Colosseum Show, Pattaya

[Guest Patexpat]

Just a quick report that I attended one of the soft opening shows for this new attraction .... it is another Tiffany style show on a grand size. Having said that, and given we paid all of B300 AND I'm not a fan of lady boys, it was very entertaining and every dance number was new to me. 

 

When fully open the show will last 75 minutes, but the one I attended was just one hour, and at times the stage looked very empty of scenery, but we were told a lot of stuff was still being built....

 

Be aware dual pricing is in operation (already) despite their facebook page advertising 'all seats all shows B300 for soft opening'. They tried to charge B600 for farang because ... wait for it .... 'tourists don't pay taxes in Thailand' !!!!

 

Thai rate does apply if you have a work permit (check) or Thai driving licence (check) otherwise we would not have bothered.

 

As I have said, entertaining enough for B300 - no idea what the final prices will be though!

 

Note: any reference to ' B300 all seats' had been removed from their facebook page by later that day .....

[Guest kanom]

Dual pricing, will give it a miss then....

Rediculous justification 'tourists don't pay taxes in Thailand'

[Guest travelerjim]

Dual pricing at all Pattaya shows....this one and Tiffany's and Alcazar.

 

Our friend Dodger recently got ripped off...at Tiffany's...

he should ONLY had paid for his ticket at farang price...and his two Thais at Thai (1/2) price...

 

Mai pen rai ..as Dodger would say.

 

tj

[mahjongguy]

"Rediculous justification 'tourists don't pay taxes in Thailand'"

 

Yes, that would be ridiculous, because very few Thais pay taxes in Thailand either. Still, I haven't actually heard that justification from a vendor of products or services. It's not about affordability either, which I think is the issue which ruffles many farang. It's about willingness to pay, which is different from affordability.

 

For these entertainment venues, the walk-up price is 600 baht. That is not "double the real price". It's "the price", actually a benchmark or top tier for multi-tiered pricing.

 

The majority of customers (e.g. bus tours) get their tickets through agents who get a commission (i.e. they pay the venue a discounted price).

 

Thais and ex-pats get a big discount on the walk-up price because it is understood that they often bring along full-price visitors and are often repeat customers. 

 

All in all, I would guess that the venues average about 450 baht per customer.

 

In Dodger's case, he was cheated by the cashier, which is a different thing altogether.

[Guest fountainhall]

I always find it rather strange that some people get so upset about the issue of double pricing. They talk about discrimination, about it being basically unfair and they refuse to pay on principle. Yet, the fact is that it operates in many parts of the world even though, as someone mentioned on another forum, it may not always be so obvious.

2 years ago there were questions in the European Parliament about the ticket pricing for Disneyland Paris. This favoured French citizens booking through its French website compared to those booking through the English language site!

Senior citizen discounts are another example. Anyone who lives in London and is over 60 qualifies for free transport on the underground, buses and all the city’s other transport facilities. Senior citizens visiting from another city in the UK are only entitled to bus travel, subject to certain conditions. If you are a UK senior citizen living abroad, tough luck! You get no discount and will be stuck with very high daily transport costs. Do senior citizens visiting London from the USA complain? I doubt it!

Here in Thailand, a lot of hotels have promotions at certain times of the year that are only available to Thai citizens, or farang living here with either work visas or retirement visas. Do visitors and those on shorter-term visas complain that this is discrimination? Not that I have heard. And this can often save well over Bt. 600 a night, whereas one entrance to a ladyboy show in Pattaya adds a mere Bt. 300!

Thailand is taking some steps to get rid of dual pricing. I believe that from this year it is no longer in operation in the major national parks. And the MRT in BKK extends its senior citizen discounts to farang who live here. I wonder how many refuse to take the MRT because it discriminates in favour of those over 65? 

[TotallyOz]

A good friend of mine once owned an escort agency in NYC and he always gave discounts to clients under 25. The feeling was that the boys would enjoy it more. However, when the boys started to complain about the discount it was discontinued. The reason: the escorts said that the younger guys were more demanding sexually than a 65 and up and they much preferred less effort and more money.

