Ideal Health Centre

[mojochub]

Hi guys,

Would like to find out what is the requirement in your mind of a ideal health centre?

Places like diamond, sphere, 17, tc, bh, y-club are some of the health centre in Singapore.

If there is going to be another, what would you like to see that it should have to attract you to go?

[trojan_junk]

for me, a big thing for me would be friendly and good-looking receptionists/staff. nothing beats that. they set the mood before even going to the "action rooms".

[oralb]

- clean facilities

- more facilities, i think for a decent health center, there should be jacuzzi, steam bath and sauna.

- can have dark room but pls dont send every place into dark ages

- secure locker

- but of coz the most impt is the patrons...

[mojochub]

How about location?

Now most of the health centre is located around chinatown.

If the health centre is not in town area, would anyone be going?

[beta]

- clean facilities

- more facilities, i think for a decent health center, there should be jacuzzi, steam bath and sauna.

- can have dark room but pls dont send every place into dark ages

- secure locker

- but of coz the most impt is the patrons...

- internet

- Gym (those guys who gym can workout there also)

- Cafe (must eat and drink also mah)

- Smoking corner (i rather smoker smoke in the smoking corner rather than in the cafe)

- TV louge (preferrly 2, 1 for normal movie or soft core gay theme movie, the other one for..... )

- mouth rinse (to remove ur breath)

- option to wear shorts instead of towel....(maybe a theme night)

- private room should provide the required items lah. (some ppl lazy or shy to ask from counter then 1 day, another Andy will pop up again...)

[harylok]

... more Qualified Masseurs. Male or female doesnt matter to me. So long the massage skill is good, it will be value for money.

These days, too many 挂羊头卖狗肉 services liao.

Warmth Regards,

Hary

[biguy]

harylok, most of the young massuers are that la, you can't really expect them with good skill as they more in extra & have " extra tips ".

[GachiMuchi]

Let assume that the owner, based on the suggestions started a HC with,

- town area

- internet

- Gym

- Cafe

- Smoking corner

- TV lounge

- mouth rinse

- option to wear shorts instead of towel

- private room

- clean facilities

- Jacuzzi

- steam

- sauna

- dark room

- secure locker

- Qualified Masseurs

- friendly and good-looking receptionists/staff

I am wondering if anyone of those who pitch in for their Ideal Health Centre consider what kind of cost are they willing to pay to get what they want?

It certainly can't be $5 - $12 like what Y-club, Raw or Shogun charges rite?

Those str8 sauna charges around $60+ to $80+ for facilities and Massage and about $20+ for use of facilities only.

If the cost is as high as Tower Club, 17 or Diamond over the weekends, would you go as often?

Ok, let's say Mojochub and his partners are rich PLUs wanting to start a HC.

1. What is your target market? Plu or str8 or both?

2. How grand do you want to have this HC. (Anything smaller will not be able to house those facilities)

3. Where do you want to locate it? (There are designated areas for PLU biz and HC, unless you can take over an existing HC in the hotel)

4. With or without massage will determine the license you get.

5. Serving or not serving beer is another set of license.

Having said that, with 7 Plu saunas (TC, 17, BH, Shogun, Raw, Sphere and Y-Club) and not forgetting the demise of Box, Rairua, Papilion & V-Club. How do you differentiate yourself from the rest?

[mojochub]

Let assume that the owner, based on the suggestions started a HC with,

- town area

- internet

- Gym

- Cafe

- Smoking corner

- TV lounge

- mouth rinse

- option to wear shorts instead of towel

- private room

- clean facilities

- Jacuzzi

- steam

- sauna

- dark room

- secure locker

- Qualified Masseurs

- friendly and good-looking receptionists/staff

I am wondering if anyone of those who pitch in for their Ideal Health Centre consider what kind of cost are they willing to pay to get what they want?

It certainly can't be $5 - $12 like what Y-club, Raw or Shogun charges rite?

Those str8 sauna charges around $60+ to $80+ for facilities and Massage and about $20+ for use of facilities only.

