Sales increase by raising motivation! Why Hosts are in a “Bubble” even with the COVID-19 crisis

Despite the COVID-19 crisis, the host industry has been in a “bubble” in recent years. Behind this is a host club management strategy that has changed considerably from a decade ago.

In the old days, host clubs in Kabukicho didn’t often establish management strategies as a group. There were many meaningless skirmishes between groups. Now, it feels like one major group has the upper hand.

Satoru (pseudonym, 30), a host who has been working in Kabukicho for many years, says so.

More than half of the stores in Kabukicho are now owned or franchised by a major group. The big groups have more advertising power, and just being a member of the 00 Group is a good image to have. Hosts who are looking for name recognition rather than salary are especially conscious of being a member of a major group and being able to sell there. There is a lot of interaction between groups, and recently some host clubs have been holding “seminars” across groups.

In fact, host clubs frequently hold seminars and workshops, the content of which varies widely. These range from basic tips on how to be a host, to customer service training for first-time guests, greeting practice, and even seminars on the management side, including the in-house staff, and SNS.

Recently, not only do hosts teach hosts, but also SNS influencers and etiquette instructors conduct training sessions. The author, based on his own experience of going to host clubs, has conducted such seminars in front of dozens of hosts.

Through the seminars and training sessions, the major groups are particularly conscious of “how to motivate the hosts. A veteran host involved in the management of a major group said, “A host club is basically a place where people say, ‘I want to be a host.

Basically, host clubs hire anyone who says, ‘I want to be a host. It is the management’s job to make as many successful hosts as possible out of them, and to keep them from transferring to other host clubs. For this reason, host clubs are constantly organizing company trips and other recreational activities. They hold events to bring the hosts closer together, something that would be impossible in a general company. This is how they create a sense of belonging to the group and the store.

A decade ago, hosts were sole proprietors, and the group would provide them with a box and ask them to do their best and sell well. Now, however, it is important to make them feel attached to the store, saying, “I want to sell at this store,” or “I want to make this store big,” so that successful hosts will not be transferred and sales will increase steadily. It is the management’s job to create a mechanism that satisfies the host’s need for approval.

In recent years, many host clubs have held “summer festivals” to satisfy the sense of belonging and the desire for recognition among hosts. In addition to presenting awards to hosts who have achieved large sales in the first half of the year, these big events also include entertainment by the hosts and performances by the management team, bringing several hundred hosts from the group together. Seeing the hosts on stage inspires them to “become such a cool guy” and “be someone that everyone admires. Also, the excitement of the event makes them think, “I’m glad I joined this group.

Until recently, summer festivals were held in a closed setting because the main purpose was to keep the hosts motivated, but in recent years, as a way to recruit new cast members and to promote the festival to female customers, there has been a movement to distribute the festival on the Internet and to invite celebrities to the festival as guests of honor. In recent years, however, some festivals have begun to invite celebrities as guests of honor and to broadcast the festival on the Internet to recruit new cast members and promote the festival to female customers. They are seeking ways to motivate hosts in every possible way, such as holding a handsome contest regardless of sales, shining the spotlight on hosts who are not selling well, and granting the winner the right to collaborate with a famous You Tuber.

Furthermore, according to the veteran host mentioned above, women are increasingly involved in the management of host clubs.

Recently, more and more women are being hired in the public relations and design departments,” he said. In some cases, they need to produce something that is ‘cool from a guy’s point of view!’ and the other is to have a PR strategy to make people think, “Cool from a woman’s point of view! and in other cases, PR strategies are needed to make women think, “Cool from a woman’s point of view! In order to incorporate strategies from the women’s perspective, more and more host clubs are hiring SNS consultants and asking for opinions from women who go to host clubs. However, as expected, many customers who frequent the clubs do not like the association between women and hosts. So, most female employees don’t come out to the public (laughs).

We also heard a story about an attempt to hire women as “inside workers (black clothes in a cabaret club),” but it did not go well because the applicants were full of regular female customers. …… It seems that the key to the future of host club management will be not only the recruitment of cast members, but also how many talented people can be recruited into the management and operation teams.