 

I do not get upset with senior discount in USA. But, I have asked in LA for years for surcharges to be placed on all female Korean drivers as all of the suck behind the wheels of a car.

 

I remember negotiating for discounts for my school and the local area businesses gave us 10-20 percent if we showed our ID card. Is that the same?

 

Lastly, when I ran a club night in NYC many years ago, I always let in the cute young guys for free. The reason was the older or uglier guys would come more often and spend more money. Sad, but true. And, I had about 50 guys that has an unlimited access to any club night I promoted. They all came and thus the crowds were great as well.

[Guest fountainhall]

As far as dual pricing is concerned, I suppose you can either look at it as a discount, or as some sort of penalty premium.

And on that basis, I go along with it. The usual argument put forward by those against it is that there are plenty of Thais perfectly able to pay the higher price. And that’s undoubtedly true. But you surely have to balance that against the fact that the vast majority of Thais probably might not. So the higher price could make the difference between going and not going. It’s unfair to tailor a pricing only to those in the average or upper income brackets, unless it is intended for a relatively exclusive group.

Ah yes, the argument goes, but there also plenty of farang who are far from wealthy. Why should they pay the full price? Also true, but how do you know who has means and who does not? Are you going to introduce a means test for everyone who goes to a National Park or see a show? Of course not! So you have to have some system that is fair on the Thais – it is, after all, their country – and reasonably fair on all the other visitors.

The fact is - lots of things in life aren’t fair. If a client told me today that I have to be in New York in late August, I’d want to try to get tickets for a Broadway show and maybe a concert. If I lived in New York and was price-sensitive, I’d have booked the cheapest tickets as soon as they were put on sale. Now, in mid-July, probably only the more expensive tickets are left. So to ensure I see the events, I have to pay higher prices (admittedly for what should be better seats, although they'll probably be way to the side), an internet booking fee and a credit card charge – i.e. a lot more than a resident of New York. Is that fair? Of course it is.

The next argument is that I am not comparing like with like. And that, too, is true – on the surface. But increasingly what I have described is part and parcel of life in the internet age. If I fly to Hong Kong, the chances are I will be sitting next to someone who has paid either more or less than I did. I’ll never know; but I know enough about dynamic airline pricing to be pretty sure it’s the case. Book early, book non-refundable tickets, book non-endorsable dates for a hotel stay and you pay considerably less. It’s the same aircraft and the same hotel. Just a different price.

[TotallyOz]

an internet booking fee and a credit card charge – i.e. a lot more than a resident of New York. Is that fair? Of course it is.

Reminds me when I had relatives in town when I lived in NYC and I would always go to one of 2 TKTS booths. One was in the world trade center and it would give you matinee tickets for the next day shows and not just same day tickets. As I really wanted my aunt and cousin to go to see a few more shows on their visit, I made my plans to get them some good seats by getting up early and heading down there. Luckily for me, I overslept and when I woke up, my phone was beeping with hundreds of messages. That was September 11, many years ago and I have not been so anxious to wake up early ever since.

 

For me, the TKTS booths were used on a regular basis as I lived in the middle of Times Square and I loved Broadway. I was also lucky enough to have many people in my building be part of shows and got to see hundreds for free over the years and even attended the Tony Awards 3 times (great time minus the tux). However, the most fun to see the shows was went Rent actually sold the first 34 seats to the first 17 people in line and I would sleep out all night in order to get the seats for the next day. They were front row seats and the group of us smelled horrible but living so close to home, we always had some tourists to go back to our place and shower and eat. Usually at least 10-20 of them did that and it was fun to get to know others who were insane as the BF and I to see the best musical on Broadway at the time. I was lucky enough to see it at least 50 times over the years and dated a few of the cast members later in life.

 

Locals do get some good deals as they know what to do and where to go and I never begrudge anyone for knowing their city.

[Guest kanom]

Some interesting replies. I have actually lived here for almost 20 years so know the score. Have work permit etc but It just seems that a new business not yet officially open starts off on this foot doesn't seem right to me. The French Disney comments were interesting as I didn't know that. Isn't it racist......or languageist...

