Prices and Services
In my time as a brothel manager between 2004 to 2016 prices averaged $150 for a half hour service and $250 for the hour. This was inner city prices only. The further out from the CBD, the cheaper the price. This price included massage, oral and sex. Anything else was up to the sex worker. Her price for those extras was negotiated with the client. Kissing was a service that needed to be negotiated. Some charged for kissing, some didn't. Others refused kissing outright. Kissing below the neck was normally not charged for and generally accepted as part of the service.
One young lass was a little confused when it came to being a sex worker. She had just started working at our establishment and claimed she'd worked elsewhere before. Not long into her first booking, I'm surprised to find her client standing before me at reception. This was only a few minutes into his booking.
It seems he'd paid top dollar for all the extras yet was unable to enjoy them. Rules that hadn't been previously specified came with those extras. When he told me those rules I thought he must have misunderstood. They didn't make sense. I buzz the girl, who's still in the room, to tell her I'll be in with the client. She responds, “fine, but he's not getting his money back”. "Strange response", I thought to myself, considering we had yet to discuss what the issue was and the booking had just begun.
Upon entering I find she's freshening up and getting dressed. Seems she's charged the guy all the extras but that didn't include touching what wasn't paid for. He could only play with her boobs and pink bits, nothing else. Whatever was she on about?
“How is he supposed to fuck without being able to get close to you?”, I ask, truly puzzled. “You're not even giving him a basic service and charging for extras? Explain your reasoning”, I continued.
She couldn't. Her logic was that he had paid for access to her breasts and vagina only. He could kiss those while accessing, thus the extra charge. Anywhere else on her body was a no-touch zone for those parts had not been paid for. She seriously didn't see a problem. I tell her only a contortionist could perform the way she explained and expected and a blow-up doll could offer more, and cost less. I tell her to give him his money back if she wasn't going to do the service paid for. She claimed time had already started, he'd seen her naked and therefore he was not getting a refund.
“Now I get it”, I respond sarcastically. “You're in the wrong building. You're lost. You must be a stripper if you think you deserve to be paid for 5 minutes of you naked. This is a brothel. That means prostitutes work here, babe. That's a whole different service. Give him his money back, so he can book another lady who knows where she is”. She didn't want to but I gave her no choice about it. She hadn't done anything, brothel wise, to have earned it. She wouldn't drop it till I gave her $20 of my own money. That's all she was getting for 5 minutes of anything. Well worth the price just to get her to shut up. Needless to say, she didn't last long.
A guy tried to get some of his money back because he hadn't climaxed in the time allotted. The hour booking allowed sex twice if the guy was up for going again in the allotted hour at no extra charge. He didn't want to pay for an extension (an extension is when the client wants to continue his time with the current booking). Money first is the first rule in the sex industry, always. An extension was never granted without upfront payment. No booking was. The guy didn't get any amount of a refund back. I educated him to the fact that if he'd got his dick in, he'd had sex. Just because he'd not orgasmed in the time allotted didn't mean he'd not received the service paid for. Orgasming was not always a guarantee with sex. Ask any human female on this planet.
The Huge Luxurious Brothel charged the most at $190 for the half hour and $260 for the hour. As I've said, K C was a smart businessman who treated his staff well. He charged this way so clients were lured into booking the better hour deal. The girls got an extra $20 in their cut with that deal so they'd try to entice the longer hour booking. In the brothel industry the expression, 'time is money', is an understatement. Most brothel’s cut was 30 percent of the basic booking price. Any extra charges were kept by the sex worker. Extra charges happened when the client wanted something other than what was offered in the usual service of massage, oral and sex. The house percentage went towards room rental, clean linen for every booking, condoms, lube and such.
As I've also stated, the farther away from the city centre the cheaper sex becomes. Suburban females tend to feel less attractive than they are. In a competitive field, confidence is essential no matter what you look like. This didn't mean business was slow. Horny men are generally not picky. This I got from the country sex workers who'd ventured into the city to work. The ladies could make much more money per booking in the city, though a lot of the country lasses didn't feel as confident or in the same league as their city sisters when starting.
On one very busy night at Huge Luxurious Brothel, I quickly scan the staff roster as I start my shift. I see a name I don't recognise, Wendy, and enquire about her. She's pointed out to me as the lady on the far end of the reception counter filling out an application form. I go over to her to quickly introduce myself. I apologise that I've only got time for a quick ‘get to know you’ chat. I ask if she's worked before. She responds only in the country and that she's feeling a little overwhelmed and wondering if she has made a mistake venturing into the city to work.
I reassure her she's gorgeous and has nothing to worry about. She'll be making money in no time. I really need to get back to reception and tell her I'll get back to her during the night to see how's she going.
