"Booking Fee" -- a new trend?

[RyanDean]

This is interesting....

http://kurtiswolfe.com/deposits/

 

The booking fee is $100.00 and is applicable to all sessions booked with new clients beginning on January 1, 2015. Once your session has been successfully completed, the booking fee will become a refundable deposit which will be refunded immediately to the payment method used to pay the booking fee.

 

Hmmph. I'm perplexed. I can see the reasoning, but why a refund? Why not just deduct it from the session fee? (I'd been planning to arrange something with this gent, too, but now I'm not so sure...)

[+ MasssageGuy]

So if you make an appointment with an attorney, doctor, or any other personal service provider, you pay a "booking fee"?

 

I don't think so. Lots of hubris with this dude.

 

I wouldn't pay anyone a $100 booking fee.

[+ WhamIAm]

Actually, this may be my favorite part . . . .

 

This fee helps guarantee your reserved session and assist in keeping the booking schedule free for serious injuries and bookings.

 

Kurtis must like it rough.

[+ azdr0710]

he obviously got sick of cancellations and is trying something different to combat them....may backfire on him if he really tries to enforce the policy come Thursday.....he is a current hot-guy-of-the-moment and may be able to do it, but he'll definitely hear grumbling and lose some earnest appointments.....

[armadillo]

Wait until he does a Resort Fee!

 

A resort fee is a (usually unadvertised) mandatory fee tacked onto a nightly room rate. Fees can be as low as $3.50 per night at the Clarion Inn & Suites at International Drive, Orlando (they call this one a "safe fee"), to as much as $60 per night for the St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort, Puerto Rico.

[Edward]

I believe it relates to the arrogance that some escorts have. It is like the client should pay for the privilege to even speak to and inquire about the services rendered. It is not like escorts never cancel or don't deliver the service they advertise. It has all to do with the welfare of the escort and nothing about the client. I wont be paying a booking fee an I am getting tired of even booking an escort do to the attitude many of them display about self importance. Don't take me wrong I am not putting escorts in a sub class. But I am paying the bill and I feel that I have been short changed in the past.

[Nvr2Thick]

This is interesting....

http://kurtiswolfe.com/deposits/

 

 

 

Hmmph. I'm perplexed. I can see the reasoning, but why a refund? Why not just deduct it from the session fee? (I'd been planning to arrange something with this gent, too, but now I'm not so sure...)

 

My guess is that he wants to keep the transactions separate to reduce complexity. Some clients will have booking fees and some won't. When he meets a client he can always just charge his usual fee. When he reconciles charges later he can just go through the booking fees and process refunds.

 

I pay cash. This would be a deal-breaker. Also, I checked out some of his videos. He seems to prefer guys named "Wolf".

[whipped guy]

Not surprised here... I've been stuck with the above mentioned resort fee... but if you want to go there you pay it.

 

However, what first came to mind is the new trend of a "facility fee" at a doctors office. Once you enter they slap a bracelet on you with your name and DOB and you have been admitted to their "facility" and have paid for the privilege of walking in to see the doctor who then slaps his regular fee on top of that.

 

So a new trend... lawyers and dentists etc. can't be far behind... So why not an escort? At least it's only for newbies and is "refundable". Still, being in a business that relies on appointments I can relate to the frustration. Plus a short while back I spent an hour on the phone with an escort while he was waiting for a client who never showed up... and it was a client he had previously seen! So there are indeed frustrations out there and it is certainly something to which I can relate.

 

Still, I would pass on this guy... Even though he is hot as hell... But if you really need it bad I guess guys would gladly pay. Interesting to see how long the policy lasts.

[maninsoma]

I think he's very sexy, but I wouldn't hire anyone who requires a fee up front for a single hour appointment.