Anyway I wish them success as the other two venues are pretty much maxed out. Personally I prefered the Malibu bar show. Now extinct.... Life goes on

[Guest fountainhall]

Here's an article on the Disneyland Paris pricing. The headline reads -
 
MEPs criticise 'outrageous' dual pricing policy at Disneyland Paris

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-251503029.html

In another article, MEP Jill Evans said: “This is not the only example of different prices being charged on different websites of the same company."
 
On the Broadway theme, I remember one touring show - I think it was "CATS" - had a policy of reserving the first two rows in the stalls for students and pricing them at about a quarter of the cost of the rows immediately behind. If I recall correctly, the producers' reasoning was that the enthusiasm generated by those youngsters in the first rows would infect the cast as well as the entire theatre.
 
Rather like the 1904 premiere of J M Barrie's "Peter Pan" in London when Barrie allegedly persuaded his producer to give away a few dozen tickets scattered throughout the auditorium to orphan children. He believed that their laughter and enjoyment would 'lift' what would otherwise have been a rather staid London society opening night.

[kokopelli]

However, the most fun to see the shows was went Rent actually sold the first 34 seats to the first 17 people in line and I would sleep out all night in order to get the seats for the next day. 

 

,,,,,,,insane as the BF and I to see the best musical on Broadway at the time. I was lucky enough to see it at least 50 times over the years and dated a few of the cast members later in life.

 

 

 

The only musical I saw on Broadway (other than Smokey Joes Cafe which was worse than worse) was Rent and that was, to me, boring.  But then I am not a devotee of musicals.  Which reminds me that I also recently viewed the musical movie, Les Miserables, and it sure was miserable. 

Guess I should try opera?

 

[TotallyOz]

The only musical I saw on Broadway (other than Smokey Joes Cafe which was worse than worse) was Rent and that was, to me, boring.  But then I am not a devotee of musicals.  Which reminds me that I also recently viewed the musical movie, Les Miserables, and it sure was miserable. 

Guess I should try opera?

koko. You didn't like Rent or Les Mis? Are you sure you are gay?

[Guest fountainhall]

Well there are a few pitfalls to avoid with opera, I guess. Don’t accept an invitation to see Wagner’s “Das Rheingold” – almost 2 ½ hours without an interval and hardly a good tune in sight. Or any of the other Ring cycle operas for that matter. "Götterdämmerung" is 6 hours, but then that does include a couple of longish intervals.

But I think you’d enjoy a nice little romp like Offenbach’s “Orpheus in the Underworld”, the one with the famous Can-Can.

Granted, more operetta than opera, and so slightly more in the musicals vein. Or try a Puccini or two. “Tosca” has some great tunes and three grisly deaths. But perhaps best to start with the short one-act “Gianni Schicchi”. Of course you’ve never heard of it, but you will certainly have heard it’s most famous aria – vaguely translated as “O my beloved father.” I posted this clip from the wonderful Merchant/Ivory movie “Room with a View” in another thread, but it’s worth reposting here.

[kokopelli]

koko. You didn't like Rent or Les Mis? Are you sure you are gay?

I didn't know they were gay musicals. 

 

I was aware of the plot of Les Miz, but Rent was beyond my understanding although I believe it was based on some famous opera.

[Guest fountainhall]

Another Puccini - "La  bohème"

[ChristianPFC]

Some more facts on double pricing:

 

In Jomtien complex, there is a closed sauna that has a sign "free entry for Thai boys under 25 years".

 

In Chakran Sauna, they have a promotion under 35 year olds 155 instead of 250 Baht. One one occasion, I was refused the discount because it is only in Thai (speaking Thai and reading out the promotion - it did not state nationality - did not help). On one occasion I got in just stating I am younger than 35, one one occasion I had to show my passport.

 

Many museums in Paris are free on the first Sunday of the months. This way, I got into the Louvre for free. I didn't even have to queue, as there is a little known back entrance.