Sansuk Sauna reopening?

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Gaybutton
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Re: Sansuk Sauna reopening?

Post by Gaybutton »

BKKDreamer wrote: Mon Sep 19, 2022 5:27 pm the rest were Thai.
Do you know if the Thais were charged an entrance fee? If yes, do you know if they also were charged 200 baht?
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Re: Sansuk Sauna reopening?

Post by BKKDreamer »

Good questions GB.

Since I was still at Sansuk Sauna when I read your reply, I was able to chase down Pun in real time to get the answers. Here they are:

For this Grand Reopening period (September) the entry fees are as follows:

Thais pay 150 baht to enter

Non-Thais pay 200 baht to enter

During October the prices will change as the Grand Reopening will be over. The proposed entry fees will be:

Thais will continue to pay 150 baht.

Non-Thais will pay 220 baht to enter.

Pun wanted to increase the Thai price to 170 but I implored him to NOT increase the Thai price.

We then had a LONG conversation about Pun's worry that the non-Thais who live here in Jomtien/Pattaya will complain about having to pay more when they live here.

I told him look Pun, the falangs are complaining that the Thais don't come to the sauna. I suggested that he remind those falangs who will complain that it is intentionally priced this way so that the falangs will have an opportunity to chase, meet, and play with Thai guys thanks to this pricing scheme.

When I left at 8pm it was more busy than when I entered at 5pm. The approximate ratio of Thai to non-Thai was 25% falang and 75% Thai (Asian).

Lastly, I decided to walk home and it took 25 minutes to my View Talay complex that is in front of Dongtan beach.

Again, let us support Pun and his wonderful team after being closed for almost 3 years due to covid restrictions.

Enjoy,

M.

p.s. The hotel part of Sansuk is scheduled to open in October. Sorry, no price information as I forgot to ask. Since I live here now I can ask the next time that I visit.
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Re: Sansuk Sauna reopening?

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BKKDreamer wrote: Mon Sep 19, 2022 9:05 pm I told him look Pun, the falangs are complaining that the Thais don't come to the sauna.
As Jerry Reed said in 'Smokey and the Bandit' - "He done good, didn't he Fred?" Whether you realize it or not, your talk with Pun (aka Punya) may just have single-handedly saved Sansuk Sauna. You got to the bottom line crux of the problem. Farang don't go because the Thais don't go. And the Thais don't go because it is too expensive for them. I don't know why Pun couldn't figure that out for himself, but I'm glad you made it clear to him. If he wants his sauna to succeed, he needs to do whatever it takes to attract a lot of Thai boys - as many as he can get. Then farang are guaranteed to go. Boys at the sauna, shirtless, maybe wearing even less than the go-go boys usually wear, and possibly prepared for, shall we say, intimate moments with farang. Of course farang will go.

If farang complain about the price of admission, they ought to be reminded of admission prices in Bangkok, which were even more. 220 baht entry fee is quite reasonable and farang have no business complaining about it - unless of course they have someplace better to go - maybe the Pattaya Sheep Farm or the Stuffed Panda Museum.

I think he is making a mistake by charging Thais 170 baht. For many boys who would otherwise go, that's just too expensive for them. He also needs to consider that the boys don't just magically appear on his doorstep. In addition to the entrance fee, they also have to pay for transportation to and from. In my opinion he shouldn't charge them anything at all and ought to let them in free. If he just has to charge them, I think it should be 50 baht max.

I may be wrong, but I believe in Bangkok the Babylon Sauna was the most popular among farang. Now that Babylon is gone, if he plays his cards right, Sansuk can become very popular, especially since in Pattaya he has no competition.

We'll see. I hope those who go to Sansuk will keep us informed.
Jun

Re: Sansuk Sauna reopening?

Post by Jun »

Gaybutton wrote: Mon Sep 19, 2022 9:40 pmFarang don't go because the Thais don't go. And the Thais don't go because it is too expensive for them. I don't know why Pun couldn't figure that out for himself, but I'm glad you made it clear to him. If he wants his sauna to succeed, he needs to do whatever it takes to attract a lot of Thai boys - as many as he can get.
I largely agree, although with the caveat that the reference to Thais ought to include lads from Laos, Cambodia and anywhere else from where they are cute, willing and available. On the last trip, only 14% of my hook ups were from Thailand.

One way to solve this problem is to change the discount from nationality based to age based. So allow under 30s in with a discount, or even under 30 ASEAN nationals. Then he's only giving the discount to people who would be the bait to get the farang in.

I'm not entirely convinced that 150 baht is low enough for that market, although I note some of the locals will pay 1000 baht month for gym memberships. Since Sansuk has a gym, he could try charging young locals a monthly membership fee, with a reminder that they get use of the gym.

Even if he does everything right, it's still going to be challenging running such a business now people find their hook ups on mobile phones.

I hope he succeeds, but I wouldn't bet on it.
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Re: Sansuk Sauna reopening?

