There are many many issues with the price of pro cuddling. It all starts with the other sites that take a bigger cut that CC does yet the hourly price over all is the same. Pros come here because they can charge the same rate and have a smaller cut taken. Clients feel that pros should drop their rates in that case since a lower cut is taken. Clients think well if that pro from TSB is only taking away $40 an hour, then why should the pro on CC walk away with $68 an hour after the sites cut. Then you have pros that don’t report their sessions to the site and rip the site off. The client then looks at it as you’re making 100% of $80 when that pro from TSB is walking away with $40 so why not lower the price a bit. Then there’s pros who don’t report their money as earned income and don’t pay taxes. What’s going to happen one day when a client has enough of the high prices and reports this all to the government. So getting back to the above, clients look at it ultimately as a pro is charging $80 an hour and often not reporting it to the site and or paying taxes on it. If you do that math, a pro that charges $80 an hour is actually making something more like $150 an hour by not paying taxes or reporting their sessions to the site. Then it goes back to clients, think about it, if all pros were legit and did things legally, they would likely start charging $150 an hour so they could pay the site and pay taxes. So what do we have in the end? A system that’s all screwed up. What am I going to do? If I am interested in a pro and feel that her price is too high, I won’t see her. If prices get too high over all, I will no longer see pro cuddlers. The end.
@Morpheus for the record, I never drive when I go out drinking, but you are correct, drinking at home would be cheaper.
@Morpheus you have some very good points there. I paid taxes on all my sessions last year... And phew, let me tell you - it was steep! But I feel it's my Civic duty. It's not much income, but every little bit helps pay for medical school!!!
Yes, I keep very clear records of my income cuddling, and even mileage spent going to sessions. I always pay taxes on all income. The only time I ever haven't was this year, because I earned a bit more than $500 in the "other income" category. For me it was participating in research studies, focus groups, and something else I'm forgetting that most people don't even report. Since I crossed that line, I needed to do something way more complicated. I just dropped it down to the limit. Why is it suddenly some complex business I need to fill out crazy forms for just because I helped the local universities too much :-P Taxes are way more complicated than they need to be. On the other hand, I go through the extra effort for Airbnb income and plan on for cuddling, because each is a "business" to me and "work" I'm doing. They do make it very difficult for the honest people to be honest though.
I think the biggest difference between massage and cuddling- is that we are actually meeting with strangers, going to their house (sometimes), laying in bed with them, and letting them touch us and well as us touching them... that's a big difference! In a massage parlor, you are with many co-workers and people in a public environment and they are not putting their hands on you. I love what I do, but I will admit that it can be nerve wracking when first meeting a client. I always meet in public first and message prior- but I still always get a little nervous. I think that it takes a special personality to be a (good) professional cuddler and to make the client feel at ease. At first I felt kind of bad about the price point, but once I put in the time to get ready, meet with them first, all of the messaging prior, driving to their place- it's actually takes a lot more time than just the hours they book you for. I'm absolutely loving doing this and have met some AMAZING people so far!
I think there are a lot of good points here.
I’m new to professional cuddling, and I am charging the ‘suggested’ $80 an hour. There are a few reasons for this:
1.) I am taking this profession very seriously, and want to make sure my clients take my services seriously as well.
2.) There are costs involved that are more ‘invisible’: driving, chatting with potential clients, bodycare, clothing, advertising. I also spend a lot of time (since I live in the Midwest), educating people about professional cuddling. If I were hosting (which I hope to do as soon as I am able to upgrade a few things in my living are), I would have extra cleaning time and costs, as well as would like to have ‘extras’ such as a good water filter, an air purifier, aromatherapy devices (essential oil diffuser, soy candles, incense), etc.
3.) I am using the money to build my business — I’m attending The Cuddle Sanctuary training in the fall (and will also be doing the Cuddlist training as a part of that). I will be making the upgrades mentioned in my living space so that I can host in a lovely and professional manner. I have some advertising fees. Once those initial costs are taken care of, I hope to expand my training into learning massage and reiki.
So, basically, I am trying to make every cuddle count — to the client and also to my business. I already offer a discount for folks over 60 or with documented disabilities. I hope that when my business becomes more self-sustaining that I will be able to give back even more.
Andi
I guess where starting at average rate doesn't make sense to me is that no matter how serious you are about the work, a client should theoretically be paying less for an inexperienced cuddler than one with experience, and then even more so when compared to one after they have received all the training you're talking about. It's the same with any work/career. You start out making less, and usually don't even turn a profit when starting a business for quite a while. I'm trained on Cuddlist, just raised to the average $80/hr after that, and still my effective hourly rate is horrendous, because I'm spending a lot of time on administrative unpaid work for building the business. But really, pros can charge whatever they want and will likely get some business, since there are so few of us still in the majority of locations. The key in pricing, if you're trying to make a living at this, is to price for maximum profit. Charge more than that rate, and you'll lose more business than you gain in increasing the rate. Charge less than that rate, and you won't gain enough business to compensate for the loss in profit per hour.
uber, I mostly agree with what you’re saying — but I think there are a couple of additional things to consider...
