Can you delve into the dayclub phenomenon for us? When did they get started? What goes on at them? Who goes to them? Are they successful for the people who put them on? And the thing I'm really interested in, after the dayclubs are over for the day, do the people go right into the nightclubs, so they're partying almost literally 24/7?
We admit to being a little long in the tooth for the actual dayclub experience, but we do find it interesting, at least in a contextual way, because this business hasn't just added another attraction to the Vegas entertainment scene. Rather, it has fundamentally changed the rhythm of Las Vegas pastimes.
As for the history, the "big bang" can be traced directly back to the infamous Rehab at the former Hard Rock. In 2004, Rehab turned what had always been a simple hotel pool into a admission-fee DJ-driven party, which was open to non-hotel guests who didn't mind paying the freight. It was such an immediate sensation, it inspired a reality TV series of the same name that debuted in November 2008 and ran for two years on TruTV (ending when the hotel and network got into a legal squabble about how the venue and staff were being portrayed).
Pre-Rehab, Vegas' casino pools were mostly places for hotel guests to relax, get some sun, drink, and perhaps play a little blackjack. Post-Rehab, the bean counters saw that they could monetize relatively quiet daytime hours and spaces.
In this copycat town, dayclubs quickly proliferated, following a general formula: giant pools, celebrity DJs, bottle service, private cabanas, and a nightclub atmosphere in broad daylight under the roasting southern Nevada sun.
And that continues today, when the typical dayclub is much closer to a nightclub than to a swimming pool. Picture thousands of people wearing next to nothing, loud (monotonous, to us) EDM, hip-hop, or open-format DJs, dancing and prancing in the chlorinated water and sweltering air, expensive beer, cocktails, and bottle service, VIP cabanas costing thousands of dollars, celebrity appearances, and hosts, agents, and promoters bringing in even more people, often in groups. The pools? They're almost stage props, backdrops; many people never even get wet. And this all happens between 11 a.m. and around 6 p.m.
As for who goes to dayclubs, it's decidedly the young folk, Gen Z and Millennials mostly, in their 20s and 30s. Groups consist of bachelor and bachelorette parties, Influencers and the social-media crowd, convention attendees, and the casinos' best customers: high-end VIPs who spend thousands on cabanas or get them comped from whale play. Many come specifically to see a major DJ who's appearing, some of whom command six-figure fees for a single afternoon set.
Of course, dayclubs are highly photogenic and much of their popularity grew alongside Instagram.
Are they successful and do people party 24/7? Stay tuned for our thrilling Part 2 of the dayclub phenomenon.
