Suggestions/ideas to bring in more Millenials to strip clubs

[rocky racoon 2915]

Hi all.

As the title says, this is a place to post any ideas you might have that could potentially bring in more Millenials to strip clubs. As many have already observed, the industry seems to have a hard time adapting to changing times. They have less and less customers every year, and I think one of the main reasons is that younger men don't visit them. Maybe they're too used to easy access to Internet pornography, or maybe they have a hard time socializing with women. Or maybe it's now considered less politically correct to hang out in those establishments (but again, has it ever been politically correct?).

 

Even if, as young people with less job security, lower pay, no investments yet, etc., they're not necessarily the richest clients right now, the future of the industry depends on bringing them in. The older gentlemen won't be around forever...

 

Who knows, if any club owner is reading this, maybe some suggestions could help them in the long term.

[rocky racoon 2915]

Since I started the thread, I'll submit my own suggestions:

 

I think anything that can break the image of a place that only serves to exploit vulnerable young girls for the benefit of misogynistic, perverted men can potentially help.

 

- I would therefore suggest to bring in more ladies as customers, for instance by always allowing them with no cover charge.

 

- I would also try to present a different kind of entertainment, one that is still sexy, but more obviously empowering for women. I'm thinking about burlesque. I could easily see a club having a monthly burlesque night (where the club would still be operating as usual with strippers bringing customers to the CR, but the usual stripper stages would be replaced by a burlesque show. I've noticed that women are much more willing to attend a burlesque event that to go to a strip club. This would help breaking the image of sexism. Btw, in many burlesque shows, male performers are also naked or almost naked, another argument to bring ladies, and to show equality between the sexes. But for those who are insecure about being perceived as gay because they go to a place where men get naked, I can reassure you: in most burlesque show, the vast majority of performers are female (like around 80-90%, sometimes 100%).

 

- Actually, just having a feature dancer from time to time, or organizing a special event (a stripping contest, an amateur night, a porn star show, etc.) helps a lot. The last 2 events I've been to (1 at NuDen and 1 at Club 77) were huge success and, on both occasion, the clubs were full. Basically, you want to be more aggressive in convincing people that going out to a strip club is special and not depressing.

[Guest]

       As I mentioned in the other thread, as Gen X I'm not sure what millennials want.

   Europe always been a decade ahead of us with small hybrid businesses combining night club and brothels. Similar to the Sweet300 but much smaller. But a lot changed in the last decade and many large Euro cities cleaned up those downtown areas.

   I'm not saying a revival is impossible, but on the verge of a recession, the timing couldn't be worst.

[Guest]

34 minutes ago, rocky racoon said:

I think anything that can break the image of a place that only serves to exploit vulnerable young girls for the benefit of misogynistic, perverted men can potentially help.

 

- I would therefore suggest to bring in more ladies as customers, for instance by always allowing them with no cover charge.

- I would also try to present a different kind of entertainment, one that is still sexy, but more obviously empowering for women. I'm thinking about burlesque...

- Actually, just having a feature dancer from time to time, or organizing a special event (a stripping contest, an amateur night, a porn star show, etc.) helps a lot. The last 2 events I've been to (1 at NuDen and 1 at Club 77) were huge success and, on both occasion, the clubs were full. Basically...

     What your describing is pretty much a normal night club with special adult events. It could a viable formula if done legally with proper security. Just a question of knowing if cities would allow the proper permits in areas where those could be profitable.

[rocky racoon 2915]

If we want to go that way (the Sweet300 way), it would be a completely different approach. With the current laws, brothels are impossible to operate legally.

 

But the Sweet300 approach might also work with other clubs than Playmate. Most clubs in Ottawa/Gatineau either have a second floor or a section that could be separated from the main floor, or are in a multi unit building. The second floor or an adjacent unit could be converted into another independent commerce, offering rooms with erotic movies, peepshows or just a bed "to sleep in". Those rooms could be rented by 1 or 2 persons, not necessarily coming from the club beside. (Like for instance a stripper working at the club nearby and a client she met there.)

 

The new commerce should have its own door to the outside, and not be directly linked to the strip club, to avoid any impression that they are the same commerce.

 

If you can realistically defend that your rooms can be rented for purposes other than prostitution (ex.: watching a movie, taking a nap, etc.), it might be a legally viable option. Like hotels and motels. They rent rooms but have no power over what's going on in them.

 

For security, the clubs should still have champagne rooms to avoid forcing strippers to go in a closed and locked room alone with a stranger.

 

I still prefer my approach of trying to bring in women and breaking the bad image the clubs have, but this could be another option.

