Buying airline tickets...

[CalebRogers]

Hey guys,

 

A little background: I've been escorting part time for about a year. I do it mostly in my home city but I also occasionally put up travel ads when I am going somewhere in the hopes I might get a client or two while I'm there. I've made all the rookie mistakes but I think now I am to the point where I'm pretty comfortable and I have that sixth sense about when a situation just "doesn't seem right."

 

One thing I have never done however, is have someone fly me to another city specifically for a weekend of escorting. I'm open to doing it but how is the plane ticket normally handled? Obviously the client has to pay for it, but if he buys the ticket he's going to need my real name. I occasionally tell clients my real FIRST name if I'm comfortable with them and have seen them a few times but I don't think I've ever told anyone my real FIRST and LAST name, which of course they would need. There's always the "transfer-the-amount-of-the-plane-ticket-to-my-PayPal-and-I'll-buy-it-myself" option but that really seems like its asking a lot of a client, especially if they've never actually met you. So how do guys normally handle this?

 

Follow up question: for local clients I don't normally ask for a deposit first, but for someone that is asking for a whole weekend of my time, where I have to make arrangements to be away (someone to watch my dog, etc.), I feel like it wouldn't be out of line to ask for a small down payment as proof they are not going to flake. Is that customary also?

[+ azdr0710]

though you've been a forum member for nearly a year, welcome to the board and I hope you get some good ideas.....your concerns have been discussed before, but I think you'll get some good ideas related to your specific situation......

 

I'll only say to be friendly - and careful - with these overnight/weekend things......it'd be better if you've already met the client before because chemistry and established trust go a very long way with all this, as you know.....do not send any money....and don't fall for that Nigerian trick of cashing a too-big check and sending back the difference!!........

[+ Tarte Gogo]

Welcome to the forum! (You should put a link to your ad in your signature, btw).

 

Follow up question: for local clients I don't normally ask for a deposit first, but for someone that is asking for a whole weekend of my time, where I have to make arrangements to be away (someone to watch my dog, etc.), I feel like it wouldn't be out of line to ask for a small down payment as proof they are not going to flake. Is that customary also?

 

As a client I would never book a weekend unless I had several 1 or 2 hour meetings before.

I also assume you wouldn’t accept a booking that long without knowing it is going to be a good weekend?

If you don’t know the client and don’t trust him, you realise you could end up in a nightmare situation where the chemistry is terrible for a whole 2 days and 2 nights?

So the question of a flaky client is irrelevant, you would already know that this client is not a flake.

 

One thing I have never done however, is have someone fly me to another city specifically for a weekend of escorting. I'm open to doing it but how is the plane ticket normally handled? Obviously the client has to pay for it, but if he buys the ticket he's going to need my real name. I occasionally tell clients my real FIRST name if I'm comfortable with them and have seen them a few times but I don't think I've ever told anyone my real FIRST and LAST name, which of course they would need. There's always the "transfer-the-amount-of-the-plane-ticket-to-my-PayPal-and-I'll-buy-it-myself" option but that really seems like its asking a lot of a client, especially if they've never actually met you. So how do guys normally handle this?

As a client if I pay for your flight, yes, you give me your full name, so I can book it for you. No I am not just sending you the money so you can book it yourself. But realistically, if I pay for your flight, it is because we know each other well enough from previous meets. I don’t think I would fly someone I have never met.

Edited August 21, 2018 by Tarte Gogo

[FTM Zachary Prince]

To handle the flight booking, you can price the flight on Southwest.com and then have the client send you a digital Southwest gift card so that you can book the flight yourself. All he needs is an email address to send it to. And it doesn’t even have to be the same email address that your Southwest.com account is under. You will receive a gift card code that can be used to book your tickets. I would personally never let a client book them for me, because they could always cancel the return ticket and leave me stranded somewhere. Of course most clients wouldn’t, but SOME clients do the wackiest things sometimes! Better safe than sorry!

[FTM Zachary Prince]

An advance deposit is a standard ask for travel bookings. Typically 50% of the total. You can have clients mail blank money orders to you in a magazine and fill the name in yourself. You can also ask him to buy Vanilla Visa gift cards, which you can use to pay bills online or convert into real money using PayPal. I don’t recommend accepting PayPal directly from clients, ever. Not only will they see your full legal name when they send you the money, but they can also reverse the transaction months down the line, well after you have delivered service. And PayPal will ban YOU for life. Escorts are not allowed to use their service at all, and even the accusation of being an escort can get you banned. Thus it’s much safer to never share your PayPal account with a client directly. Instead, ask for pre-paid gift cards. There are tricks to get the money off the cards and into your bank account for a small processing fee.

 

Feel free to “ask a lot” of any client who is asking you to fly across the country and spend a weekend with him. He is “asking a lot” too.

 

As a personal anecdote, one time a client flew me across the country to keep me up in Vegas for two days so he could sneak away once or twice a day while he was there on a boring trip with his family. He promised he would arrange my hotel and give me the details when I arrived. I reached the Vegas airport after a 3 hour flight and asked him which hotel I should head to. No answer... I desperately needed to replace my phone, so I headed to a shop to purchase one while I waited to hear from him. Still no answer... Finally another hour later, he emails me to say he needs to cancel! After I’ve already been in his city for two hours! I would have been devastated had I not taken a 50% deposit in advance for the session. But I was able to book my own hotel and not sweat too hard about losing money on the trip. Since he had ditched me, I posted last minute ads and snagged another client. And guess what? My original client ended up getting free the following day, I extended my trip by an extra night, and he ended up seeing me the next couple days and paid me the balance that he owed me for the full trip anyway. If I had not taken an advance deposit for that trip, can you imagine the pickle I might have been in? Taking advance deposits allows you to stay secure during your trip no matter what kinds of crazy emergencies or changes of plans may happen on the client’s end. And that can be very, very valuable. Last-minute changes DO unexpectedly happen, discretion-related needs sometime trump everything else, and having that deposit money in your possession can protect you from a lot. I take bookings without deposits, but I definitely never go out of my way to travel to a client without one. Keeps things simpler and drama-free.

