DWnyc

This is a rather thorny question. Thank you for your candor @Shawn Monroe. I agree with @José Soplanucas.  Other providers of color please weigh in. My experience being a white cis gay man is quite narrow. I take an optimistic view that things are getting better and more equitable with time. Fortunately clients like @LostUpstate are hiring.
Systemic racism is still a strong lingering reality in the US. I’ve experienced it in the traditional workplace and with some of my clients in this field. Clients say with various levels of openness or coded language that they prefer white men over others. Some of those clients are white, but many of them are not white. I’ve also heard preferences for other races, some frequently fetishizing “BBC”, things like that. The U.S has a long history of euro centric beauty standards. However, these are changing more and more over time.
Every provider is different. Race is only one factor. Here are a few scenarios to illustrate my point:
1. Provider 1 is race A and is a top in demand for their reputation as a well performing penetrator, and their local bottom heavy market supports a demand for their services. Maybe their large cock contributes to their appeal, among other factors. Race may be only a secondary factor.
2. Provider 2 is race B and offers highly specialized kink services that are harder for a client to find and so they pay a higher rate than market average. In that case it has less to do with race B, and more to do with his niche.
3. Provider 3 is race C and gets a lot of attention from a small pool of clients who are really attracted to him because of his race, and that race happens to be a minority in his local market. Prices may actually be higher for provider 3 because he’s catering to a niche market who specifically wants him for identifying with, and having the look of race C. That same provider may not be able to charge those higher prices in a different market where more providers are available catering to client preferences for race C. In that case, location governs more strongly.
4. Provider 4 is race D and he gets a lot of attention from a large pool of clients who are really attracted to this provider because of his race. Prices may be higher for provider 4 because he’s got mass appeal. Problem is, provider 4 has poor communication skills. He doesn’t respond, he flakes, he’s rude, he’s impatient, he can’t have a decent conversation or deliver on his promises. This guy develops a poor reputation and few clients are willing to hire him for his advertised rates. Eventually his bad reputation catches up to him and he either has to lower his rates, or he charges higher rates to only those few who care more about his look than about good service.
In each scenario but 4, a different factor other than race is driving client hiring decisions more strongly than race. Race certainly plays a major role and I don’t mean to downplay it, but hiring decisions are often much more complex than that. The client is hiring the whole package, not just a skin color or a detached body part. Compatibility, reliability, reputation, quality of experience, and follow through are equally important.
Unfortunately scenario 4 happens quite often with white providers, even though the client continues to have mediocre or bad experiences with provider 4 and others like him.
Here’s an example from my own experience of systemic racism in our field:
I work occasionally with a white guy who is married to a black guy. His black husband is also a provider. Clients have straight up told my friend that they will not hire a second provider for their session that looks like his black husband. So they hire someone like me to work with the white provider husband instead. Seems it would make more sense for the two husbands to work together, seeing as they will naturally have more chemistry. It’s really unfortunate, but that kind of hiring behavior still governs a lot of the time. By the way, when they travel together, they post separate ads and see different clients. Part of it is that not everyone wants to hire more than one guy, but also I think their approach speaks to the fact that bias factors majorly into hiring decisions. I don’t know if they charge different rates. I will ask and report back.

People of Color have to work harder and for less money than their White brothers and sisters in most professions, not only in escorting. 

I’d be surprised if ESC survives too much longer especially as it occupies a lot of space (3 floors if I remember correctly) in a high rent zone with a dying business model.
Fun fact: Donald Trump voted in the school next to ESC in 2016. I remember watching some tv news correspondent covering the wait for his arrival from right in front of the entrance. Felt sorry for the guys coming out of there (though it’s a shared entrance with other businesses) without realizing they might end up on national tv! 
 
 

It seems this problem is more prevalent in the US. My experience is in London and I don’t see the price differential based on race here, but possibly that’s because I don’t overtly look for it. Price varies more on the age of the provider although even that doesn’t seem to have a strong correlation. I work with younger guys cheaper than me and an older guy who is more expensive. 
I think all sorts of factors influence price, including how much business the provider wants. You can use price to manage your demand and the sensible providers will do exactly that. Want to be working every day with multiple clients? Reduce the price. Want to see 2 a week? Raise it. 
I’m always surprised by clients who ask “are you ok with seeing me?”…and they send a pic. I’ve been asked do I see Asians?, and by a black woman would I see her? The answer is it doesn’t matter what your race is, unless you’re French of course (joke!!…the English love the French 😉). 
I don’t see patterns of behaviour with different race clients either. Maybe they’re there but I haven’t noticed any. There’s some nationality traits that exist…Americans are generally very polite (I love being called sir). Middle Eastern clients are usually inhibited (most of the time except just before climax!) and they won’t engage in much talk or make eye contact. I think this is because of religious guilt 🙁. 
I think making assumptions about people based on race is a way of saving time “x is black therefore he will be like this, so I won’t bother to hire him / seek him as a client”. It’s kind of normal to do that because you simply can’t get to know the real person in every interaction with people on a daily basis, so you lump them into broad categories based on what they look like. That’s when problems start. 
However, I’d argue that doing sex work is exactly your role to get to know the real person (at least to get to know what drives them sexually-  which is the most basic of human behaviours) beyond the surface of what they look like.
So if you’re a sex worker who takes the work seriously why would you not want to look beyond the superficial and see the real person underneath? If you’re doing the work properly that’s exactly what you need to do to be successful. This client here isn’t ‘black’ he’s John and your job is to find out what drives John’s sexual desire and meet it as best you can. If you do that John will come back. Guaranteed. 
 


