Nightclub has special booth to upcharge foreigners

[reader]

From The Thaiger

A Bangkok nightclub has set up what resembles an immigration counter outside the venue to check foreigners’ IDs and make them pay up before entering. At BarBarBar in Thong Lor, Thais get in free, but foreigners are asked to step aside to the booth and either pay 500 baht or buy a bottle of alcohol before entering the venue.

Bouncers outside BarBarBar check everyone’s IDs before they enter, making sure they’re at least 20 years old. But foreigners are pointed to the booth and are basically vetted before entering.

An employee sits behind a clear barrier to check IDs and collect cash. A sign reads: “In this situation of epidemic Covid-19, ALL tourists must stay in Thailand 14 days without any symptoms before entering the club. Also, real passport are only granted entry to our club. We kindly request our guest to co-operate.”

A Bangkok nightclub has set up what resembles an immigration counter outside the venue to check foreigners’ IDs and make them pay up before entering. At BarBarBar in Thong Lor, Thais get in free, but foreigners are asked to step aside to the booth and either pay 500 baht or buy a bottle of alcohol before entering the venue.

Foreigners have 2 options at BarBarBar: Pay 500 baht or cut a deal for a group of foreigners by purchasing alcohol. Menus are at the counter listing some alcohol packages priced at 15,000 baht and 17,000 baht.

 

[hank75]

This is nothing new, foreigners are ID checked at most major nightspots and ordered to buy bottles at the door. They also have an uncanny ability to distinguish other Asians from Thais, and spot go go boys entering with customers. The boys are welcomed like old friends, their customers are shown the priciest drinks. Fortunately DJ Station is exempt from this practice ! 

Babe from Moonlight is a fan of Barbarbar because it is sufficiently hi-so! 

[vinapu]

thank you for the warning but as far as I can see I can't envision being interested to  go there any time soon.

[spoon]

I guess it is pretty obvious these clubs dont want foreigner to come to their premises. I thought only temple charges foreigner to enter and let thai enter for free hehe.

[hank75]

7 hours ago, spoon said:

I guess it is pretty obvious these clubs dont want foreigner to come to their premises. I thought only temple charges foreigner to enter and let thai enter for free hehe.

I think this dual pricing practice has been going for a long time extends to tourist attractions and other venues too. 
 

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1949692/foreigners-take-aim-at-dual-pricing

[reader]

40 minutes ago, hank75 said:

I think this dual pricing practice has been going for a long time extends to tourist attractions and other venues too.

Longevity doesn't legitimize it. This particular brand of it falls somewhere between extortion and xenophobia.

[hank75]

1 hour ago, reader said:

Longevity doesn't legitimize it. This particular brand of it falls somewhere between extortion and xenophobia.

The reasoning for cultural sites and certain attractions is that citizens pay taxes which contribute to its upkeep, therefore they in return receive free entry. This is common practice globally, where museums and cultural sites offer free access to citizens and sell tickets to others (eg Louvre, Versailles for EU residents  - at least when I was there several years ago. It may have changed since). Also a more historical theory is that cultural monuments should be freely accessed by the people they were built to serve, no matter income brackets so that no one should be deprived of culture and hygiene. This dates back to the Romans. Free access to culture was also one way of affirming the legitimacy and might of the rulers, for instance Napoleon trucking back sculptures from Egypt to awe the masses. 

I agree this altruism has been distorted in Thailand, where nightclubs can in no way be seen as great cultural monuments nor is the taxpayer argument feasible here! I wouldn’t go as far as saying xenophobia but greed and discrimination, definitely particularly at national parks etc. For nightclubs, I have no sympathy for foreigners complaining they can’t afford entry. Don’t go. 

[hank75]

3 minutes ago, hank75 said:

For nightclubs, I have no sympathy for foreigners complaining they can’t afford entry. Don’t go. 

I stand to be corrected. Should Jupiter or Moonlight or any of my favorite bars try to enforce double pricing I would be furious  

[spoon]

2 hours ago, hank75 said:

I think this dual pricing practice has been going for a long time extends to tourist attractions and other venues too. 
 

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1949692/foreigners-take-aim-at-dual-pricing

Malaysia also have this dual pricing in a very limited attraction (i can only recall a few, for eg. the twin tower skybridge visit, penang bukit bendera) and the "excuses" is to encourage more locals to go to these places multiple times. To be fair, these facilities owned by gov and tax payer does support the cost of building them and the upkeep too. 