1.) The business is mostly unregulated. I agree that professionals with more experience should be able to charge more, there are very few outlets to ‘officially’ sanction someone at being at a professional level. (Cuddlist, The Cuddle Sanctuary... I know there’s a place in Portland, but I can’t think of their name off the top of my head).
2.) Because it’s mostly unregulated, in some ways the pricing is more of an art than a science — literally. Artists charge what they think they’re worth, regardless of their actual training. Likewise, even if someone is new in the cuddling business, that doesn’t mean their craft is at a beginner level.
3.) Cost of living. A professional cuddler in an expensive area is going to need to charge more than in a less expensive area. Even beginner or apprenticeship services cost more in expensive areas than less-expensive areas.
As far as pricing a business efficiently — I totally agree. I also run a small organic bath and bodycare company, and it took 3 years to turn a profit. However, with the experience in making products that I have, that didn’t mean charging less from the beginning... it meant using the standard formula for pricing such things (often cost of production x2 for wholesale and x4 for retail), and then re-investing profits.
None of this is meant to be combative.
I agree with the premise that a more talented (which generally means experienced) professional cuddler should charged more than a newbie. I just wanted to add that there are a lot of variables that adjust things up or down a bit... and that many of those things are invisible if you’re just looking at random profiles.
@AndiCuddles I appreciate the discussion and am thankful for more genuine pros on here. Thanks for not taking offense O:-)
I am actually very surprised there doesn't seem to be much variability by cost of living. Funny. You pay $80/hr for cuddles no matter where you live, lol.
Pricing products is quite different from services though. People actually expect product prices to go DOWN over time, lol. It's very difficult to increase prices without backlash, whereas you somewhat come to expect services like this to go up as the person gets more experience and education. My career coach told me she did the same thing, being willing to start out lower (but never free) and raise rates over time.
There are definitely a lot of variables that go into the value of a cuddler. I just notice one pattern across so many pros. Entering the industry thinking they know how to cuddle and there's no need for training, and then being completely convinced otherwise after attending their first in-person training, lol. This is an industry to be careful of that thinking. That's exactly why most people don't understand why this is something to pay for, especially at our rates, ha. But even without training, I completely agree that some people are higher quality cuddlers than others :-P
Anyway, I found it valuable to start out lower here. It's I guess pretty moderate cost of living here. Not cheap, but not super expensive either. I'm sticking to $80 at this point though, and into the foreseeable future. I won't go higher until I'm very busy and have gotten more training or education.
If cuddling was really just snuggling, it would not cost as much. Cuddlees don't want just a warm body to pur their arms around, they're looking to touch, caress, have emotional labour (feel loved, cared about) it's a lot of work. I'm a massage therapist, arguably it's more "work" than giving a massage, and I'm paid less. In a massage, I rely on my hands forearms and skills... and there is a comfortable professional barrier. In a cuddle it's my whole body and permitting it to be open to someone else. You're asking far more in my opinion. And yeah, hours put in NOT body to body are completely ignored by the purchaser of cuddles..... just like the hours of non table time and expenses put in for things that are not the actual massage don't exist to the client's brain.
A professional cuddler I booked a session with charged 90/hr. After my 5 star review she now charges 150/hr. Capitalism is awesome. Good for her, only problem is I can't afford her hugging services anymore.
Lucky for you, you have a ton of options in your area. I travel up to the area periodically as well. Choices are great ?
If you’ve been around, you know this has been a sore subject of mine for awhile now. I just decided that I would tell pros what I’m willing to pay and they can make a decision if they want to cuddle with me or not. A pro that I saw recently charges $120 an hour. I offered $80 and she accepted. We had an amazing time.
Negotiating? That’s pretty smart. I would never do it because in my opinion if you offer less than their asking price the level of service also goes down. But you said you had an amazing time so good for you. Late last year I wanted to see a pro with good reviews and she was near the area I traveled to for work but it was still a two hour bus ride each way. Her profile said that her rates were negotiable so I asked her that since transportation was gonna be $60 dollars, plus two hours each way getting there and back, if she could take $20 off a two hour session and she said no, so I ended up not going. But I only did it because she stated in her profile that her prices were negotiable. Other than that if the price is not what I’m willing to pay I just move on.
The prices seem high but as there are so few pro cuddlers in many areas the cost must be justified. It isn’t easy to cuddle a stranger, and one figures many pros deal with people with body odor, getting groped, and awkward conversations.
Brand new pro just joined in LA. Shows her join date as February 2019 and her rate is $120 an hour. SMH These high prices are destroying professional cuddling.
I think I responded to another forum similar to this one. In San Diego we don't have too many pro cuddlers, but I found that L.A. was saturated with pros and most had really high prices. The cost of living here is high, but I imagine L.A. is much higher.