 


 

Thanks for your honesty here. In several ethnographic studies of young male prostitutes in U.S. cities, many providers admitted they avoided black clients because they were "cheap" or too demanding. Racism goes both ways, although in this case, due to economic stereotypes.
 
@DWnyc point of order. If either client or provider haggles over prices "after making an appointment," it's not "haggling." It's "a violation of a verbal contract." And to me, that means instant cancellation.
EDIT: And @Simon Suraci  I admit I'm seeing other patterns now thanks to your input. On several occasions, I've had a provider haggle with me after we agreed to a price. All of them were black. I see where these stereotypes come from.

The age factor has been easier for me to verify than race. Time and again, I see lower rates listed, on average, for providers on the older end of the spectrum, all other factors being constant. It’s too bad because some of them offer great service.
A provider I work with in his mid to late 40s charges less than the other provider I work with who is 30yo. I’m in my mid 30s and charge the same as the younger guy.
That’s sad and unfair. I’d like to hear from more providers of color if this is true in their perception. I would not be surprised. It’s kind of like the double standard Americans have for female celebrities; we rake women over the coals for the smallest thing, but male celebrities can be total pigs and assholes and nobody calls them out for their behavior. Gradually that’s changing for the better, but change is slow.
Black and other non-white providers experience constant micro aggressions in their daily lives outside work. The last thing they need is another person punching down when they’re trying to do their job.
When you hire a POC, tip them for good service and treat them well. Have grace for them being human like any other provider. Show them you value them by not haggling over a reasonable market rate. It’s demoralizing for anyone.
The haggling thing happens to me too, more frequently from clients who have less available to spend. The unfortunate reality is many of them are people of color, but I still get this behavior from white clients working in lower earning careers, college students, unemployed folks, and others. Some of my black clients are well-off. Some of my lowest earning clients spend small fortunes on hiring without a second thought and I can’t wrap my head around it. Clients with medium to high earning careers generally don’t haggle, irrespective of race.
 

I’ve heard that there is an effective tier just as there may be based on age and some other factors. And that clients are more likely to haggle with providers or color, both before and after making an appointment. 
I’ve also heard from more than one provider of color that they feel clients can be more demanding / punitive / rude when things don’t go as planned eg they are held more accountable on being late, not being able to perform, pics not regarded as accurate etc. And that clients are more likely to be flakey / cancel at last minute etc. with them.
 
Difficult to verify but I would say the perception is definitely there.
 
 

I’ve heard that there is an effective tier just as there may be based on age and some other factors. And that clients are more likely to haggle with providers or color, both before and after making an appointment. 
I’ve also heard from more than one provider of color that they feel clients can be more demanding / punitive / rude when things don’t go as planned eg they are held more accountable on being late, not being able to perform, pics not regarded as accurate etc. And that clients are more likely to be flakey / cancel at last minute etc. with them.
 
Difficult to verify but I would say the perception is definitely there.
 
 

I’ve heard that there is an effective tier just as there may be based on age and some other factors. And that clients are more likely to haggle with providers or color, both before and after making an appointment. 
I’ve also heard from more than one provider of color that they feel clients can be more demanding / punitive / rude when things don’t go as planned eg they are held more accountable on being late, not being able to perform, pics not regarded as accurate etc. And that clients are more likely to be flakey / cancel at last minute etc. with them.
 
Difficult to verify but I would say the perception is definitely there.
 
 

I’ve heard that there is an effective tier just as there may be based on age and some other factors. And that clients are more likely to haggle with providers or color, both before and after making an appointment. 
I’ve also heard from more than one provider of color that they feel clients can be more demanding / punitive / rude when things don’t go as planned eg they are held more accountable on being late, not being able to perform, pics not regarded as accurate etc. And that clients are more likely to be flakey / cancel at last minute etc. with them.
 
Difficult to verify but I would say the perception is definitely there.
 
