Hi there - firstly, if PayPal get any inkling you're a sex worker they'll delete your account.

Secondly, 99 percent of clients won't pay a deposit, and those that do, it's normally for something like an overnight, or where travel is involved. For a booking of less than 2h in a hotel room, I really don't see many agreeing.

Start off with a cheap hotel room, do a few bookings, and that will get you started. A good policy a member has here is never to pay more than the cost of a 1h booking for the room. So, if you add in travel, food etc., you should be able to make a profit so long as you do 1.5 hours of bookings.

You'll also get men who don't want to make a booking on AdultWork but will just phone you and expect to arrange the booking that way.

Hi guys, I  really would appreciate and love some advice.
Apologies if this is a subject that's already somewhere on site, I'm struggling to navigate my way round the forum...tech savvy I am not.

I've recently decided to try escorting, I already am self employed and know how to run a business, however money is very tight for me at the moment and I want to make the most of escorting so I can invest in my other business. I've researched everywhere I can online, and will continue to read and re-read everything, my partner is in the loop with it all and we have discussed the pros and cons and I am now signed up on Aw, and actually pretty damn proud of how my profile looks.

So skip to the point...sorry I'm not great at being concise! I've decided to work hotels to start off with, incalls only by advanced booking to fit around my other work, and because money is the main issue here, I've stated I want a ?50 deposit for 0.5-1 hour bookings, ( my rate here being (?75-130) and for any booking over 2 hours a ?75 deposit. My main worry being I will book hotels and have loads of no shows, and be in an even tighter spot.
I've said I will take deposits via PayPal,and should anyone need to cancel, I just need 24 hours notice for them to get a full refund. I have said I will discuss all bookings via a phone call, and then once the booking is put through via AW booking I can sent deposit details etc.

I would think the same with any legitimate business, deposits would be understandable, as my time is money. Also means the client and myself doesn't have to carry so much cash in the day, and with it being PayPal should anything untoward happen the money is pretty safe for both parties.

However I haven't really seen anyone asking for deposits, and when researching last night online all of the punt sites claimed this was just a scam. So I'm wondering am I dooming business before I even start asking for deposits for advanced appointments, or will it just weed out time wasters? I don't mind if business is a little slower to start with, as I hope once I start getting feedback people will be more trusting.
I just don't want it to be a massive red flag I'm not aware of whenever someone looks at my profile or thinks about booking me.

Any advice or constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated ladies.
Love love
Xx

Here's a little advice from a girl in a similar situation to you...

#1. I would suggest you may struggle getting guys to pay a deposit. Guys are flighty and crap at the best of times, and most are generally suspicious of us because of the few shady girls out there who actually do lie/cheat/steal etc and wreck the trust for all of us. Just as we worry they won't show up/behave etc, they worry that we are going to fleece them. Anyone asking for money on the internet is going to be viewed as a shady scammer most of the time anyway, and if you read through punter forums you'll get the feel that they believe we are mostly dishonest and desperate beasts (though sidenote - never read those forums lol. Totally soul destroying to start with!). Having said all of the above, if you do decide to request deposits and find guys willing to pay, do not under any circumstances let them pay via paypal. Even if they don't notice you're doing adult work and close your account (as suggested above - yes it does happen), paypal payments can be recalled by the person who made them for quite some time after they are made, including after you've withdrawn the funds to your bank account or spent them elsewhere online (which can throw your bank account attached to your paypal into overdraft and cause a whole new set of problems).

Last note on that - I've been working on and off for maybe a year now. In that time I'd suggest maybe 15 guys have offered to pay me a deposit when I have turned down things like outcalls, neighbourhoods that are too far from me, jobs in other nearby towns where I don't work etc - In all cases I give guys the benefit of the doubt, so I've agreed and given them my bank account and said once the deposit they offered is in my account I will come and do the job. It's never happened yet...

#2. No shows and having hotel costs is an issue. Unfortunately this industry is rather up and down, and all you can do is minimize the risk - you can never remove it entirely. As a side note you also need to gear yourself emotionally for that... timewasters, quiet times, losing out cause your bet (and trust me it is a gamble a lot of the time) to work one night didn't pay off - it's the hardest part of the job for me. The best idea is to start not necessarily close to home as that can be a no-go for some people, but somewhere it's not going to cost you a lot to get to. Keep your costs as low as possible. Here are my tricks:

• When you book a hotel, make sure it can be cancelled for free on the day, preferably as late as possible in the day so you are able to cancel if you need to. Checkin is usually 2-3pm anyway, which gives you half the day to see if you are going to have a booking or not. If I haven't had reasonable interest if not an actual booking in play before you're planning to leave home, pull the plug and try another day.
• Try to find a cheap (but nice/tidy) hotel where the cost is roughly the amount of your shortest booking (or at least not much more). This means that with one job you'll break even, reducing the risk you're going to be put out of pocket. There's zero sense booking a place for 250 pounds a night if your bookings are likely to be half hours at 70 pounds... that's a lot of jobs/money to reach your break even. Most guys won't care if you go fancy - all they care about is clean and tidy (and something I've found interesting/helpful though probably don't recommend is reading the punters forums - gives some good ideas on what they like, what bugs them, what's actually important etc. You'll see pretty quickly that fancy hotels aren't high on the list).