If the cost is as high as Tower Club, 17 or Diamond over the weekends, would you go as often?

Ok, let's say Mojochub and his partners are rich PLUs wanting to start a HC.

1. What is your target market? Plu or str8 or both?

2. How grand do you want to have this HC. (Anything smaller will not be able to house those facilities)

3. Where do you want to locate it? (There are designated areas for PLU biz and HC, unless you can take over an existing HC in the hotel)

4. With or without massage will determine the license you get.

5. Serving or not serving beer is another set of license.

Having said that, with 7 Plu saunas (TC, 17, BH, Shogun, Raw, Sphere and Y-Club) and not forgetting the demise of Box, Rairua, Papilion & V-Club. How do you differentiate yourself from the rest?

Many thanks for the suggestion and the advise.

Was hoping to setup a HC that would care for the user. Taking their advise and complain into consideration. (Of course with action done)

But in all would say that the whole thing is in planning state. Unless someone comes along to help to pool in the money. Else the whole thing will have to wait till i have enough fund to start.

[Guest Guest]

Every suggestion is good, especially those from GM that are full of details.

Having been to saunas here (straight, semi-straight and PLUs) for the last 20 years, I would suggest you consider one aspect very carefully. That is the people you want to attract.

Lets face it. You want to get into this business to make money. Making money means attracting customers. What do the customers who go to a gay sauna really want? I believe it is carnal satisfaction. Generally speaking of course.

Your target market and how you attract them is the most important thing to consider. In Hong Kong, the most crowded sauna is Galaxy. It is cheap, location is godd and it caters to the working class and the people who like working class males. In Bangkok, GSM, Babylon and Chakran are the most crowded. GSM is like Galaxy attracting mostly Blue collar males and of course we know what Babylon and Chakran is like.

I personally think most gay people are attracted to blue collar working class types of males. If so, to attract them, there are some constraints you will face. These people will not go to an expensive and fancy sauna. In any case, it will not make fiscal sense to spend lots of money to dress up your sauna, and charge a low price to aatract these working class type of males.

Think about it. Rich people can go to a sauna that charges a cheap price, but working class people will not go to a sauna that charges a high price.

My suggestion is therefore, if you want to set up a sauna to attract the working class males, you need not spend too much money to make the place fanciful. Justs lots of places to let them have fun and make the entrance price very reasonable and lots and lots of advertisement when you start.

Good luck!

[crazygolfer]

Your target market and how you attract them is the most important thing to consider. In Hong Kong, the most crowded sauna is Galaxy. It is cheap, location is godd and it caters to the working class and the people who like working class males. In Bangkok, GSM, Babylon and Chakran are the most crowded. GSM is like Galaxy attracting mostly Blue collar males and of course we know what Babylon and Chakran is like.

Well, you are right Galaxy in Hkg is easy accessible and the crowd varies, some times you might meet some Asian tourists there too, I think Korean, Taiwanese, etc. This sauna is one of my favourite place too.

As for facilities and ambience, I would vote for Chakran in Bkk.

[harylok]

harylok, most of the young massuers are that la, you can't really expect them with good skill as they more in extra & have " extra tips ".

Biguy,

Why must be only young masseur leh? Uncle masseur also got potential. (must also cater for those uncle chasers). Ideally, hire young n old masseur.

I believe there are young one with good skill too. I think it's the selection criteria.

Not everyone go for extra lah.

We are talking abt ideal health center, a place to relax, good massage has its core.

Can I presume the targetted crowd are PLU???

Warmth Regards,

Hary

[biguy]

harylok, i say most & not all, haha, we can't deny that, it is the fact. For me i don't go for extra & only go for decent one, yet from most readers here, we can tell that alot into extra service.

