Chinese Takeover Rocks PenthouseX Management Like Pattaya Earthquake

After only four months, Pattaya’s PenthouseX management has pulled the plug, leasing out the Indian-owned go-go to a Chinese group.

The changeover to Chinese management has been anything but smooth. Only about five of PenthouseX’s original 50 girls remain. The DJ has departed, with music now consigned to a YouTube playlist. And the bar’s experienced general manager, who led the go-go to 20%-plus month-on-month increases in customers, has been left in limbo.

It’s only three days into the new Chinese regime’s tenure, but the new managers have dug themselves a deep hole to start in.

Short Notice for PenthouseX Management

The PenthouseX management change came about swiftly, with staff and employees only notified a couple days before the keys were handed over. But, for those who know the Jalwa Group, which owns the newly renovated Penthouse Hotel, the PenthouseX go-go bar inside it, plus the massive Jalwa Indian nightclub complex on Walking Street, it wasn’t a complete surprise.

PenthouseX launched in the last week of November and, in early December, the group opened the Jalwa Indian a-Go-Go inside the Jalwa complex. It was to be the first go-go bar where Indian customers were actually welcomed. It lasted one week.

It was as clear of a sign as there is that the group chairman’s patience for non-core businesses – particularly red-light businesses – was extremely limited. After creating a fantastic looking club covered ceiling to stage in LEDs, the group reversed course and turned Jalwa Indian into an after-hours club for Jalwa that’s open until 9 a.m.

Mazement said in December that the cost of running an after-hours club was exponentially less than a go-go with its expensive agency dancers.

Short Leash for PenthouseX Success

The leash was only slightly longer for PenthouseX management but, even in February, there were rumblings from the chairman’s office that business needed to explode or there would be a course change. Revenue increases of 30% were demanded.

The rumblings came despite the fact that, for a new go-go bar in Pattaya, PenthouseX was growing extremely quickly. The general manager, who led Soi LK Metro’s Bachelor club in its heyday among other redlight bars, was increasing walk-ins faster than most would think possible. And his DJ nights were sellouts. His large network meant the bar could always count on a “whale” or two dropping in and running up bills of 35,000 to 75,000 baht.

But the executive office tied the PenthouseX management’s hands in their efforts to grow business faster. PenthouseX last month launched a massive advertising campaign on the Pattaya’s baht buses. It led to people showing up in the hotel lobby looking for the go-go. But it came three months after the budget request was first put in. Similarly, a relatively tiny budget request to overhaul the go-go’s Line Official Account was binned.

Not Enough Runway

The refusal to spend money tied with the corporate demand for immediate profits not only frustrated PenthouseX management, but perplexed even competitors.

“A go-go bar, particularly one not on Walking Street, needs at least a year to find its feed. You can’t expect success in three months, especially on the down-side of high season,” said one 25-year Walking Street veteran.

“You gotta play the long game. You can’t expect overnight success,” said another bar manager with decades of experience in Pattaya and Bangkok.

It’s assumed that the new Chinese managers will bring in “their own team” but there are no signs of that yet. Odds are, however, that arguably the best-looking go-go bar in Pattaya will become a stop on the Chinese tour bus circuit.