#3. Though this should have been #1 really. Make sure your verification picture for AW is hidden - there's a setting in your account settings where you can switch it off. The guys love to trawl through the site hunting newbies to expose... be careful! In terms of other basic safety (as you said you weren't too tech saavy), never use your real/usual phone number, and use a new email address that is specifically for working. A lot of girls don't realise things like your facebook/twitter/instagram are all searchable by your phone number and email address. Again there are groups of guys online who make it their mission to figure out exactly who you are, what you look like on your worst days, and then put it online to expose you and joke about it. I'm not trying to freak you out here - just be sensible and stay safe!

#4. Do your homework before you see a client. As Kay mentioned before some guys don't put a booking through AW, but I would suggest from my personal experience to make them lol. I've been through a period over the last couple of months where I get sooooo many no shows and timewasters. I do this job for fun and to put some extra cash into my real life business, so I don't really care if I don't have loads of work but I hate wasting a day sitting around waiting for work that never comes. I used to show my number on my profile and just take anyone willy nilly. A lot didn't show. My new policy which I explain to them is a booking through AW, I'll send them my number and precise hotel details (prior to that I only give them the nearest station which is always 2 mins from my hotel so they know close enough location to make a decision on whether to see me) after that - funnily enough I'd say 75% of punters disappear never to be heard from again... and those 75% are the ones who have been no-showing on me lately. Since I've started insisting on putting through a booking in AW I don't get no shows anymore. Maybe a coincidence, but it seems to be working for me at the moment. Also if you're not showing your number on your profile, be weary of anyone who pops up and just says 'what's your number'. When I switched to more privacy to weed out timewasters I got a lot of these messages.... then you give them your number and they are never to be heard from again. I have since found out that a lot of the guys I mentioned earlier will try to find out your number etc so they can go do other shady things like hunt down face pics and real details online... again, different number for your work and choose who you give your details to carefully.

#5. Be vigilant and check on here that your prospective client isn't tagged on here for being shady. Admittedly I'm a bit lazy at times and I don't do it... then I have bad experiences like one I had last night with an abusive texter who was already tagged here. I should have known better lol.

#6. Stay safe, stay happy, get your bits checked regularly (to protect both you and your partner) and set your boundaries (and don't let the buggers push them!).

Good Luck!!

I agree with what the previous replies have said.

As a new profile you will automatically get more calls from normal punters as well as TW's and you need to develop ways to weed out the TW's from the normal guys. This is where you will be more likely to make money as the more bookings from TW who never show then the less time you will have to see the paying gents.

As for deposits would you send money to someone you have never met, has no feedback and who you have no address for on the promise that once that money has been received a hotel room would be booked and a meeting will go ahead. I have only ever asked for a deposit once and that was because the guy had messed me about twice before and i was driving 2 hours to get to a meeting so i did not want to be totally out of pocket but other than that I have never thought of asking for one. It is always a gamble and while i am relatively new to working in hotels I have never failed to get my costs back and i have always made at least a small profit even this January when it has been really quiet

I hope you do well and that your financial situation improves but there are no guarantees in this line of work

PayPal can be reversed very easily, up to over 1 month later,  and unless you can show you provided goods you haven't a chance to get it back. That's if they don't close it for receiving payment for adult services.

I use a deposit system and more men than you think do pay, and some opt to pay their entire booking fee that way. I am however very established, and known. I have a bank account for cash or transfers, and accept Amazon vouchers either direct from their website or bought for cash in shops with codes sent to me. The deposit is not paid, booking not definite until I have the deposit in my account and can see it at my end.

I can say that taking and dealing with deposits can, if not experienced be an extra faff. I brought them in because I want to dissuade cancellation, and was fed up of people who chopped and changed, or needed a lot of arrangement before then cancelling. I only accept a certain number of bookings, have another mostly unpaid job plus studies and just want to make most efficient use of my time. Reliable regulars of course do not pay the deposit.

Also AW finds out that you are taking deposits via Paypal you will be permanently deleted.

Really? Is this in their rules?

I wasn't aware AW could dictate the way in which you receive payment for bookings. I know you can't accept their credits for bookings.

Unfortunately and I think it was 2 years ago where girls were taking deposits and doing webcam shows and taking payment via paypal AW did advise that profiles will be deleted.  Also you will find if you go this way it takes one narky client to report you to AW and you will find your profile deleted.

It has happened and girls have lost their profiles due to this.

Hi

Like everyone has advised if PayPal are made aware you are taking deposit for escorting they will delete your account.

I was in a predicament just before Xmas when in CRAWLEY I had 4 1 hour no shows which I believe is was a girl targeting me as apposed to a punter.   From now on I only accept bookings via Adultwork or a 20 pound refundable deposit (2 hours before cancellation accepted).   I know I have lost a few bookings over this but I haven't had one show  since.   I display my number and make it perfectly clear 'do not contact me if you arnt prepared to book via AW or pay a deposit'.   I haven't encountered any problems getting deposits.

Unfortunately as you don't have feedback punters are gonna be wary and think it is a scam.   I think in all honesty you are gonna have to wait until you receive some feedbacks or don't display your number and only accept bookings through AW.

Best of luck.

Linzi