Traveling Gals

[Natalie Reign]

Originally Posted by cckid2006

- mmm you make $$$ an hour and I make 1/10 of that and you want me to absorb your expenses?

The provider v. hobbyist hourly earnings comparison always bothers me. Yes, the lady may command a higher hourly rate than you, but I've never met a provider who is physically or emotionally capable of providing 40/hours a week, 50 weeks out of the year. A provider's actual monthly earnings do not parallel her hourly rate, regardless or whether she's traveling or local.

[Carl]

Really? Providers don't have 40 hourly sessions per week? Why, that's mind-boggling! What's happened to the good old American Puritan work ethic! No wonder all our jobs are being outsourced overseas. Glenn Beck and Lou Dobbs, where are you when we need you?!?!?!

[TxToast]

I don't think rate is the issue. Overhead is a function of any business and its certainly fair and reasonable to factor your underlying costs while determining a rate structure for any business. At the end of the day the demand curve dictates pricing for any good or service. The OP's point was the artificial elevation of rates based on travel to Austin specifically.

No question you can't compare hourly compensation to arrive at earnings/month.

[Rand Al'Thor]

It's not only the providers who operate out of a semi permanent incall that raise their rates when they come to Austin. Those who normally pay for a hotel in their home city raise rates when they come to Austin. At that point, the cost they're trying to defray is gas money and maybe a meal or two, since I doubt they are cooking in their hotel incall at home.

Another way to isolate this as a problem is that the premium for Austin is higher than Houston. Those who travel to Houston frequently have no premium or little premium compared to the rise when when they come to Austin.

[cckid2006]

Originally Posted by Natalie Reign

The provider v. hobbyist hourly earnings comparison always bothers me. Yes, the lady may command a higher hourly rate than you, but I've never met a provider who is physically or emotionally capable of providing 40/hours a week, 50 weeks out of the year. A provider's actual monthly earnings do not parallel her hourly rate, regardless or whether she's traveling or local.

Sorry to bother you, but if you do the math its easy - you can work 4 x 50 = 200 hours a year to earn the same pay as someone with a college degree without the upfront cost. College costs $10,000 (which is cheap) a year times 4 or 5 years = $40,000 to $50,000 so I can afford to see you. How about covering my upfront expenses?

[safire_sweet]

No need to rude cckid2006.I f you do not like someones cost do not see them and move on IMO I think 50+ is a lot extra I for one would not expect to add 50+ to my rate if I visited

Safire Sweet

[Natalie Reign]

Originally Posted by cckid2006

Sorry to bother you, but if you do the math its easy - you can work 4 x 50 = 200 hours a year to earn the same pay as someone with a college degree without the upfront cost. College costs $10,000 (which is cheap) a year times 4 or 5 years = $40,000 to $50,000 so I can afford to see you. How about covering my upfront expenses?

Surprisingly enough, I know how to do simple math... and your math is still off. I won't venture to speak for the entire provider community, but I will speak for myself. For each hour I spend with a client, I spend at least an hour preparing for the visit, and multiple hours maintaining my website, posting ads, corresponding with clients, screening and scheduling. When you factor in all of the additional time needed to operate a business as a provider, the hourly wage does not come close to matching the donation. But all that aside...

I spent $60,000 on a college education, so I'm well aware of how much it costs. And the last time I checked, this was a business for me, and you're not a fucking charity case. I seriously doubt you and I would get along anyways, but even if we did, it's not my responsibility to "pay your upfront costs" so you can afford to pay me to spend time with you, and I have no idea how you even arrived at that statement as a parallel to the topic at hand. Any business that sees increased operating expenses will either increase the price of its products or services, or decrease expenses elsewhere to make up the difference.

At the end of the day, and as much as some of you would hate to admit it, providers are people. We're not selling fucking oranges by the side of the road here, guys. Even when we enjoy the time we spend with a particular client, this business still takes a massive toll on a woman, both physically and psychologically.

I sincerely hope your little violin-playing emoticon was directed back at yourself, and all of the other men who consistently whine about price points on the board. A provider's donation is her choice, and her choice alone. If you can't afford a particular donation, or just don't want to pay it, then don't. It's absolutely disgusting to think that so many hobbyists view providers as a "product" or a list of acronyms/services, rather than a human being with feelings. And it's even more disgusting that so many men try to play "Let's Make a Deal" with the providers here. If you don't feel a lady is worth the donation she's asking at a given time, then don't see her.

Fuck. Is it really that difficult?

[Damon Bradley]

Why don't you guys stop seeing fucking novices?

[incognito isis]

Cuz u guys are evergreeeeeen

[rrrabbit]

All I said was that it nudges the rebel side of me when I see an artifical rate hike, cuasing me to think twice about booking. And, I asked for your motives/opinions for the rate hike.

A few members participated and expressed their respective thoughts and opinions. I personally think Ztonk's response was quite good: that the Austin market bears the hike, and so it's done that way; it's obviously her choice if she wants to make volume vs rate her visiting business model.

It's all good folks.

Let's not turn to mud slinging please (?).

[TxToast]

And the last time I checked, this was a business for me, and you're not a fucking charity case.

hehe made my day.....

[Rand Al'Thor]

I think this argument is going a bit far afield to include those the OP did not address, and some are taking offense to tangents made.

This was about providers who travel and jack up their rates in Austin, specifically.

A defense was presented that the hike in rates were to cover the cost of travel - gas, hotel, etc..

A counter argument was that many of those who travel here make use of hotels in their home cities, making the argument that hotel costs are being added null. As for gas, meals, and hotel costs, I've made the observation that many of the providers who travel to Austin and Dallas/Houston have a different price hike for Austin than they do for Dallas or Houston, making it seem like the price hike in Austin is arbitrary, or at best, an ill/well advised marketing technique.

I can stretch a bit and say that this might be addressed more toward those providers who come here, then create threads when they leave that they didn't "feel welcomed", especially since there is a current thread that follows that script.

Regardless of whatever cost you're trying to offset, maybe it's just a lesson learned that without local reviews (maybe even with local reviews), 50+ rate hike is not where your market is to get the kind of reception you expect.

I've never seen Natalie or other providers in this thread travel or their rates when they do. Maybe they raise their rates, maybe they don't. Maybe they do well at those rates or maybe not. This thread was addressing Dallas women who come down to Austin and change their rates from $$-$$.5 to $$$ and up. To me, someone making the 3 hour (average) drive from Dallas to Austin who uses hotels as incalls in Dallas really only has $50-100 in gas money to offset. If she's here 2-3 days, that cost is negligible over 4-9 sessions. This can be seen with those who come down, give advanced notices, stay for a few days, and not raise their rates by $ and have a good time.

For someone who is considering moving to Austin, is a 2 or 3 day trial really a good indication of what their business would be like in this city compared to where they are established? I can see that going one of two ways. One, they don't get any kind of response because they came down on a holiday weekend, didn't give sufficient notice, didn't give any notice at all, have no reviews in Austin, hiked their rate by xx(x) amount. Two, they get swamped with calls and sessions because they did everything right, plus the "new meat" factor. Neither are accurate of what business will be like once they move to Austin.