Do you require an "anchor client" to visit a new city?

[marylander1940]

It's takes time "canvassing" a city to know you have enough potential clients to go there on your own.

 

Do you require an "anchor client" to visit a new city?

 

Anchor client: someone (you've met or not) who'll hire you for an overnight or a multiple hour appointment to make sure your visit to that city is profitable.

[Mikegaite]

If I were visiting a domestic city primarily for escorting, yes. If I were visiting a domestic city in which escorting was an auxiliary goal but not the primary purpose of the trip, then also yes if I had my druthers. I would get crickets going to a new city compared to all the dozens of hotties and known quantities. I've built enouhh bases in certain cities where I have had reasons to visit other than escorting, that i tend to avoid non-anchor cities. I'm in one non-anchor now bc I wanted to explore it, but I gave myself a limited window of time there bc I don't have anchors here except new anchors. Sorry my ambien is kicking in but you get the idea.

[+ saminseattle]

A related question: if you don’t have a single “anchor” lined up for a potential trip, but you’ve seen clients in the city before, do you reach out to them before buying your tickets and committing to the trip? No one has ever contacted me under these circumstances, and I’ve never understood why not. Wouldn’t it reduce the risk involved with traveling to at least try to secure a few appointments in advance? [Of course, this question applies to travelling masseurs as well as escorts.]

[Mikegaite]

If you don't secure bookings in advance, a client might say, "Another escort reached out and confirmed with me already and I have already used up my escorting budget. Thus, I can't see you this trip." That scenario has happened to me more than once on both sides of the equation.

 

For Seattle, I always reach out in advance to try to decide how best to split my time between Seattle, Bellevue, Federal Way, Tacoma, and Seatac. When my hotel location is not going to vary based on client availability (e.g. Manhattan) I don't need to be as strategic about setting things up in advance. Advanced booking also helps an escort decide how to best balance his ratio of weekdays to weekends in a city.

 

The problem with securing advance appointments is a very high percentage of people tend to cancel at the last minute, or whenever you contact them to confirm they say, "I meant to contact you to cancel." Or something to that effect. If you can make fill your dance card booking same-day appointments only, there's little incentive to reach out in advance. You have to remember that DR is not representative of the escort world as a whole, that most clients are looking for same-day appointments, and that a hot body--rather than a proactive booking approach-- is all you need to seal the deal.

[LADoug1]

A related question: if you don’t have a single “anchor” lined up for a potential trip, but you’ve seen clients in the city before, do you reach out to them before buying your tickets and committing to the trip? No one has ever contacted me under these circumstances, and I’ve never understood why not. Wouldn’t it reduce the risk involved with traveling to at least try to secure a few appointments in advance? [Of course, this question applies to travelling masseurs as well as escorts.]

I think many (most?) professional escorts do not always reach out to clients in deference to a client's privacy.

Edited February 2, 2016 by LADoug1

[+ VictorPowers]

An anchor is great, but I tend to throw a pretty precise dart at a map for a new city. I've learned a few lessons along the way, but have had great success in my travels. Only once have I lost $ in a city. That one off scenario involved a client (I'd consider an anchor) pulling out of an ON, incurring unexpected expenses, and a promise that Chicago won't be visited again

[+ VictorPowers]

A related question: if you don’t have a single “anchor” lined up for a potential trip, but you’ve seen clients in the city before, do you reach out to them before buying your tickets and committing to the trip? No one has ever contacted me under these circumstances, and I’ve never understood why not. Wouldn’t it reduce the risk involved with traveling to at least try to secure a few appointments in advance? [Of course, this question applies to travelling masseurs as well as escorts.]

Very rarely. I'll reach out prior to purchasing flights/hotel ONLY if I'm really on the fence. I'll reach out to a few trusty regulars to test the waters so to speak.

[FTM Zachary Prince]

Do you require an "anchor client" to visit a new city?

 

Only if I'm dubious about the city's ability to fill my schedule in the first place, but a client is begging me to visit. In this case, I'll offer to let said client anchor my trip with a 50% advance deposit. For example: Nashville. I'm happy to come but I'm not convinced that business is going to be booming for me. I'll only come if I have an anchor client.

