Butterfly Rock Bar
The original was much longer !!! I think I spent about 6 hours including going back and re reading everyone who had bothered to post an answer. Before posting, I realised how I was rambling on about this that and seemingly everything under the sun before editing it down to what you see at the moment. I do apologize to everyone again for such a windy post but I don't think anybody is under any obligation to read it. I guess I have received precious little in the way of assistance in my business search and was rather overwhelmed by the number of people on here, whom I have never met, adding some good sound advice and so felt that I wanted to respond to everyone. The idea of =+= was to enable people to quickly locate their own name and read my response to their own posting exactly so that they did not need to read through the entire abortion. Thanks.
Thanks for the link 'caller' reading down through the posts on that forum it seems as though people have been attempting to rent the pub from her but she seems content to leave it empty. I don't hold out much hope with my minimal resources. Ideal location too with my wife coming from Korat. Thanks anyway.
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sandman67
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Couple of more points to consider:
tourists...ie "walking trade" or "passing punters" are a bone idle lot who generally will only wander a limited amount. In Hua Hin the central bar district (BintaBlok) is pretty compact, with a ring of restaurants and shops and busy roads around it. This serves to pin wandering trade down to the square walk.
Bars on the outskirts of that area, such as BR, get virtually no passing trade as they are on the other side of the main road, and are down a side soi ... in other words tourists wont see you. You have no frontage. No passing trade, and hard to get tourists out there...so your target audience will be a slice of the 3000 or so resident ex pats.
That can be done through promotion and activity nights like gigs and pub quizzes, etc. Tough work....Id aim for three or four nights of "peak" a week at most based on those....and that is still gonna be tough going at the moment.
As to the guesthouse point that meant the increased running costs. Even unoccupied rooms need servicing regularly....damp sheets / rooms stink...I know as Ive stayed in a few basic places in Thailand during wet season and they obviously hadnt changed the sheets over since the last occupant. Increased running costs in terms of staff, utilities, laundry etc was what i was getting at.
Again that could be countered. over the past few weeks Ive seen a fair few backpacker tourists dragging cases around in search of a cheap place to stay. get a pickup, make a small billboard advertising your rooms, put it in the bed, and park it up where the air con buses from BKK stop....maybe that will bring some bodies in.
A final point is the changing dynamic here in HH....we are getting much less "durex" tourists and many more families and married couples. Girly/beer bars dont fit here at the moment.... bear that in mind as well.
At the end of the day bro its very much a case of caveat emptor.....
I will stress this as a few numptys I have advised didnt listen.....GET ALL YOUR LICENSES SORTED BEFORE YOU OPEN! The MIBS will drop in on opening night....they hear it on the drums so Bill and Ben the Bagmen come to see you....and if you aint got ALL the right licenses they WILL bust you. Pay your "pool table tax" monthly and on the nail...it means they sod off and leave you alone. You get to stay open late and smoke inside the bar as long as it isn't air con....if it is you are stuffed and its smoking outside only.
If you are working in there get a visa.....otherwise immigration will also have a pop....they busted one guy for simply sitting at the bar chatting to customers....yes they are that petty.
Good luck mate, choose wisely, and Ill see you at opening night for a beer if you go ahead
tourists...ie "walking trade" or "passing punters" are a bone idle lot who generally will only wander a limited amount. In Hua Hin the central bar district (BintaBlok) is pretty compact, with a ring of restaurants and shops and busy roads around it. This serves to pin wandering trade down to the square walk.
Bars on the outskirts of that area, such as BR, get virtually no passing trade as they are on the other side of the main road, and are down a side soi ... in other words tourists wont see you. You have no frontage. No passing trade, and hard to get tourists out there...so your target audience will be a slice of the 3000 or so resident ex pats.
That can be done through promotion and activity nights like gigs and pub quizzes, etc. Tough work....Id aim for three or four nights of "peak" a week at most based on those....and that is still gonna be tough going at the moment.
As to the guesthouse point that meant the increased running costs. Even unoccupied rooms need servicing regularly....damp sheets / rooms stink...I know as Ive stayed in a few basic places in Thailand during wet season and they obviously hadnt changed the sheets over since the last occupant. Increased running costs in terms of staff, utilities, laundry etc was what i was getting at.
Again that could be countered. over the past few weeks Ive seen a fair few backpacker tourists dragging cases around in search of a cheap place to stay. get a pickup, make a small billboard advertising your rooms, put it in the bed, and park it up where the air con buses from BKK stop....maybe that will bring some bodies in.
A final point is the changing dynamic here in HH....we are getting much less "durex" tourists and many more families and married couples. Girly/beer bars dont fit here at the moment.... bear that in mind as well.
At the end of the day bro its very much a case of caveat emptor.....
