Go for it Sean! We need something exciting in Jozi

Good luck Sean, I'm sure all your "old" regular customers will support you !!

Divine is currently just about in primrose which is a little out of touch rathervthan out of town. Amything closer to north where theres no passport control can only be a win.

Sean, my 2c is that it is extremely difficult for any venue to survive in this market. This is especially true of the lower end of the massage venue spectrum, where your margins are very tight. With due respect, I think you made a mistake progressively migrating Divine in that direction.

For my money, the standout massage venue at the moment is Iconique (one of your former ladies works there too). All of the ladies have their own rooms, the place has a fabulous feel, you want to be there. I did not feel that way in any of Divine's more recent venues. The old Rivonia venue was nice.

And the cost is appropriately much higher, which is tough for customers like me. But at least the margins are sufficient to make the business sustainable, and to cover the upkeep of a lovely venue.

As I said, just an opinion. If anyone can make a profit at the lower end of the spectrum, good luck to them.

I would also look to Singa Studio in Cape Town for a model.

'New Venue Opportunity' I think you mean.
Having forgotten your scholarship will be no impediment to your success in this industry.

Only procure ladies with the prettiest feet to work in your establishment.

Firstly @Ben I must humbly ask forgiveness for the typo, without making an excuse (which means I am going to do exactly that) I am currently experiencing a wave of different emotions. As always I blame you for the fact I cannot hire a lady without looking at her feet as she walks in ha ha.

@Stephen sadly I must first say it pains me you didn't feel that way at Divine but that said I must disagree on the model that you propose.

The first issue I foresee is the fact every lady has her own room, if someone takes a day off then as a venue you lose a room's worth of takings. This is never good for the bottom line no matter what the margin is. Higher margin equals higher loss.

The fact you admit it is tougher on you means you are not alone mate and therein lies the problem, numbers over high pricing and hoping for consistent business is never a good thing.

A few years back there was a venue that out priced us all, breaking the proverbial ceiling and justifying it by having the most immaculate venue. They didn't last a year and a half and suddenly those very expensive massage beds we all oohed and ahhed at where being offered to anyone who would make an offer, yes us lower end of the spectrum venues.

This model works if each lady has a vested interest and therefore has a need to stay, remember this industry is not a lifetime thing it is more a reason or a season. Season and reason change and so do the ladies. If one leaves it means you have a room to fill and that can sometimes take time.

I have always said due to unreliability the ideal mix is 2:1 that way five call in sick, five rooms can still be used. ASk any venue owner there is nothing worse than the morning messages alerting you to either a late appearance or a no show, trust me after that first beep it does not stop and you end up dreading 8am every day your phone goes off except Sunday.

So while I in no way wish them any harm I do say I think that while the model works for them it has completely different pitfalls to what I am willing to entertain.

I would rather provide a client the opportunity of 3 amazing visits a month as opposed to one, but that is me.

Out of interest how many rooms are there?

Regards
Sean

You are probably right about the rooms, for the reasons you point out. I really just mentioned this as a point in passing, not as a comment on their business model. Clearly you need to be able to put ladies in rooms as often as possible, and a room per lady will not always allow this.

I remain convinced that the only real way to make a sustainable business is towards the top end (which is where I would put Divine in its Rivonia iteration) than at the lower end of the market, chasing turnover at the expense of a quality experience.

I have always liked Divine, for longer than I care to admit to, and it has always been better managed with better incentivised and happier staff than most of the other venues I have visited.

Currently divine is out of town.

If you open your own venue there is a possibility that some of the ladies that worked in bedfordview will return.

To avoid any further legal costs, maybe trade under a new name.

Continue with your excellent service, good selection of ladies, well trained, privacy, safe venue, well structured pricing and your interaction with clients on the forum and you have a winning formula.

Massive gap in the market in Jhb north, too many venues in the east.