[Guest]

15 minutes ago, rocky racoon said:

If we want to go that way, it would be a completely different approach. With the current laws, brothels are impossible to operate legally...

       Many businesses have been doing fine by avoiding the term while selling relaxation and companionship services. Many municipalities have been quite tolerant on those of places when low profile and clean.

    I don't think I need to elaborate more.

       As for making it more inviting for women, it's just a question of making those places more night clubs and less Gentlemen's Clubs/Titty Bars. A formula likely more profitable on special evenings instead of full time.

[hopeful 1357]

well CMJ does massage and at their Merivale location they also have a stage with stripper pole.

[1963Kennedy 10698]

I can expand later,but

Massage has exploded over the last 10-20 years. SC's are struggling. Think about the advantages of each.

[waterat 20911]

Check out Ron Swanson's advice at 4 min in this clip...... or just enjoy the whole video... you've likely got time :)

 

 

[rocky racoon 2915]

OK. So far, we've come up with 2 approaches to attract the young folks:

 

1- The clubs try to be more inclusive with the female clients and they try to brake the idea that strip clubs are misogynistic and exploitative. More special shows, contests, burlesque, features, etc.

 

2- They try to go the other way, by offering another way for male clients to enjoy their favourite strippers. Instead of going to champagne rooms with them, they could also choose to visit another establishment nearby. This would probably be a nice model for older folks like us, but I'm not sure it would bring in the Millenials.

 

Let me propose a third possible avenue, inspired by Kennedy's post:

 

3- The clubs could become completely private clubs with membership. They would not be open to the general public and you would need to validate that you're a member, and be buzzed in. There would be an initial registration fee (which could be a symbolic 5-10$). This would be a similar approach to certain adult massage clubs in the area.

The obvious inconvenient would be that you would have to give up some potentially personal information at signup, which raises privacy issues. You could also bump into people you know (patrons or strippers), and this might be more awkward than in a regular strip club because of the implication that would come with being there. In a strip club, you can always feign just being there for a drink and watching the stage. Here, I might be a little more difficult...

But on the other hand, you wouldn't be limited by the same rules that govern strip clubs. You could have a main room with a bar, tables and chairs, a stage with stripping poles, a pool table, some video poker machines, washrooms, etc. The main difference is that the champagne rooms would be replaced by larger rooms with locking doors, a sound system for music, showers, sinks, love-seats for lapdances, massage tables or beds, etc. Please note that, in order to respect the law, each lady working there should not be asked by management to provide anything more than a strip tease and a massage in those rooms.

Maybe a way to counter the privacy issue could be to offer some types of registrations with shorter validity. You could register for a trial package of 2 weeks, or for 6 months, 1 year, of for life (definitely my option). At the end of your registration period, all your personal data is deleted and, if you want to register again, you have to go over the whole process again. If you're paranoid, take the shortest membership. Apparently, judging by what most hostesses have said on their Curious Cat accounts, men of all ages visit the massage clubs, including the Millenials, so this might work also as a way to bring them in.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, rocky racoon said:

3- The clubs could become completely private clubs with membership. They would not be open to the general public and you would need to validate that you're a member, and be buzzed in. There would be an initial registration fee (which could be a symbolic 5-10$). This would be a similar approach to certain adult massage clubs in the area.

    I don't think we can compare both business models.

    The reason behind the membership of massage clubs is simply to use the registration as a screening process. Operating costs are mostly covered by the room fees and other services like the bar.

    But for a strip club, operating costs are much higher and the main source of income is the bar. If the clientele is limited to members, I doubt registration fees and limited visitors would cover their basic operations. Monthly membership fees would need to be quite expensive to break even.

    I understand what you're suggesting, but it already kind of already exists with establishments like "The Brass Club". If that's the future of adult entertainment, I don't think we need to look much further.

    

 

[rocky racoon 2915]

I never said the bar would be the only source of income. One way or the other, the ladies would still have to pay to use the premises and that would be the main source of income. BTW, both business models aren't that different. In strip clubs the strippers also have to pay a DJ fee, or bar fee to use the premises.

 

In a private, hybrid club like I was suggesting, this main source of income could take the form of a room fee every time they're being used (like spas do) and maybe also as a form of DJ fee to use the main room as a place to find and meet their clients for the day (like strip clubs do). This fee could even be reduced by 1/2 for the girls, every time they strip on stage (to a minimum of zero). If they do 2 shows on stage during their shift, they don't pay the DJ fee at all. But if they chose not to do stages, it's probably because they were busy in the private rooms and the club will still collect the room fees.