Due to the high prices, some clients have made a long drive to see me and I negotiated my price with them even though I believe my price is fair. (Gas is a bitch.) I will only go so low though, especially when it's my first session. If I meet with someone more than 2x and they're pleasant to be around, I significantly lower the price.
Some people are willing to pay an exorbitant amount for the appropriate company of a beautiful cuddler and there's nothing wrong with that. It seems unfair to the financially challenged, but this is looked at as a luxury.
There's plenty of free cuddles out there from non-pros, but for personal preferences, clients will still seek pros.
To all the men complaining about the price of the cuddling professionals- I think you are wrong in most cases about how difficult platonic cuddling as a job is. Next time you are doing errand pick the next 5 men you see and ask yourself how much it would takeoff you to be alright with platonically cuddle with them. You’d probably come to a high number.
I’m not complaining paying for cuddles. I think that charging is perfectly fine. I’m pointing out the inflated prices, ridicukous charges for travel fees and pros charging for extras that shouldn’t require an up charge. Charging is fine, unethical pricing is not.
@Morpheus There IS a problem with new people coming and charging exorbitant prices (unfortunately, this work is listed online on a lot of lists of easy ways to make money, so we are currently attracting a lot of "poor" professionals, in that light). But all that has to happen is people not to book them and they go away. I have put thousands of dollars into my business. Currently I charge $100/hr for sessions on the weekends. Weekdays I'm $75-85/hr. This is after a lot of education and investment. Some people think that they're hot and people will be willing to pay them a lot of money just to lie next to them. I can't help that people are willing to accommodate that notion. From my experience, the people in this work for authentic and genuine reasons charge closer to the average of $80/hr (up to about $100/hr), even after a lot of education and experience. I hear from professionals with YEARS of experience struggling with the notion of raising their prices. Not saying there aren't exceptions, but it just seems like in general the professionals who do this work because they care, they aren't charging those ridiculous prices. Even considering professionals in high cost of living areas. But anyway. Point being, just ignore those people who register and immediately charge crazy prices. As long as there are choices, just choose someone else. If those people don't go away, then that's because there are people accommodating them :-/ There will also always be professionals with a lot of experience charging higher prices. I feel it is completely justified, but people are still free to choose someone with lower prices with less experience if they choose or need to.
I would be very careful with negotiating unless the profile specifically states it's ok. I had someone on a limited income recently who had a great need for the service and I was willing to work a sliding scale for. His first offer was fine, but then he forgot and offered something lower. So low that I felt insulted. When making an offer, be respectful of their time and emotional labor in relation to their regular rate.
I agree with you Morpheus in that the two best professional cuddlers I tried were 80 each an hour. That is now a low price for cuddling depending on the part of the country one is in. But if someone is really great company and beautiful- I think 120 an hour or so is reasonable. Because the good ones tend to be on time, look their best and be good coversationalists and actually willing to cuddle. That is worth the money to enough people like myself. Also, there are so few pros in some areas actually real and seeing clients that it is supply and demand dictating price. That is what is disappointing to me- why there are so few reputable pro cuddlers. I believe many women could do it instead of a normal 9-5 and it could be quite lucrative.
"Really great company and beautiful"? Beauty has no matter in the service I provide. I don't know if there is any service provider I choose based on beauty or attraction level. It would maybe matter in a call girl, escort, and admittedly in a life partner. I am not applying to be any of those for my clients :-/ But I don't advertise myself in such a way, so I don't tend to get inquiries from people who care about such things To each their own...
Ubergiggletz sounds like you are advocating for the asexual crowd that doesn’t notice what someone their holding in their arms looks like. The idea that someone’s appearance and smell doesn’t influence their desirability to cuddle with seems unimaginable to me.
@longlost That's not what asexual means, LOL. I'm just saying that my ideal clients aren't looking for someone hot to cuddle with. They're looking for a safe space to be their true self, to feel accepted, engage in honest conversation, etc. For someone who is kind, understanding, compassionate, and non-judgmental. Those who are recovering from trauma are looking for someone to help them learn how to experience safe touch again. I understand where you're coming from and what you are looking for, that's just not my ideal client base.
Another new pro in socal, just joined, March of 2019 and she’s charging $125 an hour. SMH
The high fees will remain as long as there's clients willing to pay those. Every pro is different... They will define they're own fees, and if those are not working for them they are going to face the need to improve the offer, meaning best prices. At the end the consumer is the one who can control that. But if one acts like an addict... Well it's doomed
For so many people here are just looking for some companionship and also if truth be told some are looking for a little more. It is hard to believe but it is true that you can go and spend less money for an escort (sexual or non-sexual)
@garrablanca , hoping all is well. Can you please elaborate on the addict/doomed quote please. Not sure I understand. Thank you.
The girl that I mentioned above that was charging $125 has deleted her account.