Whats your take on advance trip planning versus just booking along the way?

[JoeyBryant]

As much as I've traveled over the years, this should be a no-brainer for me, but I'm considering experimenting with trying things differently for awhile. Clients and escorts welcome.

 

I usually like to make travel plans in advance and do pre-bookings before I arrive. I like having the confidence of knowing I'll be actually meeting clients, but at the same time I'm starting to feel the pressure to arrive to a booking makes it hard to cancel/postpone a trip if I'm not ready. For example last week, I had some pre-bookings scheduled. But an anticipated mail delivery went from Friday to Monday, delaying my trip. Then, the day of my depature, I woke up to 2 inches of snow that turned to 8" by the end of the day.

 

So, I ended up having to contact my pre-booked appointments to try and reschedule but they were unable to. I then feel like they feel like I'm playing games or something. But then if I force myself to try an make the appointment, I may be skipping out on sleep or end up arriving too late. It doesn't always happen that way, or on every trip...but stuff like meeting between 12 and 3 pm (typically when you can't check into/have to check out of a hotel) is common. Along with requests to meet in the early morning/afternoon on the day you have on your ad to arrive in a city. Those are the ones I tend to miss.

 

I'm wondering if things would be easier say if I just placed an ad right before I leave...or maybe just had an ad somewhere, but not make any specific dates? I know clients tend to want to know exactly what day you'll be in town, and I can't always give that to them when I have a ad up, it's more like putting yourself out there before actually going. But I try to give an approximate time frame. As time goes on you firm things up, but if something comes up...you have to cancel on them and I find they often don't always re-book if your dates change by a week or less. It's usually, "I'll catch you another day" or "That won't work, maybe next time".

 

What do you find works best? I know this may sound trite, but I'm sure before the days of internet...I don't think people placed flyers on street corners announcing their travel to the area in 2 weeks. Maybe in Vegas LOL.

[bigvalboy]

I think that everyone is different, but for me personally, I am really flexible when I travel, in this day and age you almost have to be. In all fairness though, I never travel on business, it is always for pleasure, and being retired I have that luxury of flexibility. So when I book with an escort, whether they are coming to my city or I am trying to set something up when I arrive, I will give approximate times I would like to meet, but if the escort cancels because of delays in his travels, then I just move on. The reverse is also true for me. if I get delayed in my arrival, I remain flexible in with my time. I rarely make an issue of it.

 

That being said, I would imagine that the bulk of your clients still work, and I can't speak for someone traveling on business where there are meetings involved and tight travel schedules. I wish that I could have been more help, but in the end I think my situation is not the norm. I am sure many posters here will have more definitive ideas on what works for them.

[uwsman2]

Advance booking if you are traveling is probably a good idea for most guys looking to hire a visitor from out of town. I like to hire escorts visiting NYC occasionally, and have had some of my best experiences with visitors -- especially those well-reviewed on this site -- but given the way my work and culture schedule fills up, I really need advance notice most of the time to make such an arrangement.

 

There's one major international escort who visits NYC from time to time, but doesn't always give lots of advance notice and only stays for 3 days at a time. I've been lucky to connect with him 3 or 4 times over the years, but not recently. I've been hoping to book a repeat with him for quite a while now, but it's been impossible because he doesn't give much advance notice and then stays for only a few days. (I just saw, after consulting my calendar, that I can't hire him for his upcoming NYC visit for that very reason.) Of course, the anticipation of hiring him again some time is really building up, and if the stars align, I'll be so excited to do it! )

[uwsman2]

And a p.s., Joey Bryant. Based on your ads and reviews and postings here, I would be eager to book a session with you if you were visiting NYC! And the postings on this site are the biggest factor... I feel like you have the kind of attitude I'm looking for in an escort. When that combines with the hot body, it really entices me. But you seem to be focused mainly on the western half of the U.S.

[JoeyBryant]

But you seem to be focused mainly on the western half of the U.S.

 

Well thankyou...