I will stress this as a few numptys I have advised didnt listen.....GET ALL YOUR LICENSES SORTED BEFORE YOU OPEN! The MIBS will drop in on opening night....they hear it on the drums so Bill and Ben the Bagmen come to see you....and if you aint got ALL the right licenses they WILL bust you. Pay your "pool table tax" monthly and on the nail...it means they sod off and leave you alone. You get to stay open late and smoke inside the bar as long as it isn't air con....if it is you are stuffed and its smoking outside only.
If you are working in there get a visa.....otherwise immigration will also have a pop....they busted one guy for simply sitting at the bar chatting to customers....yes they are that petty.
Good luck mate, choose wisely, and Ill see you at opening night for a beer if you go ahead
"Science flew men to the moon. Religion flew men into buildings."
"To sin by silence makes cowards of men."
"To sin by silence makes cowards of men."
read this entire post, I bet the majority are not even in Business here in thailand, so what would you know?Probably here for 4 monthsstuck in your condochain appt untill your money gets low then back working in B&Q.
Shall we slag off another bar now that Butterfly Rock has had more than its fair share of negative critisisim, there are plenty more.
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dtaai-maai
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Hokum wrote:
Probably here for 4 monthsstuck in your condochain appt untill your money gets low then back working in B&Q.
Nasty little post that, Hokum.
So what's your advice to the OP?
This is the way
I have read all of the posts as well and none of them actually slagged of the Butterfly Rock. Most comments on the property were on the positive side (other than that of the character of one on the regulars) other than the fact that at present it is to far away from the main town area.Hokum wrote:
Probably here for 4 monthsstuck in your condochain appt untill your money gets low then back working in B&Q.
Shall we slag off another bar now that Butterfly Rock has had more than its fair share of negative critisisim, there are plenty more.
If I was living in that area and it showed sport, had bands etc I would probably frequent on an early evening basis, but on nights if the bar was quiet, would head elsewhere (much the same as I do anywhere I live).
The owner should be applauded for trying to improve the bar scene when he did. I have not been back to Hua Hin since the new bars are where the Road Hole used to be, so will be interested to see what they are like.
It seems they did the right thing and get involved the local pool/darts league, had live music, but things have not worked out they wanted.
It is like any business venture, if you are in right place at the right time, things could have been a lot different.
To the OP, whatever business you want to go into, carry out your due diligence checks, make yourself a business plan and get advice, otherwise you will end up skint big time.
Always Borrow Money from a Pesimist. "They Never Expect it Back"
What I've never got my head round is any girlie bar in town, from the best fitted out one's to the scruffy holes, could be as busy as they like if only they considered supplimenting of girls income as part of the bars operating costs, just like the air-con, plasmas, pool tables, granite bars, etc etc
Ie: Go to Bangkok or Pattaya get 6 no. sorts, fund them for a while when they're not earning (ie: don't let them leave to somewhere they can earn, common common problem), word gets around and punters come and take over these costs. You may need to do a bit of a repeat rotation of this every 6 months or so.
Job done, you have a popular girlie bar IMO.
To me they are not just part of the bar, THEY ARE THE BAR.
SJ
PS: I'm only talking about your average girlie bar.
Ie: Go to Bangkok or Pattaya get 6 no. sorts, fund them for a while when they're not earning (ie: don't let them leave to somewhere they can earn, common common problem), word gets around and punters come and take over these costs. You may need to do a bit of a repeat rotation of this every 6 months or so.
Job done, you have a popular girlie bar IMO.
To me they are not just part of the bar, THEY ARE THE BAR.
SJ
PS: I'm only talking about your average girlie bar.
SJ is right .
I eat at the places I eat because the food and the service are spot on .
I shop at the places i shop because of the quality of the produce .
A girlie bar is made or broken by the girls and the owner.I have been in many over the years that have been full of cracking looking,enthusiastic girls who are having fun,always attentive to the customers even if families or couples not interested in any "other" services than a few drinks .Decent music to suit the crowd on the night,cold beer and quality bar staff . I would happily go to such a place in Hua Hin and would not mind paying a little more for the drinks .
I have also been in bars with shoddy service and no atmosphere .Even some where the girls look as if getting you a drink is a tiresome chore that ruins their soap opera watching .I simply do not go back to such places .
Crazy 88
I eat at the places I eat because the food and the service are spot on .
I shop at the places i shop because of the quality of the produce .
A girlie bar is made or broken by the girls and the owner.I have been in many over the years that have been full of cracking looking,enthusiastic girls who are having fun,always attentive to the customers even if families or couples not interested in any "other" services than a few drinks .Decent music to suit the crowd on the night,cold beer and quality bar staff . I would happily go to such a place in Hua Hin and would not mind paying a little more for the drinks .
I have also been in bars with shoddy service and no atmosphere .Even some where the girls look as if getting you a drink is a tiresome chore that ruins their soap opera watching .I simply do not go back to such places .
Crazy 88
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Randy Cornhole
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