know drive about 2.5 to 3 hours round trip to work. Gas over $4 a gallon (and likely increasing) is not good.
  • rickdugan
    •
    2 years ago
    ===> "I don't feel like I see this in Austin, TX. Inflation is absolutely impacting most people - but the ongoing influx of people moving here has sort of kept things going normally." 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.
  • docsavage
    •
    2 years ago
    I've seen it. At the same time guys have less money and are more reluctant to visit strip clubs our local strip clubs are raising prices, making guys even more reluctant to visit them. In addition to seeing fewer customers, I also see more customers just sitting and drinking and looking at the strippers but not actually spending any money on them.
  • shailynn
    •
    2 years ago
    Absolutely I see it, and it seems not a day goes by with someone complaint about something they have to purchase and the added costs. 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.
  • Icee Loco (asshole)
    •
    2 years ago
    And club prices aren't helping. 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.
  • rickmacrodong
    •
    2 years ago
    Club on fridays was always packed last year the few times I went. This year, there have been several Friday’s and Saturdays which were almost entirely empty.
  • rickmacrodong
    •
    2 years ago
    Icee you said strippers are passive in relationships how do you know that and why is that. They’re passive but their guys are ok with them stripping or hoeing?
  • shadowcat
    •
    2 years ago
    The traffic congestion in the Atlanta metro area is not improving. I think it is getting worse. Which means people are paying the high prices for gas regardless of price. So what are they cutting back on? I'm buying whatever I need but am not looking to buy any large expensive items like cars.
  • Champphilly
    •
    2 years ago
    Club prices stayed same though. Intact my club spending increased during last one year.
  • whodey
    •
    2 years ago
    Shailynn I don't know about where you live but around here the cost of gas has in fact doubled in the last 16 months. In January 2021 the average price of regular gas around Cincinnati was $2.25/gal (even lower in mid-late 2020 with the lockdowns) and I have seen a couple of station hit $4.50 last weekend. It made me feel like I got a bargain when I filled up at a station for "only" $4.28/gal. 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.
  • san_jose_guy
    •
    2 years ago
    I guess employment numbers are almost as good as pre-Covid. But retail business still appears to be very slow. 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 [view link]
  • From978
    •
    2 years ago
    I was a math major in college, but I'm mystified by the inflation statistics -- at least as reported above. The average price of things urban consumers buy is a bit over 8% higher than a year ago, but all the examples are of prices that doubled. As I understand "average" that means stores must be giving something away. What I want to know is, where are those stores? 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.
  • MackTruck
    •
    2 years ago
    Da inflation is not affecting me because I da working class bitches.
  • mark94
    •
    2 years ago
    The 80% of the population who live paycheck to paycheck will cut back on non essentials. They will either stop going to clubs or cut way back on their spending per visit. 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.
  • Call.Me.Ishmael
    •
    2 years ago
    Absolutely. The vast majority of guys in clubs are occasional visitors, and not regulars who are so into strip clubs that they post reviews on a strip club site. 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.
  • mark94
    •
    2 years ago
    Oddly, I expect the large, corporate party clubs to have the toughest time. The smaller, neighborhood clubs with regular customers may find a way to survive.
  • Icee Loco (asshole)
    •
    2 years ago
    Unless your wages increase higher than inflation you're affected by it. Clubs will gave to get cheaper or go out of business
  • Papi_Chulo
    •
    2 years ago
    I think the worst may be yet to come if there is a recession as many are predicting - yes right now inflation is affecting a lot of folks and likely SCers may be starting to cut back some; but one would assume club attendance will go down a lot more if we get into a recession and there are massive layoffs.
  • Subraman
    •
    2 years ago
    This is starting to ripple through the stripper forums too. "Inflation making things harder to afford, recession on its way, strip clubs as a luxury always get hit first".
  • Icee Loco (asshole)
    •
    2 years ago
    Clubs in large cities will still attract weekend celebration crowds.
  • Icee Loco (asshole)
    •
    2 years ago
    I think the recession will hit by summer
  • rickdugan
    •
    2 years ago
    ===> "...but one would assume club attendance will go down a lot more if we get into a recession and there are massive layoffs." 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.
  • dirtyburt
    •
    2 years ago
    I haven’t been clubbing either and don’t really have any big plans to at this time. With the stock market down, I don’t feel I have the financial confidence that I had when it was up. Still have the Sugar Babe, and neither of us have plans to dump the other at this time. But, I do plan to cut back a bit with her also. Two & three consecutive days per month, is causing me to yell OUCH also.. 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.
  • mark94
    •
    2 years ago
    A recession is defined as two quarters of negative growth in GDP. We’ve already had one, so it will be official at the end of next month.
  • Icee Loco (asshole)
    •
    2 years ago
    Rick you mean a recession would mean more desperate hookers willing to fuck you for less. Where are all of you meeting these dancers who you know so well and who vote republican?
  • Tetradon
    •
    2 years ago
    reversecowgirl69 @botticellibimbo the strip club is sadly a leading indicator and i can promise y’all we r in a recession lmao [view link]
  • Mate27
    •
    2 years ago
    Pessimism can come quickly and glad it has. Even if we have a lost decade with the market coming up (not likely) there’s so much debt floating around out there that the government is trying to sell, they can quickly buy it back. My quick take is I have a high confidence in 10 years the Dow Jones and S&P 500 will be double where it is at now. Equities double approximately every 7 years, and in April 2009 the Dow sat at 7k. Fast forward 14 years(2023) and a really low value in the Dow would be 28k. I can say with confidence the market is fair to undervalued, so long term invest, and those that don’t invest will be excited to see inflation rates peaked and higher wages. If got money yiu don’t need to touch for 10-20 years buy large-mid-small cap index funds and a little international. Anyone with an employer plan or IRA does this anyway, but a long period of high prices will mean a longer buying opportunity on the back end for investors. That I my sucks for Boomers who haven’t saved enough!
