Felix Sama Podcast #6 - David Klemt. (KRG)

**Felix Sama** (0:07)
What's going on, mi gente? It's another DJ Felix Sama Podcast show. And if you're a bar owner, a manager, or you're an FMB, let me tell you, you're gonna wanna listen to this podcast because we're gonna spit out a lot, I mean a lot of valuable information, how to pack a place with hospitality strategy and keep your customers on repeat, which is really one of the most important things. KRG Hospitality works with bars, restaurants, hotels, nightlife venues, lounges, and entertainment spaces. Some of their work focuses on venue concept development, hospitality strategy, guest experience, operations, brand positioning, programming, revenue improvement, team systems. What don't you guys do? Seriously? With me right now, I've got David Klemt from KRG Hospitality, a company that, like I told you, they help these guys. They help, you know, and a lot of people don't even know that this service exists. Yes, there is a consulting firm that can help you with your bar, restaurant, lounge, whatever you may have that you're struggling with.
Dave, you've been in the business for a while, man. Welcome to the show, first and foremost. How are you doing?

**David Klemt** (1:27)
Thank you for having me. I'm doing great. How are you?

**Felix Sama** (1:30)
Amazing, bro. Like, this is the kind of talk I like talking. You know what I mean? I like club talking. You know, I'm a DJ by trade, right? I've done radio my whole life and TV.
I've helped venues pack from 500 to 1500 people. We've done the big concerts. And there's a lot of things that happen behind the scenes that people really don't pay attention to. And I want to bring some of those things to life. You know what I'm saying? So you bring a rare mix of nightlife experience, hospitality, strategy, media insight, consulting knowledge and all of that. So I say that because I want to fireball some questions to you, man.
And I've always said a DJ is not there to play songs. The DJ programs the emotional temperature of the room. From your side, how does entertainment affect guest experience and revenue?

**David Klemt** (2:28)
I mean, that's the million dollar question, is it? How do you get that million dollars from all your guests? And a big part of that is programming. And that's also the guest experience, which if you don't nail the guest experience, you won't have guests. But entertainment, I mean, this works for essentially every category. When you look to nightclubs, because you think, okay, entertainment, programming, big show, big party. But a promotion is programming, and your menu is part of your promotion, it's part of your billboard, if you will, to bring people in. So it's all programming, and there's entertainment possibilities everywhere.
And it doesn't have to be always over the top. Like you and I have talked before, to put it in buckets, I look at spectacle and I look at scene.
It's a very simplified way of looking at it, spectacle, look at the $10 million supposedly build out for the Omnia Chandelier that comes into the crowd. It dances, it lights up, it fogs everybody. People love that when it comes into the crowd, it fogs them. But then look at, you know, a Denver nightclub that has a dope drum and bass night. That's more scene where those guests know that spot. They're in the community, they support the community. This is where other communities come to support each other. They gather, that's their spot that takes a while to build. Spectacle, that's, you know, Miami, Las Vegas, Chicago, those kinds of nightclubs where these are largely driven by one-off parties on paper, but they are constantly doing these huge parties because it's the spectacle that keeps people coming in. And that's why I kind of separate them because spectacle is very expensive for an operator. Seeing is expensive in a different way because you have to retain all these people. So entertainment really can't be explained simply, and there are so many facets to it, but it can make or break you, and it does solidify where you are in the industry. I also break it down into different types of institutions when you achieve that status. Are you a spectacle institution? Are you precision? Or are you a soft institution? Which is not an insult to call somebody soft in that case, because that means that you are an anchor in your community. People know you're there. They come to you. They trust you. That's the big thing is that they trust you with their time and their money and their experience. Spectacle is a big nightclub or a really cool boutique hotel that has staying power, where precision is like, look at like death and company.