There have been numerous comments in this forum and others recently complaining about the rising costs at HK. Someone earlier made a comment earlier comparing HK attendance issues (or lack of crowds recently) to those in Vegas. Scarily, that got me thinking...Maybe part of the HK cost issue is that they are trying to create a Vegas like experience...
When I first started mongering in TJ 15 or so years ago, HK was a quarter to a third of the size it is today and much more divey. Today, it's at least tripled in size, is cleaner, fancier and has more women and rules than ever before. They've dumped piles of money into Cascadas upgrading most of the rooms, adding elevators and adding the 9th floor high roller area shooting for a more Vegas like experience.
I'm not trying to defend today's higher prices but just recognizing that maybe they are shooting for a more affluent demographic? I'm not sure how successful it will be tho. One only has to look at Deja Vu in TJ to see that exporting the Vegas club experience to TJ may not be the best idea. Looking at the video recently posted in the TJ mongers forum, there are only a few Charlie Sheens that can drop $100K in a night!
My biggest beef with HK today is the ever changing array of extra fees being charged inconsistently.
All that being said, you can still find something approaching the old TJ experience at the alley bars although, costs have increased there as well. Anyway, food for thought and my $.02


devl_dagww, Mongering in TJ/HK has definitely changed a lot from a few years ago. Yes, no doubt the overall FUN seems to have tripled ( atleast for me ), besides also the out-of-pocket going up dramatically. IMO HK’s main focus is to stay as No.1 in adult entertainment while also making all the money they can from it’s customers ( and still maintaining excellent customer service, so the good word is spread around everywhere ). It’s amazing seeing how many people know about HK club, and it’s definitely their marketing strategy that’s working very well in their favor ( unlike other smaller TJ bars ) and the word-of-mouth that’s pulling in customers from all over the States ( younger, middle aged and older clients ). . Since I live locally in SoCal I don’t do overnight stay overs in Tijuana, and as such luckily I personally haven’t quite experienced the various array of fees/scams that HK inconsistently imposes on some of it’s customers ( and especially the ridiculous bar fines I keep hearing about, which I’ve never even heard of or encountered myself ). . A business’s marketing strategy is the key in their overall success, and it clearly shows that comparing HK and Deja Vu Tijuana. IMO Deja Vu Tijuana is in a good location and has potential, but unfortunately their high pricing doesn’t matchup to the overall vibe that HK has to offer. . IMO even the Zona’s smaller bars and that includes the alley bars offer a better bang for your bucks. As such lately they seem to also be enjoying a small share of the pie. In adult’s entertainment bars locally and in Tj, it’s always been about the overall vibe and FUN. If that comes through right, then despite the expected rising out-of-pocket customers will keep pouring in as they all do at HK👍🏻