[skylancer]

Let assume that the owner, based on the suggestions started a HC with,

- town area

- internet

- Gym

- Cafe

- Smoking corner

- TV lounge

- mouth rinse

- option to wear shorts instead of towel

- private room

- clean facilities

- Jacuzzi

- steam

- sauna

- dark room

- secure locker

- Qualified Masseurs

- friendly and good-looking receptionists/staff

I am wondering if anyone of those who pitch in for their Ideal Health Centre consider what kind of cost are they willing to pay to get what they want?

It certainly can't be $5 - $12 like what Y-club, Raw or Shogun charges rite?

Those str8 sauna charges around $60+ to $80+ for facilities and Massage and about $20+ for use of facilities only.

If the cost is as high as Tower Club, 17 or Diamond over the weekends, would you go as often?

Ok, let's say Mojochub and his partners are rich PLUs wanting to start a HC.

1.  What is your target market? Plu or str8 or both?

2.  How grand do you want to have this HC. (Anything smaller will not be able to house those facilities)

3.  Where do you want to locate it? (There are designated areas for PLU biz and HC, unless you can take over an existing HC in the hotel)

4.  With or without massage will determine the license you get.

5.  Serving or not serving beer is another set of license.

Having said that, with 7 Plu saunas (TC, 17, BH, Shogun, Raw, Sphere and Y-Club) and not forgetting the demise of Box, Rairua, Papilion & V-Club.  How do you differentiate yourself from the rest?

Many thanks for the suggestion and the advise.

Was hoping to setup a HC that would care for the user. Taking their advise and complain into consideration. (Of course with action done)

But in all would say that the whole thing is in planning state. Unless someone comes along to help to pool in the money. Else the whole thing will have to wait till i have enough fund to start.

haha.. u serious? hmm... i tot of it too.. hhaha but need really lots of cash...

but i going to set up 1 maybe in bkk.. hahha... not that rich.. haha dont know got enough cap. for the start... i also tot of the following:

Memebership

Overnight stay?(i mean like stay in the room for fun? who knows right?)

special function room?

etc...

[harylok]

Business = To Money

Starts from the ground, select the candidate who has the friendly personality, train them about customer satisfaction.

The Boss himself must also try to put effort to socialize with all his customers. Even just a "Hi" and "Bye" will make the customer feels good. Best still, if he can remember the customer's name.

Now the key thing is that how to make the customer "FEEL AT HOME". (I am presuming the targeted crowd is PLU).

If the boss achieves that, the business will surely grow.

Very Basic theory,

1 Happy client = 2 or more potential Happy clients (through recommendation from the 1st happy client)

2 happy clients = more ....

Somehow or rather, it applies well especially to PLU in the real world. One Big Family kind of thing.

As for the Reno, don't need to be too grand, so long it’s clean and presentable.

One important factor to consider, the interior design, e.g. Cruising path, private corners, resting area, noise level etc.(e.g. Diamond K-OK is a mistake)

To start with an unfamiliar business, its better to start low($$$). We already learnt what are the primary objective of PLU when they patronize the so-called HC.

Warmth Regards,

Hary

[harylok]

harylok, i say most & not all, haha, we can't deny that, it is the fact. For me i don't go for extra & only go for decent one, yet from most readers here, we can tell that alot into extra service.

Biguy,

Neither did I say "All".

I am looking more at the business aspect. "Options", "Variety". As far business is conern, we should explore all potential opportunity. Fixed business model approach is high risk.

BTW. PPL tips for just Good massage services too.

Cheers!!!.

Warmth Regards,

Hary

[Guest Guest]

I like Health Centre that have roof top, can enjoy open Jacuzzi at the same time looking at the sky esp nite time, so romantic

[biguy]

harylok, i say most & not all, haha, we can't deny that, it is the fact. For me i don't go for extra & only go for decent one, yet from most readers here, we can tell that alot into extra service.

Biguy,

Neither did I say "All".

I am looking more at the business aspect. "Options", "Variety". As far business is conern, we should explore all potential opportunity. Fixed business model approach is high risk.

BTW. PPL tips for just Good massage services too.

Cheers!!!.