  • mark94
    •
    2 years ago
    Just like the last stagflation 40 years ago, the market can bounce back in 2 years, then boom for 10, with the right moves by the Fed, Congress, and President. Unfortunately, I don’t think the clock starts ticking until 2024.
  • Icee Loco (asshole)
    •
    2 years ago
    Long term investment is outbof most people's reach. There's a baby formula shortage while the right opposes feeding babies while taking away reproductive rights. There are more pressing matters for people like affording food
  • mark94
    •
    2 years ago
    “ while the right opposes feeding babies” That may be the stupidest thing you’ve ever posted.
  • Champphilly
    •
    2 years ago
    good luck. Stick22 pandemic is coming, it will be worse pandemic and only targets xtras guys only.
  • Icee Loco (asshole)
    •
    2 years ago
    Mark. Republicans voted against allowing foreign baby formula. Meanwhile they want to outlaw abortion. Force women to have babies but not ensure they can get fed.
  • Icee Loco (asshole)
    •
    2 years ago
    Speaking of stupid posts. Did Trump win the presidency?
  • san_jose_guy
    •
    2 years ago
    The COVID precautions made the rich richer and the poor poorer. The whole thing was very stupid. And the COVID bailout money just protected the Real Estate and Securities Market. That money is what is causing inflation. We need to get it back, and that means progressive income and wealth tax. 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
  • twentyfive
    •
    2 years ago
    ^ The library is going to start getting crowded, soon they'll start limiting your computer access, that's the bright silver lining of this recession.
  • san_jose_guy
    •
    2 years ago
    ^ Someday I'm going to be such a PL that I have nothing else to do and I can post on TUSCL 24-7. SJG
  • Mate27
    •
    2 years ago
    ^^ even worse is wishing you could Post 24-7, if it weren’t for your internet access to be reliant on tye public library hours👍.
  • Icee Loco (asshole)
    •
    2 years ago
    What's wrong with using tge public library? Are you afraid of it coz it's socialist to offer free books free knowledge free cultural programming and free wifi?
  • rickdugan
    •
    2 years ago
    On a Saturday night the club had almost as many girls as guys. It was still pretty busy, but there were seats to be had, which was not the case late on a weekend night a few months back. One girl was telling me that that it felt like a recession - her choice of words, not mine.
  • Champphilly
    •
    2 years ago
    Strip club does not come under luxury, it is need when testosterone pumps up. So, inflation or inflation’s father, no one can stop me to visit clubs.
  • busta_nut
    •
    2 years ago
    RD. was there last night.. same situation.
  • mark94
    •
    2 years ago
    Reading stripperweb, I can already see stripper economics beginning. Everywhere else, when demand goes down, prices drop. In stripper world, dancers believe they are entitled to a certain income level. When demand drops, they raise their prices, thinking this will maintain their income. Instead, demand drops even further. And, prices go up even more. And, so on.
  • PinkSugarDoll
    •
    2 years ago
    I just want to remind everyone may and June are usually slow months for the club regardless, with school getting out and weather getting nicer in most places. So don’t give up on us lol ❤️
  • skibum609
    •
    2 years ago
    Icee the despicable leech and scumbag wants everything, as long as someone else pays for it. I guess a true leech doesn't understand how horrible it is to pay taxes to support a bug you'd like to step on.
  • mark94
    •
    2 years ago
    Clubs and dancers that adapt to the new economic environment will make it through the next 2 or 3 years. 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.
  • wallanon
    •
    2 years ago
    Not to start a debate here, but did people just suddenly start aging and eventually dying? These things run in cycles and macroeconomics is a thing. 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
  • skibum609
    •
    2 years ago
    Due to the bad economy, I haven't strip clubbed since last night and do not plan on going back until, well Friday... Jeff Weber
  • Icee Loco (asshole)
    •
    2 years ago
    Day shifts are being eliminated 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
  • skibum609
    •
    2 years ago
    Things change. Strip clubs have changed during my life. Massachusetts used to be no touching, no private rooms, no dances. Now it's getting closer to Rhode Island, but a lot of clubs have closed, due to demographic change. It happens to all businesses as well. In the 1930's NYC was home to about 1500 Jewish delicatessens. I think 17 remain. Demographic change. Schlitz beer used to be the second largest selling beer on Earth. Nothing lasts forever; good or bad.
  • twentyfive
    •
    2 years ago
    A recession is similar to a hurricane, as it comes in and knocks out the weaker businesses, allowing the better stronger businesses to flourish, just like a hurricane clears out the old and dead vegetation and makes room for new stronger growth. 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.
  • twentyfive
    •
    2 years ago
    ^ But I don’t owe nice spice 10K that’s only you shrubby Dumbass makes a bet on the website and refuses to pay How about paying the lady what you owe her.
  • twentyfive
    •
    2 years ago
    ^ more weasel words from TUSCLs most ignored idiot
  • san_jose_guy
    •
    2 years ago
    I tell you, on the ground I see evidence of slow retailing and the merchants confirm this. SJG
  • Mate27
    •
    2 years ago
    ^^ yet more blowout numbers reported on the retail front. You have to shop at more places than “Goats R Us” or “Huffy Bikes aren’t Just for Kids”. 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?
  • Icee Loco (asshole)
    •
    2 years ago
    25 can't afford to pay nicespice. 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.
  • twentyfive
    •
    2 years ago
    ^ quit your trolling Iceefag 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.
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