Mark,
I really can relate to your experience. Here in my area it is about the same. I play only senior venues and just the last 6 months I have had 21 Activity Directors turn over at places I have played for years too. Same story - new people don't know me and frankly don't give a damn - so you start all over with them - even though you have filled in at the last moment for them - been very well received by the audiences - and asked to return many times. Fortunately, there must be close to 500 such places in my area so I still stay as busy as I want to be. But, it still is a very large PITA re-calling places where I was a regular for years. For now I just move on a market the new places. Sometimes a corporation will fire the entire staff at a place and absolutely no one is on staff who might remotely remember me.

All that said, I still maintain my standards in choosing whom I will book for gigs. If the staff seems not to care or make an effort to get folks to the performance I just don't rebook them. Some of the senior places simply have a set number of activities that must be held monthly and we are just numbers to the staff.

Yes, we still have the "scammers" trying to get folks to "audition" for free - don't hold your breath to hear from them after the audition if it means getting paid. At least I have never fallen for that one.

Deane