 

But generally I'm not flying by the seat of my pants or operating primarily by same-day bookings either. I advertise my tours at least a month in advance, sometimes even 6-8 weeks in advance. I buy domestic flights from Southwest.com, which are refundable for flight credit. I take advance bookings and have a clear and effective cancellation policy. As long as I have at least one confirmed booking in any given city, I go. I tend to tour anywhere from 6-12 cities back-to-back in extended multi-week tours, so even if I end up merely breaking even in one city, I don't stress because perhaps in the next city I'll turn a very high profit, so it tends to even out. In some cities I'm busier than others. Sometimes I'm even grateful for the downtime in a slow city when the cities before and after are packed with appointments. It's not uncommon for my schedule to be completely booked in advance before I arrive to a city and for me to be turning away inquiries upon arrival (Baltimore, NYC, Chicago, LA). My cancellation rate is very low now that I employ a clearly-articulated cancellation policy in my confirmation process.

 

I also agree with @Mikegaite 's comment above about it depending on my personal interest in visiting a city. If I have good friends in a particular city who I can stay with and want to spend time with anyway, I may include it in a tour regardless of any certain bookings. Perhaps I would schedule it between two cities that are typically busy for me and expect it to be something between a vacation and a working vacation for me. But again, only if I had compelling personal reasons to want to visit. NOLA is a good example of this type of city for me.

[RichReynolds813]

I tend to schedule my travels around requests/anchor appointments.

 

Other times I do road trips, so in those cases I'll list ads in the cities along the way and stop at the ones getting appointments. If I don't get any requests, I can keep going until the next city. Great way to visit places most people fly over.

[+ VictorPowers]

I tend to schedule my travels around requests/anchor appointments.

 

Other times I do road trips, so in those cases I'll list ads in the cities along the way and stop at the ones getting appointments. If I don't get any requests, I can keep going until the next city. Great way to visit places most people fly over.

That's a great idea. I'm sure you see clients in cities that others pass on. Then there is the added benefit of having a car to use on Out calls

[FTM Zachary Prince]

I tend to schedule my travels around requests/anchor appointments.

 

Other times I do road trips, so in those cases I'll list ads in the cities along the way and stop at the ones getting appointments. If I don't get any requests, I can keep going until the next city. Great way to visit places most people fly over.

 

I've done the road trip thing in the past before and it's fun! I can't say my profit margin was very large, but it was a great way to see the country and have a continuous influx of cash along the way to fund my adventures!

 

I actually drove around the entire United States that way in a circle once, from Nashville southwest, then up the west coast, then across the north from West to East, then down the east coast, then back to Nashville from FL. Took about 12 weeks. Adventure of a lifetime to be honest!! Between car repairs and the fact that my trip wasn't planned to maximise income, didn't have too much to show for it by the end besides memories tho.

[Cannon]

I certainly do require it in order for me to venture out of state

[marylander1940]

If you don't secure bookings in advance, a client might say, "Another escort reached out and confirmed with me already and I have already used up my escorting budget. Thus, I can't see you this trip." That scenario has happened to me more than once on both sides of the equation.

 

For Seattle, I always reach out in advance to try to decide how best to split my time between Seattle, Bellevue, Federal Way, Tacoma, and Seatac. When my hotel location is not going to vary based on client availability (e.g. Manhattan) I don't need to be as strategic about setting things up in advance. Advanced booking also helps an escort decide how to best balance his ratio of weekdays to weekends in a city.

 

The problem with securing advance appointments is a very high percentage of people tend to cancel at the last minute, or whenever you contact them to confirm they say, "I meant to contact you to cancel." Or something to that effect. If you can make fill your dance card booking same-day appointments only, there's little incentive to reach out in advance. You have to remember that DR is not representative of the escort world as a whole, that most clients are looking for same-day appointments, and that a hot body--rather than a proactive booking approach-- is all you need to seal the deal.

 

I keep hearing about clients coming up with a death in the family, a cold, a trip out of the country, etc.