There is no doubt that many businesses are struggling in the current economic times, they are bound to since many families are struggling, normally anything related to the sex industry manages to pull through, perhaps because the tighter things are the more we need to look for relaxation to ease the stress. But the signs are out there that even the swinging clubs are feeling the pinch these days with clubs offering Free admission on some nights, not just new clubs but long established clubs too. Take a look at some of the reviews in club sections on various sites, some are having to thier regulars post multiple reviews sometimes as many as 8 reviews by the same couple posting weekly, a sure sign of "numbers desperation". Others are getting thier regulars to advertise for them in various "seeking meets" areas, nothing wrong with this but is it actually helping clubs, support is great but it does sometimes look like the club they are trying to support is actually desperate to attract people. Are we about to see the fall of a number of clubs that will not survive the economic climate ? What about your regular club, are the numbers staying static ? are numbers up or down ? Oh and if you answer that there is no need to name the club of course or that might make it look like some of the others plea to visit lol
Vanilla Alternative is rated joint 2nd best club in the UK according to the latest review in the recently published swingers guide book, so that is definetely not the norm for them and may just be showing what I am asking about the drop in visitors around the club scene
There is also a 'Themed' night this week at VA so maybe people could be waiting for that? Pretty much everything that is not a necessity is going to suffer in the current climate I think tho. X
i have noticed the difference in Chams over the last few years... when i first joined many years ago, every other face was someone who had travelled from afar to come and visit the club.. but now. most people are local to the club. so i guess this could be down to the cost of travelling making an impact on the clubs. it would be curious to know how the NEW YEAR bashes went at both Xtasia and Chams... both in previous years, its been that full, its standing room only.
Well all I can say is we visit liberty elite most weekends and that is getting better and better but when money is tight all luxurys get cut back it's only natural but we won't be in in this situation for ever so if we don't support our clubs as much as we can we will loose them and have less choice when times are better Abw
I largely agree with what Jed says. It's not that the lack of interest is there, nor is there the lack of demand, it's more that we are facing one of the worst economic struggles in the country of all time, and after Xmas and New Year is always quiet on the club scene, the next busy night normally being Valentines day themed parties. Just to look at how the scene has grown / changed since I was first on it, there were 58 Clubs / Regular Advertised parties back in 2003, the scene probably peaked around 2004 / 2005 with a very healthy attendance pretty much at any club or party we went to regardless of when it was. In 2012 at the time of writing there are over 80 permanent clubs or parties in the UK, but to put that into perspective, even though that's more than back in 2004, almost double when you take into account the addition of groups such as Killing Kittens and so on, you also should note that over that time over 30 Clubs have shut for various reasons. Some of them quite frankly should never have been opened in the first place (A smelly dark room below a Kebab shop does not a great club make!) We want to see the scene grow and prosper as much as everyone else does I am sure, but we are surprised to see some new clubs open in direction competition of existing venues and although at times competition can be a healthy thing, right now that's probably not doing either club any favours. The scene has expanded in Europe to a huge degree. When we started compiling the German list of clubs for example, which we began two years ago, there was about 130 clubs at that time, at the time of writing there are some 255 in Germany and almost 200 in France, and even though some clubs have come and gone, its no where near many as have opened and closed in the UK or Spain (Some opened by ex-pats) If anything those that have experienced clubs on the continent and see the amazing standards that they set, will have impacted and improved the standard of what we offer over, that is no bad thing. A club must constantly re-invent and improve itself to survive, and it should embrace constructive critcism and not be afraid of it. Any different attitude to that will only hurt it in the end. Under the current climate those clubs that are always improving and setting standards will no doubt survive. VA might have had a quiet club in January, but its membership and attendance is increasing all the time, as is Liberty Elite now that they have pulled their socks up a bit. This is no bad thing, pressure to succeed is a good thing. It is true that people will gravitate towards the club where they think they will find the right people, HOWEVER, the right club will attract the right people in the first place. Good facilities Great Atmosphere Good hosts and friendly staff Clean facilities Good music Decor and lighting that is conducive to playing. Get all those right and set your prices accordingly and your half way there.
