@TheNewNovelist each professional sets their own rates. Some think carefully about what is the right rate for them, given the area and number of clients they wish to attract, and choose a rate accordingly. Others attempt to do that, and make a complete hash of it. Others pluck numbers out of thin air. And so on.
As a result there is no deeper meaning to any rate: it just is.
Edit: this post was the start of a new thread entitled “Poll: Pro price changes over the past year (NOT a complaint)”. This post originally contained a poll but the poll was lost when this new thread was merged into the mega pricing thread. Now that the poll (the point of me starting this thread) is gone, I will no longer be monitoring or responding to comments on this thread. - 11/25/23
First and foremost - this is NOT a complaint about pro prices so please don’t turn it into one.
It has been months since I last hired a pro but as I have looked at pro profiles over the past few months, it seems I am seeing more <$100 / hr rates than I used to. This may just be observational sampling error as it was never intended as a scientific study. However, there are a couple pros in particular who, if I remember correctly, used to be $100 / hr who are now in the $75 / $85 per hour range.
Individual responses to a poll are anonymous, I cannot see who has responded or how any individual has responded - I can only see what everyone sees.
For pros who have been on this site a year or more, how does your base hourly rate today compare to last year?
Must be difficult. on one hand , inflation has been high the last year, but maybe that has affected consumption and thus cuddling rates had to adjust to take in more clients.
I'm not a pro cuddler, but if I were, I may play e package deals, like 4 cuddles and 5th one is free or a free over night for every x amount of cuddles. I know my chiropractor has membership rates or discounts for ongoing clients. It might help foster long term clientele. But this is me not telling anyone what to do. Just thinking aloud.
Cheers.
I only look at pros which fit my price range, so I don’t have the data. Since my price point on my filter is set lower, do find there is a lot of churn in the results, many pros I might see once and they disappear from my search list because they upped their price. Some up their price just because their personal constraints require them to charge more, often times it’s because they want to see fewer clients more often. I’ve had those pros reach out after bumping their price and offer to honor the old price for cuddles with me. For those who do that, I certainly don’t see their price go up from my perspective.
I've not changed my price points or discounts in 5 years. Connection is key. 💗
@RadiantHugs @Minestrone101 I know at least 1 fairly new pro who raised her rate but I think she was artificially low to begin with just to get established and get some quick karma.
I did not pay attention to whether the <$100 / hr rates were more from newer pros or not.
@JohnR1972 My original remark got posted before I had fully formed it, I’ve corrected it but my apologies if there was confusion. Of course, there is a lot between the lines which I haven’t said, and I’m not about to. All I’ll say is that there are reasons why many lower priced pros quickly raise their rates, not all of which are because of a big rise in their popularity or because of their need to charge more to keep the business going. So I have found it’s not uncommon for pros to raise their rates online, but still reach out privately and honor their earlier rate for sessions with me. I’m speaking only for me, ymmv.
@MissAdventurous exactly! It’s the quality of the clientele which matters much more than the actual rate which is paid/charged.
My rate remains the same. While this is my only employment, I would rather not exclude potential valuable clients that I would enjoy spending time with.
I've changed only $20 more since starting because the site takes a percentage plus I don't charge travel fees and it can get costly with gas prices/tolls. I also increased to majority of my cuddles to 2 hour minimum cuddles ( depending on distance) which has actually strangley increased my amount of cuddles I get and also the quality of cuddle enthusiasts I get has largely increased since starting. I rarely get someone that asks me if they can lick Nutella off my feet anymore😂😂🙈. This is not my main source of income so I prefer quality over quantity.
Absolutely 💯 @RadiantHugs
If anything, my discounts reflect the desire for connection. If my math is correct, my overnights end up being reduced to 50/hour or less.
Just depends on who you are and how comfortable you are connecting with someone to cuddle with for a longer period of time, but I don't want money to deter someone from longer sessions for their well being. 😁💯
Edit: I also don't ask for deposits, gas money, or compensation outside of our session. If offered, it's always appreciated naturally, but not necessary. It's just what works for me as an independent contractor of this site and cuddler.
@MissAdventurous @Mela_B - thank you for your perspectives. I would imagine it is challenging sometimes to cuddle as your primary means of income.
@Suzyq123456 - “lick Nutella off my feet…” 🫣😱🤢 I PROMISE you, I would never make such a request of you (or ANYONE else for that matter) 😂
A friend of mine used to frequently say, “everyone needs a hobby” but this is not a site for people with that type of “hobby”. I’m glad to hear you are getting better quality clients now.
@JohnR1972 I work for a private investigation law firm. That is my job.
This is my career and my passion of over 5 years now. My degree is in psychology after all.
