Why are Clubs So Expensive?

[fun_pairTX]

I came back to the thread and saw that I had replied earlier. Had you not told us you blended in an old thread I would still be thinking I was having a Senior Moment.

Mr Fun

[michaelncin]

I know at the on premise party house where we host at there is an enormous expense involved to have the house, upkeep, utilities, food, mixers and sodas. The suggested donations we have cover these expenses

cin

http://candlelightretreat.tripod.com/luau.html

[incommunicado]

As I said in an earlier post, most clubs do not let you "try and buy", making it very expensive for those of us on a modest budget to get a real feel for what's out there, or to regularly frequent a club we like.

wow you now have to pay a fee to fuck.

[Flori_DAMAN]

go bowling. Get a lane with a date. Bowl three games. Buy a few drinks and a hot dog. Buy a bowling ball or shoes, or rent them. Give yourself a couple of years to enjoy it.

Swinging clubs are really inexpensive.

John

[fun_pairTX]

They can't very well do a try before you buy as most clubs barely break even if not operate at a loss. If you can't afford it do what we do when we don't have the $$ to go to the club. Put on some CD's, invite a bunch of friends over, and fuck on the floor.

[remox]

Originally posted by incommunicado
... I can see how it might be expensive to run even a small swingers club given that these clubs advertise within an exclusive community and thus limits the clientele. BUT, what if they went public (at least somewhat)? ...Along the same vein, I would be willing to wager that there are a lot of sexually adventurous people out there, who do not label themselves as swingers, who would come (no pun intended) to a quality swing club, thus opening the door to more people to choose from and lower costs...I want a swingers club that is a real, upscale, night club and I am willing to pay high end night club cover pricing ($10-$20 pp) and drink pricing ($7-$11 per drink), as well as purchase food. I am not JUST looking for a room full of people who might be willing to have sex with us. I want the whole package.

Okay, a couple of points to address here...

first, going public... Local Law enforcement has made it very clear to me (a club owner) that one of the reasons that what I do is not illegal is that I am a Private Membership Organization. The fact that I have a membership community that beleives that sexual activity is not lewd behaviour is of the utmost importance. What then happens in my club is not legally considered to be lewd conduct because the community agrees that it is not lewd conduct.

second, the sexually adventurous public... sounds great, but the public isn't adventurous (particularly here in New England). I spend thousands of dollars each month advertising to the public and quarterly hold an open house (at no expense to the curious, note: there are privacy waivers required). Attendance at an open house is no better than at a regular party and there are few enough additional memberships generated that I may discontinue the practice as it doesn't justify the cost.

third, upscale environment... keep looking there are nice places out there that will meet or exceed your expectations. Unfortunately, the profit margin for most clubs is small enough that the owners are unable or unwilling to reinvest in improvements.

As far as pricing, at an average of a $15 cover and the $9 per drink cost that you mentioned, after a few drinks for yourself and maybe a round for a few friends you are spending the same amount of money.

[Deuce]

Cmon guys, why question the owners of swing clubs on what they charge. If they were making that much of a killing you would see several clubs in every city and we don't. The fact remains that most clubs are busy on Saturday only, Fridays are nice, but they are not the bread and butter. Clubs that are on premise don't sell you a $4 bottle of beer that costs them 50 cents. When you walk into most clubs everything is included. These club owners have to have the place sit empty...yes empty at least 5 nights a week usually and they still have to throw a little heat or A/C into the place nice. There are very few millionaire club owners out there and there are hundreds of people who have lost their ass trying to get one off the ground. Not everyone who opens a club does it the right way and thats why many close in addition to government pressures out there against the lifestyle. Spend a few bucks and check it out, see if they will give you a tour of the place when they are closed if you are frugal with your money. An as for the comment "you have to pay to fuck"....well, lets see what would dinner, drinks, a hotel room and going to a cool dance club cost you? Probably nearly as much as paying to go to the swingers club, and when you go to the swingers club no one is going to look at you funny when you are getting hot and heavy on the dance floor.

My personal opinion is that I like clubs mostly, then house parties. House parties are a nice way to save your money if you want.