I can close one eye for dual pricing if the difference is not huge. Free vs 100 baht at wat/temples is fine for me. To be honest, if u go to these bars, you will end up spending more than 500 anyway, so no issues to me either. What itll do is kept away non-paying foreign customer? Its not as bad as what happened in Japan where some bars totally not allowed any foreigner to enter regardless of entry price. There is also a sauna in hongkong that only allow hunks/in shape foreigner to enter, while much more lenient with locals. 

I guess if you disagree with the practice, vote with your money and spend it somewhere else.

[vinapu]

1 hour ago, hank75 said:

 Should Jupiter or Moonlight or any of my favorite bars try to enforce double pricing I would be furious  

for me,  they would stop being favorite bars immediately if to achieve that they raised prices for foreigners.

If they went other way i.e. keeping our prices as they are and reducing them for Thais , I'd consider digesting that indignity

 

[GWMinUS]

Vinapu..

SAME SAME

Here in New Mexico we Locals can enter the State Museums and Monuments for FREE. Persons from out of State, like those Texans, pay USD10. Nothing more to say...

[PeterRS]

I have never ever been able to work out why so many foreign nationals get so worked up about double pricing. Why on earth the fuss? At least two saunas in Bangkok have much higher prices for older farang compared to the Thai entry price? So what? Pay up or go somewhere else. Pissed off that you have to pay a bit more to get into a national park? Now isnt it just a bit strange that most farang tourists have coughed up 20,000 baht for an air fare and many thousands for a hotel, pop 2,000 to 3,000 a night for entertainment, dont eat at street stalls, dont have a family to bring up - and yet they scream blue murder when a Thai gets into Wat Phra Kaew free whereas the farang has to pay 500 baht. If that sticks in your craw so much, take your complaining and go somewhere where there are no distinctions. But of course they wont. They like Thailand and what it offers too much. So quit complaining and just put up with it!

[spoon]

Worth to mention US did double pricing of epic proportion for international student tuition fee vs local too, mostly double or triple of what local pays.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, spoon said:

Worth to mention US did double pricing of epic proportion for international student tuition fee vs local too, mostly double or triple of what local pays.

I believe this is common in many countries.   

It is reasonable and normal for the taxpayer to make a partial contribution to the cost of education for it's own citizens, but the taxpayer should not be expected to offer the entire planet subsidized education.  

 

On the other hand, with no taxpayer support, I see no such justification for a private business to charge foreigners more.    I would conclude that they don't want my business and go elsewhere.

 

Another area of discrimination is age related entry fees.   I encountered this at a gay sauna in Singapore.  They have 3 tiers of pricing according to age.  I was naturally in the higher tier.     I paid up on their naked night and thought the tiered pricing was a huge success.  The place was stuffed full of fit young people butt naked.  

Whereas, if I go to the London saunas, the average age must be over 40 and often there is no "eye candy" at all.    If they allowed under 25s in at 25% of the normal entry fee, that would be fine with me.   In the era of Grindr, youngsters are not going to pay £20 to watch older people demonstrate Archimedes principle in the jacuzzi.

 

 

 

 

 

[reader]

3 hours ago, spoon said:

Worth to mention US did double pricing of epic proportion for international student tuition fee vs local too, mostly double or triple of what local pays.

US colleges charge less for in-state (province) students that obviously includes foreign students.

It's worth noting that the Smithsonian museums in Washington are free to all comers.

I have no problem paying higher admission to enter a museum or park. I have often taken locals to museums in BKK and Hanoi who had never been there before, Their reaction is more than enough reward.

But in the case of the hi-so clubs I see it very differently. They are consciously trying to exclude foreigners and (in the case above) use the ploy of Covid 19. At least in the xenophobic Japanese bars, they don't hide their intent. 

I agree with all those who advise "vote with your feet."  I have no desire to associate with the hi-so elites or wannabees.

 

[hank75]

10 hours ago, vinapu said:

for me,  they would stop being favorite bars immediately if to achieve that they raised prices for foreigners.

If they went other way i.e. keeping our prices as they are and reducing them for Thais , I'd consider digesting that indignity

The rub is that go go bars are actually designed for foreign not Thai audiences. The entry fees are priced to deter Thai customers who have other local options that foreigners will not know about. Only the well-off Thais will be willing to pay this entry fee and drink prices which is exorbitant by local standards. And for the truly wealthy gay Thais, well there are on-call options aplenty if you know what I mean. The premium go go boys go go to them. So if they started discounting prices for Thais then it would be warning bells that they no longer considered us foreigners their  best source of revenue.
 

And as you know, Thais go to drink with a million friends so pretty soon we would be squeezed out by loud ladyboys en masse. This happened once at Moonlight. It was not pretty. They were fondling some of the boys who hurled themselves at me and my friends in desperation. 