 

The main point of my current travels this week is to ultmately look into a possible relocaton back East. May take a couple visits though before making a final decision.

 

Otherwise, the point you and BigVal make are good. I question this because last week, a similar storm came through and I ended up getting some last minute stuff come up. In fact, last week was pretty much all last minute appts. for the most part. Obviously traveling is different, but for all the people who ask if I'm in town when my ad says 2 weeks from now, it's got me really thinking.

 

The tricky part of that is that if things don't work out, may end up funding the whole trip out of pocket.

[rvwnsd]

Before answering your question, I will tell you that I admire you for your continued willingness to solicit opinions from this forum. That takes guts, which you obviously have. (Note that I did not say "a gut," which you obviously don't have )

 

I think the answer to your question is "that depends." If you are planning a trip solely for the purpose of working, then you need a set number of clients to break even, let alone turn a profit. You would probably want to pre-book that number of clients. If I were to pre-book you, I would want to know in advance that you would not be able to make the trip if you did not book enough clients to be worth your while. Informing me of that would not turn me off or make me think less of you. Your honesty would be refreshing. Others might have a different opinion, so you might need to play it by ear and tailor your communication to the prospective client based on the communications you have had with him.

 

If you are combining work with pleasure or with a reconnaissance mission, then I think pre-booking is less important. If you've always wanted to visit, say, DC, and you have a day or two without pre-booked appointments you would have time to see some monuments or take a tour or something. If someone contacted you for a session, then you could work your sightseeing around the appointment. If you are scouting for places to live, playing the appointments by ear might be a good way to gauge the local clientele, not to mention have time to actually scout the city as a potential place to live.

 

One last thing...some clients understand that the presence of a financial transaction indicates you are running a business and others do not. Some clients, like me, would not get bent out of shape or refuse to hire you in the future because you had to cancel or postpone a trip. If a client gets angry or put out that you had to change plans, that is their "stuff" not yours and they are probably not the right client for you. If you start losing money and need to seek another profession to make money, you won't be escorting any more and no one will have the chance to see you.

 

OK, there were two last things. I don't think there is anything wrong with cancelling due to poor weather conditions or due to life getting in the way. I work a lot and sometimes my schedule changes, so I understand when similar things happen to other people. Some people think they are "in charge" because they are paying a fee for your services, but in reality life (and Ma Nature) are often in control.

 

I hope this helps. Feel free to PM me if you ever have questions needing answers from a client's point of view.

[JoeyBryant]

If I were to pre-book you, I would want to know in advance that you would not be able to make the trip if you did not book enough clients to be worth your while. Informing me of that would not turn me off or make me think less of you. Your honesty would be refreshing. Others might have a different opinion, so you might need to play it by ear and tailor your communication to the prospective client based on the communications you have had with him.

 

I don't think there is anything wrong with cancelling due to poor weather conditions or due to life getting in the way. I work a lot and sometimes my schedule changes, so I understand when similar things happen to other people. Some people think they are "in charge" because they are paying a fee for your services, but in reality life (and Ma Nature) are often in control.

 

I hope this helps. Feel free to PM me if you ever have questions needing answers from a client's point of view.

 

Thanks, this ties in pretty well with wha I'm getting at. Specifically about the not booking enough clients, which there have been times where I have had to postpone trips a bit until I felt comfortable with the amount of guests I'd be meeting. Or at the very least, enough inquiries to make it predictable to be worth while. For example, I cancelled an LA trip the 1st attempt after having only received a couple inquries. After a bit of time went by, I went ahead and moved forward again.

 

Of course, if I take a deposit, I will make sure the client and I meet on the scheduled date. I've been able to fine tune things a bit, where as I don't mention deposits until I know for sure I'm going to move forward with any plans.

[devonhunter]

I'm a control freak, and have always preferred knowing as much as possible up front; however, lately I have been trying to embrace serendipity. It's a mixed bag. I experimented with some new cities, which is always a risk, and so far I have always broken even or discovered a new place I want to frequent. There are, however, enough exceptions that I still prefer planned vs improvised.