 

And the registration fee would not have to be large. The whole concept of registering would still be used mostly as a screening process, and also to legally justify the title of a "private" club. If anyone can get in, it's not private. If it's only for registered people on a list, then it is.

 

Also Greenteal, so far, your posts haven't been very constructive. If you don't like the ideas proposed here, do you have any alternative suggestion to propose? I suggest trying to be positive and not fatalist.

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, rocky racoon said:

Also Greenteal, so far, your posts haven't been very constructive. If you don't like the ideas proposed here, do you have any alternative suggestion to propose? I suggest trying to be positive and not fatalist.

   From the start I suggested small hybrid businesses. Your idea is pretty much the same and already used by adult massage clubs. If the formula already exist, there's no point in re-inventing the wheel.

   And I'm not being "fatalist". The whole point of your thread is the fact classic strip clubs are a dying business and smaller private clubs are the future. And with occupancy limit rules likely to change for a few years, may take some time for bars and clubs to return to their prime.

 

[rocky racoon 2915]

1 hour ago, Greenteal said:

 The whole point of your thread is the fact classic strip clubs are a dying business and smaller private clubs are the future.

I have no clue why you would think that was the point. It's pretty much the opposite. The whole point of the thread is to make suggestions and voice ideas to bring more Millenials to strip clubs (it's in the title!). The whole point is NOT to see them as a dying business (which seems like the text-book example of a fatalist view), and instead focus on the positive ways they could be re-imagined and improved. The point is to think about how we can pull up, not about how we're doomed.

 

Also, the private club road is one option among others that have been presented here.

 

And Spas have their place on the landscape of adult establishments, but they're different than strip clubs. I might elaborate later on how they differ.

[Guest]

10 minutes ago, rocky racoon said:

I have no clue why you would think that was the point. It's pretty much the opposite. The whole point of the thread is to make suggestions and voice ideas to bring more Millenials to strip clubs (it's in the title!). The whole point is NOT to see them as a dying business (which seems like the text-book example of a fatalist view), and instead focus on the positive ways they could be re-imagined and improved. Also, the private club road is one option among others that have been presented here.

     Let's just say if classic strip clubs were doing well, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

     Enjoy the rest of the weekend/quarantine.

[TheRiddlerMan 872]

No way I would ever give personal information to a club, whether they promised to delete it or not. Nor would I ever go to a place like that where I'd meet other clients. It sounds like a poor man's Brass Club to me, where you don't really have to give them personal information when you sign up and you don't encounter other clients.

I think strip clubs are simply a dying venue, much like peep shows and adult theater before them.

 

[safety11 1327]

Good points being expressed here.  All the views are valid and appreciated.  Let me ask you this:

Have you considered the number of young ladies who like to strip as a way to make money, and want the clubs to stay open?  There's an existing workforce which will suffer - is suffering right now - if the genre is let die.  I won't go into all the benefits, but trust me, the girls I've known have appreciated and enjoyed the opportunity - they're not victims.

My point being that as much as we might worry that losing customers will kill SCs, I don't think there's any danger of the workforce of dancers going away.  So as long as there are girls, there will be - yeah, maybe less - guys who want to see them.  Thus there will be owners who will see viability in financing a SC.

As for what's gonna keep the business exciting, I have to echo rocky's idea earlier.

I've been to two nights in the past few years where a SC was packed wall to wall, like back in the old days.  First one, when NuDen booked Christy Mack for an appearance.  Second, the final weekend at Barb's.  Both times, the crowd was driven by the fact that all the women came out.  Shit, the night Barb's closed down there were women there from 10 and 15 years ago.  So I say, rocky had the big idea - Events.

 

[Guest]

10 minutes ago, safety11 said:

Have you considered the number of young ladies who like to strip as a way to make money, and want the clubs to stay open?  There's an existing workforce which will suffer - is suffering right now - if the genre is let die.  I won't go into all the benefits, but trust me, the girls I've known have appreciated and enjoyed the opportunity - they're not victims.

      I don't think anyone implied they were victims. Also, the viability of a business is determined by revenues and not the workforce. Special events are good for a few times a month, but if the place is a ghost town in between, nothing is really solved. Maybe make the place a sexy sport bar or poolhall for the rest of the time. 

      As for ladies looking for easy money, there other occupations in the adult industry like massages and other type of performances. 

[1963Kennedy 10698]

Reading everything here. rocky has a good idea (NOT membership). Some rooms in the club where one could go for a massage exactly like in a massage parlor (MP).  45 or 60 min, shower, massage, ending & maybe another shower. The "dancer" part stays the same if a girl wishes to do just that. Some arrangement if otherwise. Pigales and NuDen have the room to do that. NOW, you have the advantages of both a SC and a MP.  NOW I could see MP loosing business to the SC.