Warmth Regards,

Hary

harylok, i not here to argue & die die want to win, just cos one of your post did mention about " These days, too many 挂羊头卖狗肉 services liao " , that's why i come out with that comment, hope you understand.

To me if you are into str customers too, i just puzzle why need to have dark maze, cos that only for gay & bi for sure, str guy don't need those, that will only scare away those str guys & more police will visit the Decent Pure Health Centre often.

[harylok]

Dear Biguy,

I am glad that you make yourself clear. But I still don't quite get what are you trying to bring across in your comment (Young masseur/extra/Tips)?

Personally, I have patronized almost all popular Health Centers in Singapore, even some are owned by my friends. Don't I know what is "Extra" is? It's an hidden services for Straight ("Special") n PLU ("Extra/Bonus). Even with this default thing(sure have in most customer's mind), the business is trying very hard to sustain.

Do you think "DHC 2005" is making money and successful? I think Not. Why?

It is not because is a 30Straight/70PLU HC. Do you know the Sxxxxxn at Telok Ayer is also losing money too, despite the low fees.

My intention is to highlight that business require one to zoom into details to stragtegize. We are talking too surface at this level now, what about ROI? Monthly re-curring cost, Staff turnover etc.

By the way, our future HC Boss "mojochub" has not even come up his path forward plan. Maybe the "dark maze" is not in his list at all.

Since the direction is not clear. It's still open for suggestion.

Cheers!!!

Warmth Regards,

(Hary. ..everyone shoud try to Think Out Of The Box)

[mojochub]

Hi guys,

Thanks again for all the feedback.

Please help to keep it coming in so that i can take not of the things that a ideal hc which everyone is looking forward to.

Of course i hope that by the end of this year i can have to capital to start a hc on my own.

By then hope that all of you can continue to give me feedback on the kind of HC you all are looking forwarded to.

[worldangel]

Hi guys,

Thanks again for all the feedback.

Please help to keep it coming in so that i can take not of the things that a ideal hc which everyone is looking forward to.

Of course i hope that by the end of this year i can have to capital to start a hc on my own.

By then hope that all of you can continue to give me feedback on the kind of HC you all are looking forwarded to.

That's a great Mojochub, any discount for BW members once you open your new health club?

[crazygolfer]

Of course i hope that by the end of this year i can have to capital to start a hc on my own.

By then hope that all of you can continue to give me feedback on the kind of HC you all are looking forwarded to.

Am I right to hear that a new health club coming up by end of this year?

[cub33]

Hello.. just want to share my ideal health club.

(since its ideal, I can hv the freedom to list out my wish list) ha ha ha

Reception Area:

It must be open concept & spacious. Most of the reception here are small little cubicles & the "receptionist" are usually not very well trained. By having a open concept reception area, this will make the patrons feel tt they r proud of visiting the health club.

TV Room

Its nice to have a room for ppl to sit & relax to watch a nice movie whilst enjoying a cup of hot coffee.

No dark room

This is becoz I like the place to be clean & not too "activity focus". We hv too many of such maze/dark rooms.. Make the whole place er.. abit too sleezy?

Reading Room

Playing nice soothing music & comfortable couch for ppl to sit & read.

Patrons will definitely want to come early to enjoy such amenities!

Outdoor jacuzzi

we can sit & enjoy the fresh air & the views around

Eating Cafe

A good eating cafe will complete my visit at the health club.

it muz not be oven ready made food, but something that is make out from the kitchen.. (demanding hor)

Dress Code in the health club

It would be nice that shorts are provided..

Private Rooms

No mattress please Beds are better..

If ever, such kind of dream club is open.. I can spend 1 whole day there & come back recharged! ha ha ha ha

[andi69]

Hello.. just want to share my ideal health club.

(since its ideal, I can hv the freedom to list out my wish list) ha ha ha

Reception Area:

It must be open concept & spacious. Most of the reception here are small little cubicles & the "receptionist" are usually not very well trained. By having a open concept reception area, this will make the patrons feel tt they r proud of visiting the health club.