Quote by Clubpartypeeps I largely agree with what Jed says. It's not that the lack of interest is there, nor is there the lack of demand, it's more that we are facing one of the worst economic struggles in the country of all time, and after Xmas and New Year is always quiet on the club scene, the next busy night normally being Valentines day themed parties. Just to look at how the scene has grown / changed since I was first on it, there were 58 Clubs / Regular Advertised parties back in 2003, the scene probably peaked around 2004 / 2005 with a very healthy attendance pretty much at any club or party we went to regardless of when it was. In 2012 at the time of writing there are over 80 permanent clubs or parties in the UK, but to put that into perspective, even though that's more than back in 2004, almost double when you take into account the addition of groups such as Killing Kittens and so on, you also should note that over that time over 30 Clubs have shut for various reasons. Some of them quite frankly should never have been opened in the first place (A smelly dark room below a Kebab shop does not a great club make!) We want to see the scene grow and prosper as much as everyone else does I am sure, but we are surprised to see some new clubs open in direction competition of existing venues and although at times competition can be a healthy thing, right now that's probably not doing either club any favours. The scene has expanded in Europe to a huge degree. When we started compiling the German list of clubs for example, which we began two years ago, there was about 130 clubs at that time, at the time of writing there are some 255 in Germany and almost 200 in France, and even though some clubs have come and gone, its no where near many as have opened and closed in the UK or Spain (Some opened by ex-pats) If anything those that have experienced clubs on the continent and see the amazing standards that they set, will have impacted and improved the standard of what we offer over, that is no bad thing. A club must constantly re-invent and improve itself to survive, and it should embrace constructive critcism and not be afraid of it. Any different attitude to that will only hurt it in the end. Under the current climate those clubs that are always improving and setting standards will no doubt survive. VA might have had a quiet club in January, but its membership and attendance is increasing all the time, as is Liberty Elite now that they have pulled their socks up a bit. This is no bad thing, pressure to succeed is a good thing. It is true that people will gravitate towards the club where they think they will find the right people, HOWEVER, the right club will attract the right people in the first place. Good facilities Great Atmosphere Good hosts and friendly staff Clean facilities Good music Decor and lighting that is conducive to playing. Get all those right and set your prices accordingly and your half way there.
Quote by Clubpartypeeps Get all those right and set your prices accordingly and your half way there.
See the price is the big deal with me and its not just because I have three kids and a moutain of bills to pay. Its more a case of I find clubs expensive. If they were less, I would go more often but once you start getting over £20, its not something I want to spend on the off chance the clubs will be a good night Less cost would definatly mean I would go a lot more often.
Quote by Dawnie Get all those right and set your prices accordingly and your half way there.
See the price is the big deal with me and its not just because I have three kids and a moutain of bills to pay. Its more a case of I find clubs expensive. If they were less, I would go more often but once you start getting over £20, its not something I want to spend on the off chance the clubs will be a good night Less cost would definatly mean I would go a lot more often. The same with us, as we are at least a 60 mile round trip to our closest club it can make it a very expensive night when you are looking at £20+ just to get in, then there are the drinks too ,it all mounts up :notes:
I agree with everything Club Party Peeps say especially about the standard of clubs in europe compared with those of the UK generally being much higher and also about clubs taking criticsm on the chin, we recently criticised some club owners though not the club which we think and say is very good, we immediately and continue to recieve threatening phone calls from them and thier compatriats. As for cost, yes club nights don't come cheap and for many it is an expensive luxury, but I do believe that most are excellent value for money with facilities such as dance floors, discos, jacuzzis, steam rooms, saunas dedicated playrooms, social areas, purpose built smoking ares, with that and the general upkeep/maintenance costs I understand why they charge what they do, though that doesn't help when your trying to balance the income and expenditure account.
you cant blame the club that its not close by lol but i do know it costs a lot of money to run a swing club they need to be very warm and if it has a hot tub they cost a fortune to run and how much does it cost to wash 400 towels a week dont get me wrong i am sure they make money but when we go normal clubing it can cost each to get in have you been to the pictures latley a ticket ! going out is expencive where ever you go we would all complain if they were cold or dirty ! some are better than others but its easy to see which ones re invest some of the door money in to the club and who invests it into a new car and expencive holidays.
very well said clubparty peeps, specially about facilities and price. I have personally noted that at clubs where facilties are looking dated the clientele is getting sparse.
If people are cribbing about paying £20 to get in a UK club I wonder what they'd say to upwards of 90 euros for a continental one. I'm not sure I would like to invest the amount of money that would be needed to equal somewhere like Fun4two in this country with the risk of a planning committee's or licencing authority's puritan view of sex.
We had a party here on the 28th and had 20 couples and 4 single guys and 1 single female. That was good going being as a lot of them went to another club because of a special night. We did go through a very low period but now with promoting etc our numbers are picking up. Mind you we are also a fairly cheap night out being as you bring your own drink and we supply a buffet, tea and coffee. Plus all the club with disco hot tub etc. Thanks for looking Jaydee and Tracy.
