@tomatosoup
"Wow I am shocked at everyone thinking I’m complaining. This is purely information gathering. I wouldn’t even need to make this thread if they had a “min price” in the search filter in addition to the “max price”."
Did you need to tag a specific pro outside of your personal price range to do that? Nope!
My interpretation is that you are taking it personally that someone is not available to you, so you decided to act out.
Nothing about your post reads as gathering information.
I wonder how many pros have blocked you since seeing your post. I know I happily did.
@TheQuadroon
Obviously you can do that without disparaging someone in the forum publicly. You are being too generous.
I am gonna ask a question that is somewhat related to this topic in my opinion.
I think by now everybody knows that prices for sessions are not what they were before the pandemic, specially in big cities. There are still reasonably priced Pro cuddlers and those are the only ones I call because as has been discussed time and time again any Pro can set their prices to what they see fit and what they think their time is worth. I believe this wholeheartedly as well but my question goes a little deeper.
When I first joined it was pretty much standard practice that if you paid for a hotel that the Pro cuddler would compensate the client with one hour of free time because of the expense. Most Pros even wrote this on their profiles and it seemed fair because if a Pro couldn’t host and the client had to pay for the hotel there was at least another hour or at least half for the expense.
Fast forward to late 2021 and now 2022 and this practice has all but disappeared, at least in my personal experience. Time and time again I’m writing to Pros who can’t host and maybe one out of ten will agree to compensate for the hotel expense. The rest just flat out refuse this request and sometimes even ask for a travel fee. And more and more Pros are also requiring a two hour minimum session, add that to the hotel cost and a couple of hours of cuddling comes up to close to $300 I have noticed this because when I get a response they ask me how many hours I want to book and when I say one hour they either don’t respond or tell me about the two hour minimum. Today I was told in one response that no additional time because “I want to follow the rules” I just thanked her for the response and moved on but I don’t recall reading about any rule against Pros giving extra time as compensation for hotel expenses.
From time to time I find Pros in my desired price range and who agree to add some extra time because of the hotel expense and those are the ones I see. But more and more I see a disconnect and Pros who want to cancel after the hotel has been booked or who don’t show up at all and you’re out money as a result. This has made me more and more weary of the state of the cuddling industry and maybe more and more new Pros find this in the mainstream and come here with the idea that you can make hundreds of dollars per session and just taking a one hour session is not good enough.
I want to clarify that I am not complaining but offering an analysis of my experience through the years and how things have changed. But there are people out there who really want to cuddle and making some money in the process is a nice compliment to the activity and those are the Pros i am intent on seeking.
1) The prices of everything have gone up since the pandemic. B. Here's the reason for the disconnect: Pros are not employed by or even contracted with CC as independent contractors, they are each their own sole proprietor or LLC business and run their businesses differently. BUT many don't even think of this as a business, they just signed up on a random website for a quick buck. • A Greek philosopher said "the only constant is change". [] If there's a pro who doesn't run things the way you'd like, contact a different one. Don't complain about her policies. (Not YOU you, the generic you.)
It has been so long since I have done a hotel cuddle, I completely forgot about that policy. 😆 Good reminder!
That said, I don't travel much. I need to be home and I have a lovely room available for out of town visitors to make coming to me more feasible.
When I do travel, I charge weekend rates instead of a travel fee, and (against your pleas) I definitely have a minimum. This is all I do aside from helping my parents, so to spend an entire day traveling and cuddling for just one hour's pay just isn't realistic unfortunately. 😔
Anyway, just offering more perspective. I know everyone is looking for something different. Best wishes. 😁
It would be easier to set schedule appointments if the Cuddlers would confirm or decline rather than just allowing proposals to exspire, and if these appointments are merely plantonic why are there cuddlers charging $575 an hour with an all night option for $6,000?
Cuddle Comfort is a strictly platonic site. Cuddle professionals set whatever rate they want ... just like any other business. If you suspect that somebody is engaging in non-platonic activity, please Report them.
You may have more success if, instead of starting with an attempted booking, you send a short message explaining who you are and what you are looking for. Cuddling experience, issues around touch, location, possible dates, etc.
Even with such an opening message, the overall reply rate from professional cuddlers is less than it might be.
I can understand where you're coming from. Professionalism is a virtue, and I've been lucky to have only really dealt with folks that have given me that courtesy to decline to meet or confirm an appointment reasonably quickly.
As for the cost, much of the time, the cost comes from demand. If noone pays it, either the cuddler won't have clients, or he or she will lower it. Low-balling isn't rude, just don't act like you deserve the service when you make your counter offer.
Many providers are worried about safety, and this concern is what drives the cost up for them: ie it's not worth it for pocket change. No different than getting hazard pay for working on an oil rig.