Now I assume, rightly or wrongly, in a $190 massage session, the girl gets $100 and the MP $90, or something close (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong).  So MA gets $100 an hour (or so-she has to clean up the room). In a SC, many girls can make $100 in about 15 minutes , easily $200/$300 an hour. So I'm thinking, hoping actually that each girl would have their own rate. Busy time=$300, quiet time $200.

[rocky racoon 2915]

Kennedy, I'm not too hot about the idea of a membership either. But my understanding was that it was a necessity in order to be considered a "private" establishment, and not a "public" one. Is there a lawyer on here that could enlighten us?

 

I think it's one of the reasons why some massage spas work that way. (That and the capacity to screen, and ban bad clients.) By being private, they can have alcohol, naked people, erotic entertainment and private locking rooms, all in one place. The only other kind of establishment I can think of that also has all those things are the swingers clubs, and those are also private clubs where you have to register to become a member.

[Guest]

27 minutes ago, rocky racoon said:

   By being private, they can have alcohol, naked people, erotic entertainment and private locking rooms, all in one place. The only other kind of establishment I can think of that also has all those things are the swingers clubs, and those are also private clubs where you have to register to become a member.

      No matter if general admission or private membership, it's still a business and requires appropriate permits to operate and sell alcool. 

      https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/bills/parliament-37/session-1/bill-146

[victoriamayottawa 182]

A different perspective, but it’s tough working in clubs as a millennial unless the rules of contact are strictly enforced through management, other customers, and other dancers too, because if customers violate those rules dancers often get blamed and not only by the club but from other dancers and even from partners and boyfriends. For millennials dancing is often a starting point but many won’t get very far or will want to if they are at risk of being violated without accountability. 

[hopeful 1357]

CMJ charges over $ 200 to become a member, Brass Club only $ 5, the reason why these "private clubs" charge a Membership fee is cause they are licensed as private clubs BECAUSE Ottawa has a moritorium on opening any new massage parlours inside city limits.

CMJ's path to stardom is interesting, the owner, a female, has a law background, she originally wanted to open a new massage studio on Merivale but being so close to Angel's Touch created a problem for the City, they wouldn't give her zoning so being the smartie she is, she turned her application into a private club which got around the issue of the City having to license another massage parlour.

So in the spirit of operating a private club they charge a membership fee to make it look more legitimate.  I don't believe the membership fee is a condition of license.

CMJ and Brass Club both have liquor licenses, both have a bar at their downtown locations, CMJ's license is under the name Hush .   A massage studio might have trouble justifying a liquor license, a private club not so much, however Club Pussycorps in Montreal does offer you a complimentary can of beer for your session ( it's complimentary so by not "selling" you a can of beer they get around Quebec's Liquor laws ).

The Fox Den in Vancouver ( it's technically in Burnaby ) is also a private club, it's Canada's only By Appointment Only bodyrub studio, you can't just walk in and meet the girls first, you have to pick a girl based on phoney pics on their website, however they don't charge a membership fee.   The problem with this approach is it makes it easier for the club to pull a Bait and Switch.

[castle 38816]

Just off the top of my head, but for strip clubs that want to appear less "shady" for lack of a better term, maybe involving themselves more positively in the community could be a good look for their overall image.  Maybe have some willing bar staff and/or dancers participate in community charity events under the banner of the club.   Maybe delivering supplies to heavily impacted homes and communities.   Not only is that needed right now, but I doubt that it would go unnoticed.   

 

Doing charity work with women's shelters would go a long way to dispelling that exploitative image.  

 

Or when things are up and running again, willing and able dancers could perhaps do speaking events at colleges and the like, dispelling the myths and stereotypes of the industry while highlighting its positive aspects in an honest and straightforward way.  Not so much as a recruitment tool, but more like a Ted Talk type of thing.  

 

There are probably some logistical hurdles with some of that (as with anything), but I'm just brainstorming.  

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, castle said:

  Or when things are up and running again, willing and able dancers could perhaps do speaking events at colleges and the like, dispelling the myths and stereotypes of the industry while highlighting its positive aspects in an honest and straightforward way.  Not so much as a recruitment tool, but more like a Ted Talk type of thing.  

    I highly doubt academic establishments would invite someone who made a successful career after dropping out of school/college. As for charitable contributions, I'm pretty sure most organisations would prefer more family friendly sources. Not saying they would refuse donations, but don't expect it to make the evening news.