I haven't been to the club I go to in a while, but an thinking of going soon. The price is not an issue for me, I think it's reasonable - yes you can get quiet nights, but the good nights make up for it! Also, the fees go towards the cost - if noone paid fees they would stop putting nights on, which would be a shame for people like me who have great fun at them!
For me it was the smoking ban that made clubs less attractive, not just clubs but the pool hall, cinema and restaurants, I go to each of them far less these days but the clubs are the ones I frequent less, restaurants are not to bad because I don't smoke during the meal, the cinema I never went to that often anyway but now never go, as for clubs, when I go I am there for hours and seem to spend most of my time in the smoking areas, some clubs have done some great work on these areas and spent a lot of money on them but they are still freezing cold at this time of year especially as the very dress code of clubs and heat inside means you wear less. I smoke a lot when I socialise and drink in fact when I drink I am a chain smoker but only drink around once or twice a month, this means that my enjoyment at clubs is severely de-hanced, now I am not saying change the smoking laws I am simply stating a fact as it applies to me. I do think the smoking ban has affected more pubs and clubs than is quite realised.
Quote by MidsCouple24 For me it was the smoking ban that made clubs less attractive, not just clubs but the pool hall, cinema and restaurants, I go to each of them far less these days but the clubs are the ones I frequent less, restaurants are not to bad because I don't smoke during the meal, the cinema I never went to that often anyway but now never go, as for clubs, when I go I am there for hours and seem to spend most of my time in the smoking areas, some clubs have done some great work on these areas and spent a lot of money on them but they are still freezing cold at this time of year especially as the very dress code of clubs and heat inside means you wear less. I smoke a lot when I socialise and drink in fact when I drink I am a chain smoker but only drink around once or twice a month, this means that my enjoyment at clubs is severely de-hanced, now I am not saying change the smoking laws I am simply stating a fact as it applies to me. I do think the smoking ban has affected more pubs and clubs than is quite realised.
I have to agree with you there Midscpl. I'm a non smoker but for many years I thought you had to smoke to be a swinger.... I do think the smoking ban has had a profound effect on club attendance, and while the law will never change, it is a pity they couldn't have found a way to legally filter the smoke quickly out of a building without forcing smokers outside. Mind you that will open a whole new debate and that definately ain't my intention...:)
Being an ex smoker, one can certainly sympathise with this and we too noticed a drop in the numbers. I think I was more of a social smoker and the social areas where people smoked were always great fun to hang out in and chat. Several clubs were quick to provide outside or courtyard areas to combat this, Chams set up an especially good one, while places like Liberty Elite and VA didn't need to try very hard as the layout of their clubs was pretty easy to add a decent smoking area. Some where you had to go in a 'van' near the club, was less than ideal. The mainland Europeans were quick to combat this, most of the clubs got around the law by setting up a dedicated private room which is used by the smokers inside with an extractor fan and airlock style door. Essentially it side steps the legal issue, all be it in a very tenuous way. I am glad the smoking ban came in personally because I know it helped me to stop smoking, even though I am very sympathetic towards smokers and definately think clubs should provide for them. On PRICING - As we have been checking clubs overseas we have noticed the price drops and special offers have increased and we hope the UK venues follow suite. We fully appreciate going to a club can be quite expensive, as stated, the best club isn't always on you're doorstep, and even when it is, you still might have to budget £80 or so, if you're staying late, drinking and need a taxi home or whatever it can all soon add up. Typically when we are going to Liberty Elite or VA, we have to budget £200 because it takes half the day to get there, we need to book a room, and then there is entrance fee, drinks and of course dinner at some point. Doing La Chambre is £300 because of the train fares, even when we booked in advance, and that's mainly because we only go once every other year so we have to pay the membership fee every time. That's why a club like Vanilla Alternative's pricing policy makes sense, one cheaper price for paid members and a higher price for irregular visitors. By the same token running a club isn't cheap and in fact for best clubs its a really hard business that needs constant attention. But the main thing a club can always do to bring in the numbers is run their venue well and set a price that's in accordance with what they have to offer. ClubLick in London is a good example of this, its one of the cheapest, they play good music, but it isn't the best club to play in - but you can still dance, have a laugh and they will keep it open until you want to leave. The club isn't able to offer much beyond good music, a place to socialise and a small play area or two, but the club knows this and sets its prices accordingly. If you're setting you're price around the £40 mark these days, then you had really better be the best club in you're area, and be able to offer a lot for that price because you need to be getting at least 40 couples in on you're weekend days (Minimum)ideally more. Quite a few clubs actually have free entry nights in Europe and they make their money on the bar, by getting the extra numbers on the drinks till, obviously CHAMS can't really do that, but you could always do a once a month crazy thursday everyone in for a fiver. (limit single men obviously) A club that already does good business can probably get a good response to any promo it has a stab at, if its good value for money. Liberty Elite does a free Friday a couple of times a year which are very popular, and helps get membership and attendance up on other nights, so its worth doing for sure. We certainly wouldn't mind the price coming down especially as we have about 80 clubs to visit in the next two to three years!