I never understood why people are worried about why certain cuddlers charge a certain rate. Just pretend they don't exist and move onto the next one.
Uh @Equus18 , is your username a reference to the play?
@Mike403 Completely agree. If you need a service, you look around until you find a provider you can afford. It's no different here.
This has been an ongoing question in the forums. I agree with you on the scheduling. That is very much a lack of professionalism.
As far as cost while it does raise an eyebrow unless there is proof we have to assume it’s the demand. At that rate it may be someone who just want to find that one client that can pay that so they don’t have to have that many sessions. On the flip side of that it also shows lack of experience. I would rather hire a pro that charges less and has a ton of karma generally that shows experience and my bet would be that it would be a better session.
@plantqueen Equus is just another word for horses. Maybe they’re a horse lover 🤷🏼♀️
@WriterGF when the market rate for pros is virtually the same ($100/hr and up), where is there exactly to "look around"?
@MrMarkAndrew I’m confused. Are there no pros in your area under $100 a session?
Sometimes because of my other job or plans outside of cuddling the requests expire before I can accept or decline them. But majority of requests that go to “expire” are usually the booking being the only thing in the message. If I’ve been communicating with a potential cuddle buddy I’m pretty on top of messaging, and won’t miss a request if we’ve already elaborated on when would work for both so us. Huge pet peeve of mine personally is people just expecting me to be available on a whim whenever they are ready, which is usually a few hours notice. It’s super inconsiderate and comes off as sketchy to me because I don’t have any idea who the person is so if the respect isn’t there for me, I don’t really mind coming off as “unprofessional “ to those people. 🤷♀️ I always match energy.
Omg 6000.00… @Equus18 who is this cuddler?
No.. Don't name any names. People get harassed enough as it is.
@Mike403 Agreed
Merging this with the pro pricing megathread.
I'm going to associate it with price of living and experience. I live in Ohio, I charge 80. I have regular clients that get free sessions bc of how they have supported my business endeavors. I went to NYC to stay with family and saw that the average rate was 150. But I will also say that food cost are double ( I spent 400 on groceries in 8 days for my family to help lower bills. NYC living costs scared me and kept my solid decision to never move there 😂). I did not change my rate though. from what I noted in NY getting anywhere takes like 30+ minutes and owning a car is ... useless lol. paying for transport is something else. bigger cities cost more. I did have one guy make fun of me for charging 80.... that was weird..
@oxygenjunkee im gonna be in NYC for a few days and although there are many many Pro cuddlers that charge $100 and up an hour bringing the average up there are also many many active lower priced Pro cuddlers in the $50 to $80 range and I’ve already set up a session where the price falls in that range. I never contacted anybody that is out of my desired price range and I think that’s the key. Complaining won’t get anybody anywhere and no matter the location there are always Pro cuddlers in my price range and those are the ones I end up contacting and setting up sessions with, it’s a win win.
@MrMarkAndrew I obviously don't know the situation in your area. I have a relatively small number of pros within 50 miles of me, but the prices range from $40 an hour to (I have seen in the past) $200 an hour. This is a business like any other -- if someone can't afford it, they can't afford it. I don't know of any service that will drop their price to make sure everyone can patronize them. Pros are not under an obligation to cut their prices to suit everyone. They charge what the market will bear. As someone else pointed out, if they are getting no clients, they will lower their prices or leave the business.
@WriterGF 👍 There are so many factors to choosing rates, but at the end of the day, you are right. If the market doesn't bear their rates, the professional will either lower or leave. 😇
You get what you pay for a lot of times. Do some people overcharge? Sure! But you have to know your worth, and some cuddlers are worth spending a little extra on! Also, when signing up as a pro with CC, they state that the average is $80/hr and the minimum allowed is $40/hr.
Keep in mind, cuddling is a luxury expense and not a necessity. Massage therapists charge $80-$100/hr for their services, so why shouldn't cuddlers?
I mean, it costs 60-125 for a 1 hour massage. Why not a cuddle?
@AlyC12 oops didn't mean to be your echo! Jinx! I was on page 1 and wrote that. Cuddling invests more energy and commitment than massage therapy. Anyway, nice discussions everyone.
Cuddling invests more energy and commitment than massage therapy? Considering that massage therapists are required to be licensed in most states, are required to undergo training that costs anywhere from $6,000 to $15,000+ plus books and equipment, requires therapists to get continuing education to keep their license current, is physical enough that one of the primary reasons for a high dropout rate is physical burnout and repetitive strain injuries . . . I don’t follow why one would think massage therapy requires less energy and commitment than cuddling. I’m missing something.
Massage takes more physical energy, cuddling takes more emotional energy. Two entirely different kinds of work. But yes, massage is physically exhausting. 😴