Edited August 21, 2018 by FTM Zachary Prince

[+ tassojunior]

An advance deposit is a standard ask for travel bookings. Typically 50% of the total. You can have clients mail blank money orders to you in a magazine and fill the name in yourself. You can also ask him to buy Vanilla Visa gift cards, which you can use to pay bills online or convert into real money using PayPal. I don’t recommend accepting PayPal directly from clients, ever. Not only will they see your full legal name when they send you the money, but they can also reverse the transaction months down the line, well after you have delivered service. And PayPal will ban YOU for life. Escorts are not allowed to use their service at all, and even the accusation of being an escort can get you banned. Thus it’s much safer to never share your PayPal account with a client directly. Instead, ask for pre-paid gift cards. There are tricks to get the money off the cards and into your bank account for a small processing fee.

 

Feel free to “ask a lot” of any client who is asking you to fly across the country and spend a weekend with him. He is “asking a lot” too.

 

If you can set up a Facebook account just for business, Messenger is a wonderful way to send money (only US for now). Goes straight thru their debit card into their checking account. How I transfer a lot to my 2 year #1 so he doesn't have to make deposits, getting "close to $10,000" warnings from FB both years.

 

I'm always amazed at photos I see how many guys fly guys business class. wow.

[FTM Zachary Prince]

If you can set up a Facebook account just for business, Messenger is a wonderful way to send money (only US for now). Goes straight thru their debit card into their checking account. How I transfer a lot to my 2 year #1 so he doesn't have to make deposits, getting "close to $10,000" warnings from FB both years.

 

I'm always amazed at photos I see how many guys fly guys business class. wow.

 

Facebook is pretty dangerous for anyone with privacy concerns to use. I don’t doubt that it works for anyone who is comfortable with Facebook. I personally would not use it. Absolute disaster for privacy. Also, you may be a good guy who is never going to abuse the money transfer system there, but what happens when someone pays an escort that way and then tries to reverse the transfer later claiming he was scammed and reporting the escort’s profile to Facebook? Facebook doesn’t allow escorts to use their service. I don’t know what would happen to the monetary dispute, but I’m pretty sure it would be bad for the escort. There are tons of abusive clients out there who look for ways to pay escorts that can be reversed later. So this is something we need to be particularly cautious about.

 

A lot of airlines upgrade frequent flyers to business class readily, and a lot of us escorts are VERY frequent flyers. And of course, some clients are very generous...

[+ overeasy]

Caleb, I think you need to remember that every instance and potential client is different, as are the reasons they may want to hire you and fly you to visit them. Many just have the funds available to hire those who interest them most, regardless of the cost involved in the meeting. Others may live in areas where escorts are few and far between and find themselves in a position of either flying men to them, flying to the men, or not hiring. And it goes on and on....I think the most important thing you can do is communicate more than you would otherwise so that you can develop your own feel for the potential client, his respect level, his sincerity, and the reason he called on you. While this communication won't necessary eliminate the "flake" consideration, it will go a long way toward your developing a feel for whether the meet would have a probability of going well or not. I respect Tarte's comment that he would never hire for a weekend without having had several shorter encounters. In many instances, your potential client may not have that luxury. Bottom line, be careful, communicate, follow your gut feeling....and maybe feel a bit honored that of all the men your potential meet could have called and wanted to meet...he called you. Yes, you will probably have to provide your real name, your birthdate, and maybe even an address....to someone who obviously does not live in your neighborhood. If that's not for you to start with, then I think you have your answer all ready.

 

As for asking for a "deposit".....maybe the price of an airline ticket should be an indication of the level of interest?

[+ VictorPowers]

To handle the flight booking, you can price the flight on Southwest.com and then have the client send you a digital Southwest gift card so that you can book the flight yourself. All he needs is an email address to send it to. And it doesn’t even have to be the same email address that your Southwest.com account is under. You will receive a gift card code that can be used to book your tickets. I would personally never let a client book them for me, because they could always cancel the return ticket and leave me stranded somewhere. Of course most clients wouldn’t, but SOME clients do the wackiest things sometimes! Better safe than sorry!

I have done exactly this for Delta. They can buy physical gift cards as well. Both work just fine.

[MikeBiDude]

have the client send you a digital Southwest gift card so that you can book the flight yourself.

This has worked great for me in the past..ironically with another Zachary! Zachery Scott of Las Vegas.

[Cody Converse]

To handle the flight booking, you can price the flight on Southwest.com and then have the client send you a digital Southwest gift card so that you can book the flight yourself. All he needs is an email address to send it to. And it doesn’t even have to be the same email address that your Southwest.com account is under. You will receive a gift card code that can be used to book your tickets. I would personally never let a client book them for me, because they could always cancel the return ticket and leave me stranded somewhere. Of course most clients wouldn’t, but SOME clients do the wackiest things sometimes! Better safe than sorry!

This is such an awesome idea, thank you for this!

 

@OP, I have had some clients whom I've trusted with my name buy my ticket for me. For the most part though, I have simply paid for the ticket myself, and asked that they add the cost onto the cash at the end.