HOOK: E-zine By, For, and About Men in the Sex Industry

As a bodyworker and escort, the majority of my business takes place in hotels in and around the Washington, DC area. In fact, my entire marketing push has been to people visiting DC for business or for pleasure.

In- or Out- Calls?
Doing outcalls – providing services outside your own residence – means one of two things: either you’re meeting your client at his home or you’re meeting at a motel, hotel, guest house, or other similar public accommodation. Meeting at a client’s home has its own risks (the subject, perhaps, of a future article). But how do you choose a place to meet your client – or is that the client’s job? What things do you need to remember in regards to using a hotel?

Escorts I interviewed for this article cited convenience as the number one reason for working at home. Some, like Jack, who is the male half of a M/F bi escort duo working out of Vancouver, BC (vancjj@yahoo.com, www.escortx.net/jj), prefers working from home because it’s easier than having to carry props and other supplies around. “We have more access to toys, costumes, toiletries, linen, certain dom equipment. When we go out to visit hotels, we're only able to carry so much with us, and there’s never enough towels and sheets to go around!”

Another thing to factor in is the ambience factor. It’s a lot easier to control lighting, play a variety of music, light candles (without worrying about smoke detectors), and control the climate at home.
However, some pros prefer to keep their private space separate from their workplace. Hotels (and their motel/guest house counterparts) offer privacy, comfort (usually), and ease; it’s easy for the client because you just show up at his door and it’s easy for you because you don’t have to worry about cleaning sheets, towels, etc.

Another reason hotels work for me is because I can often walk right from my home to the hotel – a BIG advantage of living right in a busy, convention-laden city like Washington, DC.

To Book or Not to Book
There seems to be a myth that escorts spend a lot of time attempting to find bordellos that rent by the hour. This may be true in fiction or in the suburbs, but high-end, Internet-available escorts I spoke with all said it’s rare that a client asks you to locate and book a place. I myself have had to do this on occasion, but I’ve always turned the tables on the potential client by offering them a list of places I would suggest. Escort Aaron Lawrence (aaron@aaronlawrence.com, www.aaronlawrence.com) has a similar list of hotels that he recommends to clients when asked for referrals; other escorts include a list on their websites.

Regarding the issue of booking rooms for clients, Aaron says, “In the suburbs, it is common among the less expensive escorts that see clients during the day in motels to go in and get the room for the client. Usually this is done when you meet the client somewhere and then drive over to the motel together. Clients don't want to be seen in the lobby of motels that offer `by-the-hour’ rates, and would rather go park around back while you're getting the room.”

Generally clients already have a place to stay – they’re often in town on business or at a family affair – and contact you when they want to meet. Though it was rare for escorts I spoke with to have to actually arrange to book a place to stay, some do. For Evan Teed of Vancouver, BC (evan@evanx.com, www.evanx.com), it’s pretty common. In fact, in his case it’s to his client’s advantage since Evan is also a travel agent. “It generally is advantageous for clients to let me arrange the hotel because I have contacts and can get better rates than they can most of the time.”

It Ain’t Home!
Of course, doing sessions at hotels can have a few drawbacks. As mentioned previously, smoke detectors can be set off by romantic candles, a hotel’s definition of controlled climate might not match your own, and sometimes the housekeeping staff can be persistent in their need to keep knocking on your client’s door. I once had a maid walk in on a session in spite of the door being locked AND having a do not disturb sign on it!

In terms of security, many hotels these days seem to go overboard. Here in Washington, DC, it’s not uncommon for the hotel operator to insist on having the room occupant’s first AND last name before they’ll put a phone call through. Many hotels now have “secure” floors – with these your client must come down to the lobby to meet you.

Many hotels are pretty skimpy on the linen and towel situation. Remember: extra bodies in a room require extra towels. It’s a good idea to request extra towels from room service. Or, as Evan Teed says, “I often 'borrow' extra towels from the cart when they leave it in the hallway while making up another room -- that way I've got the convenience of extra towels without having to ask for them and potentially draw attention.”

Franco di Santis of Los Angeles, California (FrancoOnDuty@aol.com, www.gaydar.co.uk/francodisantis) suggests avoiding the towel issue altogether by staying at three-star hotels (or better). “While the hotels do not want to clean the sheets more than once a day, they have always been willing to provide me with plenty of extra towels.”

The Long Haul
Jack of Vancouver travels a lot into the United States and likes to stay longer in places he and his partner visit. It’s not unusual for them to stay somewhere between one and six weeks. This “maximizes the effectiveness of our advertising and also lets all clients come in and see us at their leisure.” This, they say, shows regulars in an area that they aren’t "fly-by-night kind of escorts" and that they are willing to stay in the area and let people get used to them and to build a long term client-worker relationship. For them, the chain of Extended StayAmerica (www.studioplus.com or www.extendedstay.com) provides great accommodations that serve their needs.

Information Toll Way
Hotels often charge an arm and a leg for local and long-distance calls, especially if you’re using them to connect to the Internet. Definitely make sure you know what their charges are going to be prior to hooking your laptop to their phone line! On the other hand, hotels rarely charge extra for calling 800 numbers. If you have access to toll-free communication lines, use them!

Remember Your Own Image
When traveling to other cities (say for a holiday or just to get away) I often make my own hotel room available for sessions if a client wants to get together. As such, I try to remember the image I’m trying to convey to my potential and existing clients.

For instance, I always used to stay at the Parliament House (a gay emporium and playground) when visiting Orlando, Florida. It was inexpensive and provided me with a lot of extracurricular gay activity when I wasn’t working or spending time with family. However, I quickly learned that my Orlando clients – mostly closeted gay or straight, married men – hated coming there. So I started staying at Embassy Suites (they’re huge) or other properties I’d find on Priceline (www.priceline.com). I say I want a 4- or 5-Star hotel for $100 … and it always works). My clients appreciated the image I was conveying and I started getting more business.

Evan Teed concurs, “I find the quality of the hotel does make a difference in the image, in the repeat business, in the clientele, so I always aim for higher end hotels if I'm going to be seeing clients in my own hotel room. And when reserving for clients, of course it's always higher end hotels – that's what they want anyhow.”

Franco di Santis uses Hotwire (www.hotwire.com) and Priceline to find a good rate on a nice hotel. “My clients have always been impressed that I am staying at a nice hotel. When I’m just going to do an overnight in another town, I tend to want to stay there longer. Therefore, I make my own travel arrangements and have yet to pay more than $65 a night for a nice hotel room.”