Busy weekend, strange weekend

I read a blog entry from Finn yesterday - he was asking what can we do to make the Wharf a better place for everyone.

He said it right, the Wharf has had excellent success. We expanded because there seemed to be a demand for what we offer - and slowly became a place that had events going on 6 days a week, with multiple days having many events. Hell, I wound up as a manager (more like a cruise director) because things expanded to the point where this was needed.

However, there has been something of a steady decline in .. attendence, and I hope not interest...

Perhaps this has happened due to a number of issues, and not just one thing.

As I've taken on the Manager role, I am at most of the events. I've taken a hand to try and help troubleshoot problems, and keep the schedule on track.

The DJs and hosts themselves are excellent, and the content of sets has been great.

One of my friends observed that maybe we have too much of a good thing. Too many events running constantly, and the freshness has worn off. Our DJs and Hosts are consistently awesome. But people will seek out the new and different. We have fantastic folks - but we aren't the "new" thing every week.

Other factors that may have influence - "big sploders" or lack of them, like we did in December and January.

We don't do big contests, either - with the exception of the $L5000 Alien costume contest for Abduction.

These activities do draw people, and sometimes they stay.

We don't ask people to blindly TP their friends to the Wharf. Other clubs make it a policy to do so regularly. I personally ignore blind TPs and regularly send a TP request back to the requestor, telling them to come to MY event instead. Of course they don't respond. Many of my friends or aquaintences would be at the events if they weren't already engaged in other things.

I remember what it was like when I was trying to find a good place to hang out & fit in. I think the Wharf is welcoming or inviting - but maybe we need to do a better job at engaging new visitors? As a host or DJ, you just don't have time to pay attention to everyone - but maybe we can find a way to engage new people better?

Right now, Spring Break is rolling across the university/school-going segment of SL's population, and this probably has something to do with attendence. We have a lot of Teen and 20-something patrons that have been absent. It makes me wonder how much this influenced our current state.

So, what is the answer? Need for something different? Spring break? Big sploders vanishing? Not enough PR or personal contact with new visitors?
What is the reason?
I'd say a combo of several of these.

Like Finn, I'm looking for answers, and would appreciate opinions. We do have some actions and ideas to refresh the Wharf - and I'm sure Finn and Chester will roll out some amazing things as we cope, grow, and learn more about the nature of this beast.