[hank75]

33 minutes ago, reader said:

But in the case of the hi-so clubs I see it very differently. They are consciously trying to exclude foreigners and (in the case above) use the ploy of Covid 19. At least in the xenophobic Japanese bars, they don't hide their intent. 

I have always felt very welcomed at hi-so clubs and in fact made aware of how desired foreign dollars are. So I think dual pricing is just an effort to squeeze as much money from foreigners who have limited clubbing options which are easy for English speakers. Even local clubs are welcoming though slightly taken aback if you do not speak Thai at all. Not xenophobia like Japan which is true. 

[reader]

8 hours ago, PeterRS said:

I have never ever been able to work out why so many foreign nationals get so worked up about double pricing.

I have never been able to work out why you can't.

8 hours ago, PeterRS said:

So quit complaining and just put up with it!

Thanks for the invitation but I think I'll respectfully decline your thoughtful offer .

 

[anddy]

9 hours ago, PeterRS said:

At least two saunas in Bangkok have much higher prices for older farang compared to the Thai entry price? So what?

I guess you mean R3 and Mania. No more since they re-opened in July, including on the special o-party nights, which have recently resumed (though not on the weekly basis they were before). Incidentally, the higher price was not for older farang, but for older guys in general. There was no distinction by nationality and/or race. 

As for that dual pricing, it is as @z909 said about that Singapore sauna: it is to keep the crowd predominantly young, which is in the interest of their young customers, which will represent the bulk of their customer base. So there is logic to it, which I sympathize with. And let's face it, when we were young we would have liked that policy too to keep the crowds young and attractive. That crowd composition is the reason we'd go then (when still young) and go now (when old). So just growing out of the preferred age bracket is no reason to all of a sudden complain. Having said that, most places do not have such differentiation. The 3 tier pricing at the Singapore sauna was/is not as egregious as R3 had it for the orgy nights (like 350 for <50, 1500 for >50), and therefore more easily acceptable. 

[PeterRS]

On 11/10/2020 at 8:45 PM, hank75 said:

The rub is that go go bars are actually designed for foreign not Thai audiences. The entry fees are priced to deter Thai customers who have other local options that foreigners will not know about. Only the well-off Thais will be willing to pay this entry fee and drink prices which is exorbitant by local standards. 

Oh really? According to Michael and other posters, who have been filling the bars at weekends? Thais! We also know from other correspondents that when the bars had their heyday 20 or so years ago, there were as many Thais as farang,

[Guest]

I'm all for age tiered pricing in saunas if it achieves the same result that I saw in Singapore.   When visiting the sauna on a naked night, the more under 25s, the better.

As for the bars, if I have only 2 drinks and pay the off fee in Bangkok, the bill might be 1400 baht.  That's over 4 times the minimum Thai daily wage & it's a lot more for a full night out.

Whilst I appreciate the median wage in Bangkok is most likely a long way above the minimum wage,  paying these kind of prices is only going to be acceptable to a small minority of Thais who are very wealthy.   Or for people having a very rare treat.   Whilst I do see some Thai groups in certain Bangkok bars, in order to fill the gogo bars at the kind of prices charged these days, they need foreigners as well.   

I presume the pricing is more competitive at the type of club referred to earlier in the thread.

 

[hank75]

8 hours ago, PeterRS said:

Oh really? According to Michael and other posters, who have been filling the bars at weekends? Thais! We also know from other correspondents that when the bars had their heyday 20 or so years ago, there were as many Thais as farang,

Absolutely, but this is due to the pandemic rather than the desired target audience. My understanding is that there are gay bars for a local audience and before the pandemic the Thai customers mostly steered clear of Silom gogos. The boys themselves told me that Thais rarely come to the bars and they hardly had any Thai customers. Now, all customers are Thai with the exception of expats. 
My assumption was that the prices were a deterrent but equally possible Thai customers don’t like being in an environment packed with farang and Chinese.

I was recently told as well, Thai customers who are drinking in the go go bars get concessions like waived cover charge and bottle discount because often they are friends of mamasan or owners. 

Regardless I am grateful they are keeping my favorite bars in business 

[PeterRS]

 I wonder when the Thais disappeared from the gogo bars. Reading older posts it was obvious that audiences at many gogo bars were a decent mix of Thais and farang a couple of decades or so ago. Could it be that rising living standards particularly among young professionals led to the opening of more Thai for Thai venues like the nightclub mentioned in the OP? Did Thaksin’s Social Order campaigns make Thais feel they did not want to be seen any more in gogo bars? This could be an interesting topic for a more lengthy article.