TV Room

Its nice to have a room for ppl to sit & relax to watch a nice movie whilst enjoying a cup of hot coffee.

No dark room

This is becoz I like the place to be clean & not too "activity focus". We hv too many of such maze/dark rooms.. Make the whole place er.. abit too sleezy?

Reading Room

Playing nice soothing music & comfortable couch for ppl to sit & read.

Patrons will definitely want to come early to enjoy such amenities!

Outdoor jacuzzi

we can sit & enjoy the fresh air & the views around

Eating Cafe

A good eating cafe will complete my visit at the health club.

it muz not be oven ready made food, but something that is make out from the kitchen.. (demanding hor)

Dress Code in the health club

It would be nice that shorts are provided..

Private Rooms

No mattress please Beds are better.. 

If ever, such kind of dream club is open.. I can spend 1 whole day there & come back recharged! ha ha ha ha

I am already dreaming of being in this dream club...

[oralb]

hi cub

good to know you are pursuing your dreams...

just wanna add my 2 cents.

after i read, i wonder what's your positioning? who is your target patrons?

with no dark maze or sorts, you may have keep off a good portion who will only do in dark places (i dont coz i prefer to see who i am doing with)

logistic speaking, your dream list sounds more like a spa. this could be higher in maintainence, and that will lead to higher entrance cost.

dont get me wrong, i am attracted to your proposal, however i am worried for the sustainability of your idea

[GachiMuchi]

Hello.. just want to share my ideal health club.

(since its ideal, I can hv the freedom to list out my wish list) ha ha ha

Reception Area:

It must be open concept & spacious. Most of the reception here are small little cubicles & the "receptionist" are usually not very well trained. By having a open concept reception area, this will make the patrons feel tt they r proud of visiting the health club.

TV Room

Its nice to have a room for ppl to sit & relax to watch a nice movie whilst enjoying a cup of hot coffee.

No dark room

This is becoz I like the place to be clean & not too "activity focus". We hv too many of such maze/dark rooms.. Make the whole place er.. abit too sleezy?

Reading Room

Playing nice soothing music & comfortable couch for ppl to sit & read.

Patrons will definitely want to come early to enjoy such amenities!

Outdoor jacuzzi

we can sit & enjoy the fresh air & the views around

Eating Cafe

A good eating cafe will complete my visit at the health club.

it muz not be oven ready made food, but something that is make out from the kitchen.. (demanding hor)

Dress Code in the health club

It would be nice that shorts are provided..

Private Rooms

No mattress please Beds are better..

If ever, such kind of dream club is open.. I can spend 1 whole day there & come back recharged! ha ha ha ha

In land scares Singapore, I believe it would remain just a dream. Frankly, there have been many such places or variations of such places around, but the cost of running a HC is huge. Most str8 joints can't survive without providing message services for it's clients and for most clients to go back to the same HC or be a regular, some times, the "extra services "(aka. Sleaze) have to be a factor.

PLU market in Sg is small, the cost of living high, and the operator of a HC won't survived if they were just to cater to PLUs. The market already saturated with "sleazy" sauna (the way your put it).

How often would u go to your "dream" HC to keep it running?

How much do you think you should be charged for your "dream" HC?

If you were to owner of the HC, how do you make your customer come back to patronise you, if you don't provide "sleaze"?

How do you balance service / comfort / quality over price?

How many workers do you intend to employ to run your HC and how much are you willing to pay them? CPF, worker’s levy (for foreign worker), etc?

Where do you think would be an ideal location? Town = expensive but convenient. Heartland = cheaper but out of the way. etc. etc.

I think you get my point.

Anyway, what customers want and what the owner wants are 2 different things.

[DragonRider]

gachi muchi wrote: "Anyway, what customers want and what the owner wants are 2 different things."

That's the crux of all failed businesses, isn't it? If owners do not know or heed what their target customers want then they will just be pouring their investment money into the drain. But not unless the owner can create a new business plan that no one else has which will create a new and exclusive need. But once successful, there will be many copycats.