Sound sense and sound information, I have to admit I am not familiar with general club prices, we use Atlantis Evolution most Saturday nights and prices seem quite reasonable, it is a BYOA (Bring Your Own Alcohol)club which is obviously cheaper than any bar can compete with no matter how low thier drink prices are, Couples night is £25 per couple with FREE life membership, there is even a local couple who offer FREE accommodation to groups and couples who want to stay over in the area (details on Atlantis website) so those factors do help to make it good value for money. What does it cost (babysitters/outfits/travel) not included to visit YOUR favourite club, let's see an easy comparison without having to trawl through all the websites ?
Quote by MidsCouple24 Sound sense and sound information, I have to admit I am not familiar with general club prices, we use Atlantis Evolution most Saturday nights and prices seem quite reasonable, it is a BYOA (Bring Your Own Alcohol)club which is obviously cheaper than any bar can compete with no matter how low thier drink prices are, Couples night is £25 per couple with FREE life membership, there is even a local couple who offer FREE accommodation to groups and couples who want to stay over in the area (details on Atlantis website) so those factors do help to make it good value for money. What does it cost (babysitters/outfits/travel) not included to visit YOUR favourite club, let's see an easy comparison without having to trawl through all the websites ?
Don't think that's a fair thing to do while we like atlantis it's only two rooms if you look at liberty elite or the vanilla alternative they offer much more, more rooms better decor hot tubs free food more people attending libs has 20 grand of fetish equipment all this costs money if a higher entrance cost keeps out the soap doggers then we are all for it you get what you pay for simple !
Any club that has a 'water feature' (Pool, Jacuzzi) is always like to have to charge more on the door than one that does not, depending on many other factors of course. VA and LIBS offer a bit of everything, but that's why they are two of the best clubs in the country, CHAMS has been going longer and constantly added and re-invested. Of course different people like different clubs for different reasons and will gravitate towards the one that is nearest to them that offers the right things at the price for them. Clubs are always limited by space and budget, but even the tinyest club can be a great sucess as Ourplace4fun in London has proven (Its about twice the size of my flat in London) It's not just the size, but what you do with it that counts too, as they say. We have to say, we hear nothing but good reports about Altantis, so its certainly got its fans!
we only been to this club twice as a couple, and it was very quiet, however we made a night of it and went to birmingham first, the club itself was good in that you dont need to be undressed and there were lots of space, the price was high, but they have to recover some money, we prefer this type of disco swinging club, but cant comment onthe others yet. social meets via websites obviously attract bigger crowds.
Quote by abw1065 Sound sense and sound information, I have to admit I am not familiar with general club prices, we use Atlantis Evolution most Saturday nights and prices seem quite reasonable, it is a BYOA (Bring Your Own Alcohol)club which is obviously cheaper than any bar can compete with no matter how low thier drink prices are, Couples night is £25 per couple with FREE life membership, there is even a local couple who offer FREE accommodation to groups and couples who want to stay over in the area (details on Atlantis website) so those factors do help to make it good value for money. What does it cost (babysitters/outfits/travel) not included to visit YOUR favourite club, let's see an easy comparison without having to trawl through all the websites ?
Don't think that's a fair thing to do while we like atlantis it's only two rooms if you look at liberty elite or the vanilla alternative they offer much more, more rooms better decor hot tubs free food more people attending libs has 20 grand of fetish equipment all this costs money if a higher entrance cost keeps out the soap doggers then we are all for it you get what you pay for simple ! Fair point, I didn't mean for it to be a "this one is better than that one" thread, truly no club will suit everyone and prices will vary according to facilities offered, I was more thinking that a simple idea of entry/membership pricing might help people locate a club that suits them, we for instance do not use jacuzzi, steam room, sauna facilities so whilst we expect clubs with all that to cost more we would look for a cheaper club without that, others dont want to go to a club without those facilities and would rather pay more or travel further to go to a club that has them.
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