Great post by CU.
Few of us here may still remember the heyday of the 'movie theaters'. Think of the legendary places like the 'The Tearoom' in San Francisco.
Obviously, all of that is now largely a history. Why?
Consumers do object (and they do vote with their feet AND their wallets), to paying for anything that is elsewhere available for "free". Cheap VHS and later on, DVDs of pirated porn made you feel stupid, if you were actually dishing out your hard-earned dough for what everyone else was getting for FREE.
True, not too many people were really going to those movie theaters for the pure joy of watching the cinematic achievements at hand. We all frequented those places for a slightly different reason
, didn't we? Yet, you were really nominally paying for watching the movie that you could watch for free, too.
So, many people reasoned, if I had to spend my cash in order to hook up with someone for sex, I'd rather buy myself couple of drinks at a gay bar, club, spa, disco, and attend to the business at hand in the backroom... At least, no one around is really giving free drinks, so buying them makes sense.
Which really gives us a foretaste of the future which is developing before our eyes, now.
All the commercial gay cruising venues really sell is the chance to hook up with someone of your liking, broadly speaking, and have quick, easy and uncomplicated sex on the spot. The market demand for this concept is fairly constant.
Who is falling off the wagon?
Guys who are packaging their offer into the formula called 'pay-for-porn+overpriced lube'. Net is bursting at its seams with free porn, and nope, you won't beat the megachain pricing of lube; internet pricing of toys, etc., no matter what... So, frankly, you are on your way out, into the history books. You have not only lost your competitive edge. You have lost it for good.
Who is riding the wave?
Guys who are packaging their offer into the formula 'you pay for something that ain't for free anyway, and get the chance to hook up, and do it there anyway.'
One of the major gay discos in Europe charges USD $20.00 entrance at the door. Two drinks of your choice (including all spirits and all the basic mixes) ARE included. Few people, very few people are actually dancing. The backroom landscape is tightly packed. We are talking 400-500 people cruising heavily. Loads of young, internet-savy dudes, too. Awesome, awesome action.
Gay Cruises - A vacation will cost you thousands. Fine, no one really gives free cruises, free meals, free vacations away, so you pay for all of that, AND you get the chance to make friends with guys like yourself, hook up, exchange ideas, plans, stories, socialize, whatever...
Spa, resorts, retreats, lodges, etc., Again, they charge you heavily for what is to be paid anyway, since there is really NO Free alternative to having it all, AND you get to have some fun on the spot, too.
I guess, we all see an emerging pattern here, don't we?
KD