How do you feel about pre-paying for parties?

[JustAskJulie]

I just read this on a club website...

Due to lack of attendance in recent months,

early reservations and pre-payment is encouraged

Is it just me or would reading this be all the more reason you wouldn't want to pay in advance? I'd much rather go and see what kind of turnout is there before they get my money.... or worse have them get my money as prepayment and then have them cancel the event due to low turn out (which I know this club has done).

[Miss_Piggy]

definitely a poor marketing decision.

[Mrs Spoomonkey]

We wouldn't do that especially if we were visiting for the first time. That sounds like a desperate attempt to make money instead of trying to find out why the attendance has been low.

They shoulds plan some fun themes or game nights to draw people in not ask them to pre-pay. One thing our club does is about once a month or two they will have a special night for NASCA members and waive the membership fee for them and out of town visitors.

Sounds to me like this club will close soon because this marketing strategy they have chosen is more of a deterrent than something to draw people in.

Mrs Spoomonkey

[Greg & Sheryl]

This is a curious approach, but it’s interesting to note that reservations and pre-payments are considered “encouraged” but not “mandatory.” If this were a club we had patronized before, we would probably continue to just show up at the door. But if we had never been there before, we probably wouldn’t visit at all.

We have been to one (now defunct) club that required pre-payment, but they did that to circumvent zoning laws. Apparently, the owners violated those laws by accepting money on the premises, so they worked around that by accepting online pre-payments via PayPal. We doubt if this was a legitimate loophole, but the club did not develop enough of a following to last more than a year.

[good times]

To me, thats pretty much the same as if the had just said stay away.

It is odd to me to see some of the poor decisions club owners make and then wonder why they don't have any business. A negative attitude will definitely drive people away, and saying something like that just exudes negativity.

[JustAskJulie]

To be honest when I pulled the website up for this club it was to see if they were still running at all.... I was surprised that they were, based on what I know of their attendance from the first year they were open. They've been open for about 3 years now I guess.

[fun_pairTX]

It sounds like somebody is running a sloppy ship. Prepay? Nah, we will go elsewhere.

[ALilOEverything]

Hmmmmm.... any chance this club is in MI, not too far from me? I was just noticing it that on their website (if it's the same one) a couple days ago and was wondering, what on earth are they thinking! I want to go somewhere with a great turnout where I'm going to meet a diverse group of people to mingle with. And no way would I want to pay money ahead of time anyhow just in case plans got cancelled. We did check these guys out because they were local but yikes, the turnout was definitely scary We did have a great time but we have the ability to make the most of any situation. We're not going back just because there is so much else to chose from that have greater turnouts and we don't have to prepay, even if we have to drive a little further. I'll just have to go on my day off instead of after work. (they didn't have the prepay until after we went)

[BradAndJanet]

No, those two statements don't go together...

Strange marketing indeed.

-B

[k_francis]

Mt partner and I attended one adult, many years ago. We didn't know that it had an open-door policy and they'd advertised heavily in a local paper.

Result; I estimated around 100-150 single guys and six couples. I kid you not. (We departed rather quickly...)

Pre-paying isn't a terribly good idea - especially if you're unsure of your hosts' intentions.

[anothercouple69]

Sounds fishy! We would have nothing to do with that!

[joseph3d]

If a club consistently offers a mediocre party experience, word will get around. Asking people to pre-pay will not solve their problem.

We think a shaking out is coming. The high quality clubs which really give people a good experience will prosper. The lower quality clubs will disappear. It's just a matter of time.

When we visit clubs like Utopia in Fort Wayne, Indiana, we know the bar is constantly being raised.

[sexycopul4u]

I ,We ,would only pay a few time's, If I then felt the club was taking attvantage of me I would loose them, there are more than enough place's to have fun,Mark&Kim.

[Mich149]

The only time we have paid in advance is when we are expecting the place to be sold out for like a Halloween or NYE party.