Outcall minimum

[Archbishop]

Do many providers have required minimum time durations for outcalls? I know many providers charge higher rates for outcalls since they have to travel, but I recently encountered a provider that had a 2 hour minimum for outcalls. If I travelled to him, we could have done a one hour. However, I was visiting a new city and not sure of the geography. I ultimately went with another provider for a one hour outcall. 

[big-n-tall]

This is really dependent on the individual provider. You have to remember this hobby is unregulated industry.

Some guys require a minimum amount of time... others don't. I won't say many do. During my time hiring (closing in on 15 years), only one guy has ever asked for a minimum of 2 hours of outcall time to meet. This was a guy I saw in Vegas some years back, who came to my hotel.

[Shawn Monroe]

Some do. I do, which is an hour.

 

I’ll also say that unless I’ve met before I have a maximum driving time which is 30-40 minutes. It doesn’t make sense to drive over an hour for an hour outcall. 

but as stated, in America, it’s dependent on the provider. 

[+ DrownedBoy]

As a client, I've seen this only when providers have to travel a significant distance to get to an outcall.

For instance, I've hired visiting clients where the "commute" can be about 40 minutes. In that case, they usually want more than an hour to make up for the travel time.

I'm generous with that, as long as providers are in the 300/500 range for 1/2 hour visits. If someone was charging 400 an hour and somehow I hired them for an outcall, I wouldn't be that generous.

[pubic_assistance]

Makes sense if the travel time is significant.

I wouldn't want to be paid for an hour if it took me two hours to get there and back.

You'd be spending three hours total and getting paid for one.

[Simon Suraci]

50 minutes ago, pubic_assistance said:

You'd be spending three hours total and getting paid for one.

^THIS!

Sooooo many clients do not understand what they’re asking for when they request an outcall and expect to pay the same rate as they would incall (or expect $20 for gas to cover it 🙄). I get people asking me for a 1-hr outcall and they’re over 90 mins away. That works out to half a day of my time..and they’re baffled when I quote them a hefty fee or flat out say no, it’s out of my travel range.

Thank you, next.

Since clients are so clueless with regard to how much extra time outcalls take, applying a minimum time is one way to overcome the high time commitment vs low fee. I’m surprised more don’t do it.

A lot of masseurs do outcalls for no fee or a nominal small fee $20-40. I don’t compete with them. For me, it doesn’t make sense to spend half my day NOT getting paid when I could spend that same time doing incalls getting paid for the whole day. 

For masseurs who have only one table, it takes extra time on top of the travel to take down and set everything up, including packing up speakers, oil, linens, and any other extra stuff. That adds an extra hour. Think about it: 15 mins x4 to do this before leaving, after you arrive, when you leave, and again when you get back to your home base. That’s an hour I can’t take other appointments or have to myself. Let’s say a client is 30 mins away and the traffic gods are on your side:

1-hr for the massage

1-hr for takedowns/setups

1-hr for travel

That’s still THREE HOURS for (1) hour of fee! And people wonder why I have so many hangups about doing outcalls. I only do them when I’m not as busy, for trusted good clients, higher fees, longer appointments like couples massages, or some other reason that makes sense. I don’t drop everything for 3+ hrs of my day at the drop of a hat for every Tom, Dick, or Harry who contacts me. Sorry guys, I may be in the minority here, but I have my reasons. I don’t need to compete with the outcall masseurs, so I don’t.

[+ Jamie21]

Min time is an hour, in call or out call. If the out call is a long distance or time to travel then I price it accordingly. I quite like doing out calls to hotels or the client’s place. Often they are more relaxed in that environment, so it helps.