Keep having fun no matter what you do!
Doug and Cheryl

[JustAskJulie]

I'm going to bring this topic back up because I'm currently having it with my bf as we debate whether or not it's worthwhile to check out a new off-premise social in our area, where the cover for the first night (including the annual membership fee) is going to be $55. (BTW: The venue is a meeting room attached to a local hotel.) To us that is seeming like an awful lot to spend when we have no idea if we will have a good time or not. There are three major things affecting our decision.
1. I've been to another regular social held at this location previously and I don't care for the setup (small dance floor with too many tables crammed too close together so that you only end up talking to those that you are sitting near).
2. Some friends of ours attended this particular socials' first party last month where they ended up leaving after only an hour because the smoke was so bad (bad venting - we were at a regular smokey dance club with this same couple for hours without any issue - so it had to be pretty damn bad).
3. We could go to Nashville to an ON-premise club for only about $20 more.

[northindycpl]

Go to Nashville and Have great time. $55 for an off-premise(kind of) social seems higher to us then most. Does it include a discount on a room or anything?

At least around here, on-premise, with dinner served is around $50 per couple for a saturday night, and about a $25 membership fee.

[TNT]

55 bucks for an off-premise social seems a bit much to us as well...now you said including the annual membership fee...what will the cost be once the membership fee is paid for the year?

Regardless, it still seems high for some place that is new and you're not sure if you're going to enjoy. With the reasons you gave for debating it..we'd probably pass.


TNT

[BiloxiCouple]

Sounds like the negatives outweigh the positives to me.

[ShellyM]

In responding to the OP,
The cover charges in most of the Austin clubs are $50 for a couple on Saturday night, plus a $50 one time yearly membership fee. They do provide a buffet at Aphrodites, and ice and glasses and such. I thought it was because they are only open on Fri. and Sat. nights, and on Friday nights the cover is cheaper. It is expensive though. Some weeks we just chill here in San Marcos vs. paying the $50.

[jandg]

Well, the Vegas Red Rooster must be doing something right. They've been open 23 years, and have parties every single night.

Couples are $30 per night Monday through Saturday, $20 on Sunday.
There are also special deals for local couples (ID required).

Single Women are $10 per night Monday through Saturday, Free on Sunday.

Single Men are $40.00 per night Monday thru Thursday nights, $50.00 per night Friday and Saturday nights, and Sunday nights are $30.00 or $20.00 for Active Military.

It's BYOB (water, ice, soda, etc, are provided), and food is only served on weekends. Canned music Monday through Wednesday, and a DJ Thursday through Sunday.

[sbjr3]

The on-premise club we plan on attending next weekend has the following charges:

THE ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP DUES ARE AS FOLLOWS:
$35.00 - PER COUPLE (MALE / FEMALE COUPLES ONLY)
$35.00 - PER SINGLE FEMALE
$35.00 - PER SINGLE MALE

THE SOCIAL PARTY DONATIONS ARE AS FOLLOWS:
$70.00 - PER COUPLE (MALE / FEMALE COUPLES ONLY)
$10.00 - PER SINGLE FEMALE
$90.00 - PER SINGLE MALE

(ON OCCASION WE HAVE 'SPECIAL' SOCIAL PARTIES. THESE 'SPECIAL' SOCIAL PARTIES MAY HAVE DIFFERENT SOCIAL PARTY DONATION. THESE WILL BE LISTED ON THE EVENTS WEB PAGE.)

YOUR SOCIAL PARTY DONATION INCLUDES -
A DELICIOUS BUFFET, MIXERS (SODA, JUICES. ICE, ETC...),
ENTERTAINMENT PROVIDED BY A 'HIGH-ENERGY' DJ
FULL USE OF THE FACILITIES
(REMEMBER - ALL BEVERAGES, BOTTLES, AND COOLERS MUST BE CHECKED AT THE BAR UPON ENTERING THE CLUB.)

We are going on Friday since we are still virgins and don't want to be too overwhelmed, plus the club is having the following special which allows us to see if we like it without breaking the bank:

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2006
8 PM - 2 AM
FRIDAY NIGHT CANDLELIGHT SOCIAL
THIS IS A ALL MEMBERS EVENT
COUPLES - $35.00
SINGLE MALES - $50.00
SINGLE FEMALES - $5.00

NOT A MEMBER?
YOU CAN TRY OUT TPA FOR THIS ONE NIGHT ONLY WITH WITH A SPECIAL ONE (1) NIGHT ONLY MEMBERSHIP FEE OF JUST $1.00.

THIS SPECIAL ONE NIGHT ONLY MEMBERSHIP IS VALID FOR THIS NIGHT ONLY
ONLY ONE (1), ONE (1) NIGHT TRIAL MEMBERSHIP PER PERSON OR COUPLE ALLOWED.