Any challenges I have in my life, I actively choose, not much sympathy is needed in that area. 😜
@Suzyq123456 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
@MissAdventurous - I forgot about the PI law firm, you had mentioned that before in a post or a DM. I knew you traveled a lot and that is what had me thinking you were doing this full time.
@lonelytauros - 🤣🤣🤣 that Kermit meme is awesome.
I do my day job part time and this full time. I travel for both. 😁 So in a way, yes. I do cuddle full time. I also work on top of it, travel and host events for friends and family. I can be a bit of a workaholic 😂😂
@JohnR1972 😂😂😂😂lol I do really love Nutella, but not in that way 🦶😂😂🙈
@lonelytauros 😂😂😂😂
I have never lowered my rates since joining. I am slow to raise my rates and only do it when I feel like I have to in order to keep my business running.
Man, I have bills — and new to this. And bored. Gimme a few doll hairs, and I’m good
I'm new at professional cuddling, but not new at cuddling in general. Why do I charge $100/hr? For one thing, I do have a Master's degree in psychology, and while I'm not a licensed therapist, I do have my own best practices for listening and providing comfort along with physical touch. My psychiatrist charges 2.5x my hourly rate for talk therapy & medication management, but the medication management part of it is less than my hourly rate.
Also, I'm disabled. I've been isolating at home (with my family) except for doctor's appointments since the start of the pandemic because I have an autoimmune disease, so I have safety expenses that other people do not have to ensure I don't get sick during my cuddle sessions. (Masks, medications, and an expensive virus-killing nasal spray (Enovid) that I would encourage everyone to use - not just to protect against COVID, but also the flu, colds, RSV, EBV, and more! You don't have to get sick all the time!)
And while I'm not a sex worker - none of us Pro Cuddlers are, as it's in our contracts with CC as much as it's in yours as a potential PLATONIC client - I've had more than one man tell me on a date that I could command higher rates if I was a sex worker - specifically for the cuddling afterward. I'm not saying these were great men to date, because who brings that up on a date?! But they clearly had paid for sex before and thought they were flattering me by telling me I could be an expensive call girl because I'm a great cuddler.
Since I'm not putting even more of my body at risk, let alone the legal risks involved, I set a rate for my platonic cuddling services that is less expensive than paying for a psychologist, but enough to cover my energy costs for leaving the house in the first place while I wait for my disability appeal to go through. Barring any bad cuddle sessions that change my mind, I plan to continue cuddling after I'm approved for disability benefits, too. I can't spend many hours cuddling each month for physical reasons, so unless I need to raise my rates because I become too popular and have supply/demand issues, the number of hours I work as a pro cuddler at the rate I have set for myself will never exceed the income limit that would affect my eligibility for disability benefits - even at $100/hr. (Which, BTW, is not our "take-home pay," because CC does take 15%.)
When I was still able to run my freelance copywriting/editing business, I charged $150 for my services - and I was lowballing by the end because I didn't want to lose my established clients who couldn't afford me raising my rates a second time. My time is valuable, and the only reason I'm not charging more as a Pro Cuddler is that I don't want anyone to think I'm offering anything sexual.
You are paying for what you will make your Pro feel. Especially if you can be honest and admit to yourself that you had any hope or expectations - conscious or subconscious - involving something sexual. The wonderful feelings from Platonic Cuddling are free.
Don’t ask for a luxury service if you can’t pay it $100 hour is so normal for the amount of care that goes into proving a valuable cuddle experience ✨
@cypress01 your comment just made my day, 🤗 it’s been a difficult week with last minute cancellations and other frustrating behavior. The $100 earning for a Pro isn’t actually for an hour. A session - before during and after- can involve about 3 hours of the Pro’s physical time, (and even more time committed to our mentality) to be the best Cuddler for our Clients! But Cuddling can be such a wonderful experience, I still think it’s worth it. Hope you have amazing Cuddling experiences!
It honestly depends on the experience. I make sure my clients are always good to go.
If you can host and you are asked to travel I can understand an additional fee. But if you cannot or will not host, why should the consumer be asked to pay a travel fee in addition to the cuddle fee if distance is within reason (maybe 1 hr or less). That is your choice not to host. Many times the travel fee is twice as much as the cuddle fee (which I declined).
This should be a very popular topic among the pros. They love hearing someone telling them how they should run their business.
Personally I only ask for gas to be covered if I drive over an hour.
@BoomerSpooner It's called consumer feedback. They can take it or leave it.
For those who do not host , we salute you (ACDC fans will get that I hope )
Don't book them? You are not entitled to tell somebody how to run their business. If they get too few clients then they may adjust their rates.
These types of threads never ends well.