[BaronArtz]

If you care to read his entire statement, the booking fee applies only to new clients. If he has had many cancellations by new clients, it is sort of understandable. I don't necessarily like it, but it is understandable regardless. Perhaps he is not all that interested in getting new clients to begin with, if his current clients provide him with ample income. Also, you can pay the fee via PayPal which is fairly anonymous.

[TruthBTold]

I guess I will ask him for a reciprocal $100 booking fee to assure that he shows up at my place in case he decides not to appear once we have scheduled a session. The forum is riddled with clients relating how this or that escort has just not showed for a scheduled session.

[Diverdan]

I would NEVER pay a booking fee...

[Jon Royce]

I vaguely remember hearing that a deposit has some legal implications. That might be the reason why he's using the term refund.

[Guest ChrisW]

he obviously got sick of cancellations and is trying something different to combat them....may backfire on him if he really tries to enforce the policy come Thursday.....he is a current hot-guy-of-the-moment and may be able to do it, but he'll definitely hear grumbling and lose some earnest appointments.....

 

I can understand where he is coming from, about half the people that want to book something end up bailing but it seems a bit silly. This may get me some flak for saying so but it seems that the uber hot escorts with perfectly sculpted bodies and huge dicks often are the ones that want you to jump through the most hoops to see them (Billy Santoro anyone?). Who knows this may become a standard in the industry and if it does my masters program is paid for! Woo Hoo!

[gallahadesquire]

About 25 years ago, restaurants in Chicago would take your credit card information when you made your reservation. No shows were billed $25.00

[loverboy95]

I don't agree with this method and would never hire an escort who does this regardless of their reasoning for it.

[armadillo]

This is no more than a new angle for paying money upfront.

[jon1265]

What guarantees does one have that he won't cancel and keep the money? What legal avenues could one pursue? Do you go to the police and state "I was going to hire a male escort and paid upfront, and now he was no-show and he took my money." I am sure the cops will get right on it.

 

On the other hand, I would assume he could not get away with that more than once or twice before word got out, but who knows. Personally I would not hire anyone who demands a down payment. But he is free to do what he wants.

[+ WhamIAm]

I call my $25 request a deposit. My new clients know how that works This is not an easy thing to ask and accept on both sides. A lot of escorts may feel weird asking and some prospective clients might feel uneasy paying. However, I've learned approach is everything. The right approach, yields the best results.

 

Kurtis has been on my "if we're ever in the same place at the same time" list for a while, but this one's a real deal breaker. I'm an attorney, and there is a small handful of lawyers who do charge consultation fees. Virtually all of them are fly-by-night, lazy, or just bad. Kurtis has enough visibility in the industry through his RB work and seems serious enough regarding the business side of his profession that I don't think it's a scam, but it is way too big an ask, the forfeiture conditions are way too harsh (36 hours, really? We all have life happen), and, frankly, the refund mechanism isn't at all clear.

 

Killian -- you're also on my "same place, same time" list. Haven't seen anything about your $25 deposit request but, after a little thought, I don't think that would necessarily shut down my interest. Biggest difference -- the amount. If I have to cancel in a shorter time frame than is reasonable for you to rebook (though I can't assume that's a problem for you) and/or assuming we've had a call or some means by which you've spent a more-than-insignificant amount of time setting up (i.e, a decent phone call for each of us to gauge comfort level), I think a nominal charge is fair. Besides amount, I think you hit the nail on the head re that it's all about delivery of the news and execution of the process, i.e., what's the time frame for cancellation, is the deposit taken off the top of the first session or is it more complicated, how reasonably is it administered. For me, Kurtis' is way too much $$$, a bit too complicated, and reads/looks too much like the kind of over-written legalese that I try not to write.

 

So, yeah, short version is that, if my assumptions are correct, I could consider a "deposit." Depends on the amount at risk, depends on the guy. (Um, yeah, I'm looking at you ;-)) As some point out above, though, the inequality of the requirement (am I entitled to compensation if the escort doesn't show/shows up late) still leaves a bad taste in my mouth, so to speak.