 

I’ve heard that there is an effective tier just as there may be based on age and some other factors. And that clients are more likely to haggle with providers or color, both before and after making an appointment. 
I’ve also heard from more than one provider of color that they feel clients can be more demanding / punitive / rude when things don’t go as planned eg they are held more accountable on being late, not being able to perform, pics not regarded as accurate etc. And that clients are more likely to be flakey / cancel at last minute etc. with them.
 
Difficult to verify but I would say the perception is definitely there.
 
 

Thanks for the public service! Not to mention a professionally run aesthetically pleasing site.

Clients are not obligated to make appointments and pay unilaterally determined rates just because a provider wants them to. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement, mutually agreed.
Providers can have all the fun in the world making fun of prospective clients if they feel they have the means. But that time and energy might be better spent thinking up strategies to be more responsive to market forces. 

Thanks for the public service! Not to mention a professionally run aesthetically pleasing site.

I’d be surprised if ESC survives too much longer especially as it occupies a lot of space (3 floors if I remember correctly) in a high rent zone with a dying business model.
Fun fact: Donald Trump voted in the school next to ESC in 2016. I remember watching some tv news correspondent covering the wait for his arrival from right in front of the entrance. Felt sorry for the guys coming out of there (though it’s a shared entrance with other businesses) without realizing they might end up on national tv! 
 
 

I’m pretty sure he has done that already. 

Providers have often suggested meeting somewhere like this when neither of us can host or wish to pay for a hotel. I’ve always declined as it seems rather bizarre to be going the premium route in a place like that. 
On the rare occasions I’ve ventured inside I’ve seen faces familiar from the websites and I often wonder are the providers there just to relax and meet people “off the clock” or is it a place of business. Maybe both, just like on online dating apps. No judgement, just an observation. 

Occasionally I’ll be asked by a client if I’ll accompany them to a sauna (bathhouse) but I usually decline because I prefer not to see clients there for that reason. People just aren’t respectful if you want to be in a private room alone.
I don’t mind if they want to watch, in fact that’s usually the reason a client wants to do a sauna visit, so that they can be watched with me, but it usually ends up with someone watching and then thinking they can become involved. Then they get upset when told they can only watch. 
I had one guy watching me with a client one time who tried 3 times to join in with us. We were in a private room and it had a viewing window but the door didn’t lock. The guy was watching us through the window and he decided he wanted to join in. After he’d come in and been told ‘no’ the third time my client told him that he’d booked me for the session and it was pointless trying to join in because I was only going to play with the client. All he could do was watch us.
The guy got really angry and then threatened to tell the management that I was charging and that we would both be chucked out. Luckily, either he didn’t tell or they just didn’t believe him because nothing happened. 
 

He may have been a known irritant. These places are often full of them and management knows to ignore as much as needed to keep the peace.

Providers have often suggested meeting somewhere like this when neither of us can host or wish to pay for a hotel. I’ve always declined as it seems rather bizarre to be going the premium route in a place like that. 
On the rare occasions I’ve ventured inside I’ve seen faces familiar from the websites and I often wonder are the providers there just to relax and meet people “off the clock” or is it a place of business. Maybe both, just like on online dating apps. No judgement, just an observation. 

He may have been a known irritant. These places are often full of them and management knows to ignore as much as needed to keep the peace.

Non consensual behavior is not the norm and shouldn’t be tolerated. Sounds like an outlier. 
 

No means no.  I'm not inclined to be confrontational IRL, but have never had a problem pushing back as firmly as necessary in a sexual situation when unwanted advances weren't satisfied with a polite decline.
One thing about bath houses, and to an extent any kind of group sex event, is that people are not always on good behavior.  When everybody ELSE seems to be having sex, the little head starts to overrule the big head, and often alcohol or drugs are in the mix, clouding judgement.

Non consensual behavior is not the norm and shouldn’t be tolerated. Sounds like an outlier. 
 

I met with a provider at a local bathouse last week and had the weirdest thing happen.
We had the door closed and locked as I was not sharing.  We were fairly loud, flesh slapping against flesh, moans of pleasure and lots of vocal encouragement.   Suddenly there was a knock at the door.  I loudly said we weren't interested but they didn't stop.  So we stopped, I opened the door and politely said that we weren't interested.  They went away.
We got back to business and a few minutes later there was more knocking on the door.  We tried to ignore it but they wouldn't go away.  The provider answered this time and told him we weren't interested.  They guy accept that and tried to push his way into the room.  Nick got him out the door and got it shut.
We got back to it immediately and fortunately it didn't happen again.  We still had a great time but it was kind of weird.
The previous time I met Nick there I had someone try to follow me into my room and I had to put a hand on his chest and firmly tell him that I wasn't interested.
Its been a few years since i spent much time at a bathouse.  Is this a common occurrence?  I thought the etiquette was that you left the door open if interested in company and even then you could say you aren't interested.