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Jun wrote: Tue Sep 20, 2022 3:45 am I hope he succeeds, but I wouldn't bet on it.
If he does it right, I would. I agree with you about letting the young guys in free or at prices they easily can afford regardless of whether they are Thai. If he is going to make money, then the point is attracting farang. He needs to understand that he needs to see the young guys as the means of attracting farang, not as paying customers.

Just like the bars. It's the presence of the boys that attracts customers. If it wasn't for that, who would go?

I truly believe, especially at a gay sauna in a town like Pattaya, a lot of boys=a lot of farang. That's where his money is going to come from. This is one time when I think one price for Thais and another, much higher price for farang is a good idea and definitely justified.

I hope he at least will give it a try and see if it works out. And with the beginning of high season just around the corner, this would be the right time to do it. I have seen posts announcing the reopening on all 3 major gay Thailand boards. Good. Now everyone who reads these boards will be aware that Pattaya's Sansuk Sauna is alive, well, and open. That will certainly help.

Here's an idea I like. Even I would go if he does this: Give the boys a choice. Pay an admission price -or- hand out tiny gstrings and if they'll wear that, and only that, now their admission is free. Anybody besides me like that idea . . . ?
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Re: Sansuk Sauna reopening?

Post by BKKDreamer »

Great idea GB. That would be so sexy to see them running around in g-strings.

Yesterday, the vast majority were wearing typical boxer style shorts with no shirts. Out of all the Asian guys that I saw, only 2 were chubby. The rest were either slim or with a swimmers build with a nice body tone.

One falang was swimming naked in the pool - he appeared to be about 35 years old with a nice body. If what I saw was correct, a Thai guy was descretely milking him on the side of the pool. Similar to what I used to see at the thermal baths in Budapest.
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Re: Sansuk Sauna reopening?

Post by RichLB »

I knew there were plans to reopen Sansuk discussed a month or so ago. But I've seen no notices that it has, in fact, opened. Is it all word of mouth or has there been some advertising I've missed?
I'm also curious about any changes that have taken place. From what was written above it seems the old "rule" of everyone required to wear nothing bus a towel is no longer the norm. Are the upper floors open again ("relax" rooms, a semi maze, glory hole booths, etc.) or are patrons restricted to the pool area? Is the restaurant open -it used to serve rather tasty meals and pretty good appetizers? How about the bar? And how about the saunas themselves? In the old days there were two dry saunas by the pool, and a large steam room on the third floor. Sansuk also used to provide a mini bus from Sansuk to the main road. I imagine that isn't feasible until business picks up.
Now, an idea about pricing. When Sansuk first opened all Thais under age 25 paid no admission fee. That might be a good idea to try again. It also seems silly to me to quibble about an extra 20 baht for farang pricing - is that really going to deter anyone from visiting? Popping for an additional 50 baht seems more than fair to me.
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Re: Sansuk Sauna reopening?

Post by Undaunted »

RichLB wrote: Tue Sep 20, 2022 11:25 am I'm also curious about any changes that have taken place.
As you live in Pattaya why not have a look for yourself :?:
"In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king"
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Re: Sansuk Sauna reopening?

Post by BKKDreamer »

I believe that Punya has updated his Sansuk web page and some of the gay forums started to chat about it.

I saw a good mix of the guys in boxer types of shorts, guys naked covered in a towel, and 2 guys in very sexy g-strings.

Upper floors are open. There are NO restrictions that would limit you to the pool area. The only thing closed was the stairs that goes up from the very back - behind the big jacuzzi on the left. Punya said that they will open those stairs when there is more business (clients). To get upstairs you need to use the stairs by the restaurant and locker room.

Yes, the restaurant and bar are fully open. I ate a late lunch inside the restaurant. I also ordered drinks from the bar later in the evening that were served to me at the poolside.

The sauna by the pool was open and had a lot of foot traffic. I did not notice a steam room on the third floor as I was not looking for one when I went upstairs. Perhaps there is one.

No mini bus service for now. I arrived in a BOLT taxi from my place at Dongtan for only 73 baht. To go home, I decided to walk and it took 25 minutes.
RichLB wrote: Tue Sep 20, 2022 11:25 am Now, an idea about pricing. When Sansuk first opened all Thais under age 25 paid no admission fee. That might be a good idea to try again. It also seems silly to me to quibble about an extra 20 baht for farang pricing - is that really going to deter anyone from visiting? Popping for an additional 50 baht seems more than fair to me.

I agree - this is a great idea. Collectively, we need to communicate this to Punya.

I also liked GB's idea that they can enter for free if they only wear a g-string :>))
Jun

Re: Sansuk Sauna reopening?

Post by Jun »

I recently visited the sauna.
Entry fee 200 baht, although some younger locals appeared to pay 150.
This is about a quarter of levels in London and some other European cities, so good value.

No drinking water dispenser, so one is forced onto their bottled water.

They had plenty of customers, including younger Asians.
Although the only one of my type appeared to be with a farang.
One group of Europeans, included a very nice looking young blonde lad, but I only saw them in the changing rooms, so they were probably on the way out.
The facilities were in good condition. Upstairs at the reception end is open, but at the other end, upstairs is closed
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