It's surprising how many sex workers are shy or introverted. Behind closed doors in the room with a client, not a problem. They are comfortable behind those doors. Outside that room, some find it hard to sell themselves. This is where managers and hostesses come in handy. Hostesses are assistants to the managers whose roles consist of liaison between clients and sex workers. The hostesses' main job was to deal with minor issues to leave the manager free to deal with doors, phones, bookings, online enquiries and the dramas which unfold on a regular basis. Hostesses also help with laundry, for linen is a major factor in all brothels. Health regulations dictate that clean sheets, pillowcases and towels must be supplied for every booking.
On that busy night at the Huge Luxurious Brothel while I'm doing a quick lounge room floor check I see Wendy sitting alone looking a little lost in the corner. As I walk towards her I'm stopped by a guy asking for assistance. He feels a little nervous about approaching a lady as he's new to this. I ask him if he has a type. “Preferably young”, is all he replies. I immediately point to Wendy.
“How about that cute brunette. She's 22”.
“Yes, please”, he responds.
“You need to talk to her before the booking. Once the booking is confirmed, come back to reception and we'll set it up for you”.
I tell him I'll fetch the girl. When I reach Wendy I tell her that the guy across the room wants to book her and to set it up with him if she's interested. She's very interested and grateful. It was to be her first booking. I tell her to say she's 22 if he asks. She looks at me stricken.
“But I'm 31”. Her eyes are wide.
“Not for the next hour you're not”. I smile at her. “You can pull off that fantasy, no problem”.
I had a product to sell. Often that product became what she needed to be for that sale. After all the product, herself, added to the illusion by changing her name and her look with wigs differing from her own personal style. Many sex workers looked very different at work to how they presented themselves to the outside world. This was also due to the stigma. Another way of not being recognised.
Whilst the client is at reception with Wendy arranging the booking with me I give the guy the spiel, being his first time. I tell him the booking time doesn't start, till the service starts and, for health regulations, he needed to shower first. Once he was done the sex worker will do a quick external check of any sign or suspicion of an STI. If all clear then the booking was verified and she would leave the room to quickly prepare for the booking.
This was so that the lady could prepare herself and collect what was needed. Condoms, lube, talc powder, moisturiser, and disposable gloves were always handed to a sex worker before every booking, or already available in the room. Once she returned into the room she'd buzz reception. Only then did the booking time start. I end the spiel with, “five minutes before the end of the booking the room will be buzzed. No need to jump off the girl in panic but best finish off. The second buzz means please move it unless you're wanting to extend your time. We’re always happy to have you staying longer but payment must be made first”.
Even though the sex worker took only five to ten minutes, on average, to prepare herself and return to the room and client, many a time half-naked guys approached my desk asking about a missing lass. What had happened to her? What about his service? I'd remind them of my spiel. The clock wasn't on yet. She was getting ready and coming back. Even she would have mentioned that I'm sure. Or they'd buzz reception from the room, inquiring about her whereabouts. I'd often think why I'd bother with the spiel. Dick up, deaf too it seems.
One lass told me she'd have a joke with the guys while doing the health check. She'd hold their penis like a microphone, then pretend to do a sound check, tapping very lightly on the tip.
“Testing. One, two, three. Testing”, mimicking as she's telling me. She said this helped to relax them…mostly.
K C was also smart with his merchandise. There were strict rules that came with working at the brothel where sex workers got paid the most. If clients were paying top price, the sex worker needed to look the part. Sex workers were inspected before they were allowed to sell their wares on the floor upon starting a shift. We advertised as only having the best, and by the best we meant ‘high-class ladies’. Tattoos were to be covered up when not in a booking, hair, nails and makeup inspected. No trousers or jeans allowed. Dresses or skirts only and never above the knees. A split was allowed up to a certain length only. If a client wanted to see more he was to pay for it.
Whilst in the laundry catching a much-needed break from reception one night I spy a sex worker passing through. I was out of her vision so she jumped when I called out to her as she tried to sneak onto the lounge floor the back way through the laundry and behind the bar. It was obvious why she was avoiding the usual way through reception and me. She had a mini skirt on that left nothing to the imagination. It was totally see through. She might as well have worn just the g-string I could see her obviously sporting.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. No way! You know the rules”, I admonished.
“Is not fair!” She stamps her foot. “I have no boobies”, she continued in her Eastern European accent. “My bum is big seller”.
“I can see why. So can the rest of the world. You already know no freebies allowed. They need to pay to see that bum. Same rules for everyone. No choice, sorry. Change, or go work at all the many other brothels that would permit free viewing of that phenomenal bum”.
I could see her point. I might be straight but I know a work of art when I see it.