[GachiMuchi]

gachi muchi wrote: "Anyway, what customers want and what the owner wants are 2 different things."

That's the crux of all failed businesses, isn't it? If owners do not know or heed what their target customers want then they will just be pouring their investment money into the drain. But not unless the owner can create a new business plan that no one else has which will create a new and exclusive need. But once successful, there will be many copycats.

I think most owner/investors will pour money when they think they can make some money from a venture. As honorable as an owner/investor can be, they won't pour in money just for fun and see how things will go.

We are not talking about investing $500 or $5000, I personally feel that most owners/investors wants to make profit from a venture, whatever it may be and most if not all owners/investor wants to provide the best services for their customers. That is why I said that there is a balancing act to work on "service / comfort / quality over price".

Anyway, to be honest, you can't please every customer, no matter how good a service or how well you have trained your people. Just take a look at some of the posting in this forum to get a feel of what I meant. Of course having said that, there are always room for improvement for all service providers, be it massage or HC, etc.

Businesses fail from many reasons. Can anyone explain why Rairua closes its doors? They have good service, clean environment, nice ambiance, facilities, etc? Why then does it decided to end its business? And what about V-Club? Did they not cater to what customers wants?

Haha.. Let's see who can come up with a winning formula for a successful business venture. I would like to be part of it.

[cub33]

hi cub

good to know you are pursuing your dreams...

just wanna add my 2 cents.

after i read, i wonder what's your positioning? who is your target patrons?

with no dark maze or sorts, you may have keep off a good portion who will only do in dark places (i dont coz i prefer to see who i am doing with)

logistic speaking, your dream list sounds more like a spa. this could be higher in maintainence, and that will lead to higher entrance cost.

dont get me wrong, i am attracted to your proposal, however i am worried for the sustainability of your idea

Hello..

My dream club is targetted at PLUs who hv the $$ to spend..

Its like an actual MEN'S CLUB which ppl hv the chance to sit & mingle.

Not sure if some of u will agree.. If we want sex, we will know which clubs to go..

But wouldnt it be cool that we hv a club which appeals to a particular segment of the PLU market? (well it seemed easier said than done)

Ideal club: something like the club @ Hyatt. Its very posh & can be cruisy at times.

But its not sleezy in anyway..Look at the current HCs, i m sure we do get a fair share of gd & bad customers.. Wont it be good tt we hv a club w/c can filter off some of these bad customers?

The ideal HC should not be located in the heart of the city, as they are pretty much saturated & expensive to maintain.

(marina south?) Not too far but u can get peace & away from the crowd.

Just imagine, PLUs going to this ideal club, they can choose to go there & relax on their off day. A nice get away from the shopping & the ppl.

Also, imagine, ppl coming to ur cafe to eat out & also a chance to chill out.

Lastly, we know why most of us visit HCs, we need to get ourselves "released"..

Personally, I feel tt by having a maze/dark room may not necessarily vital to draw crowds to the spa. Rite?

[mojochub]

Hi guys,

Thanks again for all the feedback.

Please help to keep it coming in so that i can take not of the things that a ideal hc which everyone is looking forward to.

Of course i hope that by the end of this year i can have to capital to start a hc on my own.

By then hope that all of you can continue to give me feedback on the kind of HC you all are looking forwarded to.

That's a great Mojochub, any discount for BW members once you open your new health club?

Of course discount will be given to all blowing wind member, since this is the forum that i love the most.

[musclechub]

Hi guys,

Would like to find out what is the requirement in your mind of a ideal health centre?

Places like diamond, sphere, 17, tc, bh, y-club are some of the health centre in Singapore.

If there is going to be another, what would you like to see that it should have to attract you to go?

Health centre are places where there are massages and private rooms.I agreed diamond is a health centre,but not for sphere,17,tower club.These places are consider sex centre i guess.....

[worldangel]

Of course discount will be given to all blowing wind member, since this is the forum that i love the most.

Thanks Mojochub, looking forward to see the opening of new health club :thumb: