Nomadic Hosting

TisDoney

How would you suggest being a cuddler who travels often and needs to host often? I don't want to waste all my earnings on hotels and airbnb's. I don't feel right about asking friends and family who are allowing me to stay with them to host sessions either. Couchsurfing kinda has the same concerns.

Not everyone is okay with a public meet up either due to fear of being seen or other reasons.

So what's the solution?

pmvines

A lot if the time the hotel cost falls on the client. You could always offer imcentives such as a discounted session or eztra time to clients, or waiving travel fee if thats something you do, to those who pay the expense. Good luck to you

11rollover

If you plan on a long tour around the country, buy an inexpensive but reliable van and offer mobile cuddles. This is best if you are traveling with someone else, for security reasons.

UKGuy

That depends on whether you are travelling anyway and want to combine your travels with cuddling, or whether you are travelling with the express purpose of cuddling.
If the former, just use the place where you would be staying anyway.
If the latter, then it's either up to you or the client (I'm assuming you are a pro) to either pay for or share the cost of the hosting. In this case, the more cuddles you can arrange in each place, the cheaper it gets. You'd probably only want to travel to places where you can arrange multiple cuddles. And the closer those places are the less your travel costs.

UKGuy

@11rollover - inexpensive and reliable are usually mutually exclusive when it comes to vehicles. Travelling in an RV would be an intereting alternative, however those vehicles usually get terrible gas mileage (under 10mpg) so travelling any distance would work out very expensive. If that's your full-time job, it's possible the vehicle could be tax deductible but you'd have to check that with your accountant.

11rollover

@UKGuy: usually but not always.

@TisDoney Consumer Reports is a good place to find reliability data for used cars.
A van is a better alternative for younger folks since it is cheaper, gets way better gas mileage and is more reliable than an RV, plus it can be parked almost anywhere.
And yes, if you get that van for a cuddle tour, you should be able to deduct it as a business expense, or mileage/gas expenses. But do check with your tax person first.

TisDoney

I custom built a trailer to pull behind my Prius in order to carry my supplies (it's not made for sleeping in). I have an inflatable bed and inflatable couch even for it... but where I am at, winter is making that not a very viable option.

I am currently in NC to visit with my parter's mom since shes not in good health, but I'm not able to host.

So, this is from a chick who used to do tarot reading out of a regular camping tent in Montana. How about a tent? Will one fit on your trailer that would be big enough and comfortable enough to contain the couch or bed? If so, tent heaters are a thing. A tent heater and lots of colorful blankets and pillows and layers of warm socks. Campsites can be cheaper than hotel rooms. If you advertise it right, decorate the tent so that it's fun and comfy, it could be interesting. You can scale it up or down price wise depending on what you can afford and want to offer. Have an extra special hot chocolate recipe? Stuff like that would be an added bonus/draw and you can either charge for it or not. If you're outdoorsy at all, this would be an investment that you can adapt to personal use later on.

To add on to what the other folks were saying - if you're in an area where you'll have several customers and will be there for a while you could even rent out a site for a week or a few days at a time, set up a large enough tent on the ground, and leave it up for a few days. This would give you more options for size and how to decorate and use the space.

TisDoney

I actually have a large tent, lights, blankets and all sorts of comfy things already. It's just cold lol. I like your suggestions.

::smiles and thumbs up at ya':: I hope that you find whatever option that works well for you. I hope your partner's mom heals well. Take care.

casueno

Hey Y'all there are KOA cabins with heat, a/c, beds full kitchen...kampground of america usually way cheaper than hotels. Are hostels still a thing?

Babichev

" Have an extra special hot chocolate recipe?"

I do.

Italian hot chocolate is to American hot cocoa what espresso is to American coffee. It's intense. I first had it in a 150 year old chocolate shop in northern Italy that used to be owned by a great uncle who married the daughter of a Swiss chocolatier.

I'll share my recipe. This is for one serving. You can multiply

2 Tablespoons (level) good cocoa powder (I like Droste)
2 teaspoons (heaping) sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 - 1 oz good dark chocolate bar (like Lindt's 76%) broken into small pieces
Optional: little bit of vanilla, whipped cream

In a small saucepan, mix the cocoa powder and sugar. Add a little of the milk and stir into the cocoa/sugar mix with a small whisk (or a spoon or a fork) to make a smooth paste. (Cocoa powder does not want to absorb fluid so adding just a little milk and making a paste like this makes it much easier to incorporate the milk.) Once you have a smooth paste, gradually add the rest of the milk. Heat over a low flame, stirring frequently so it doesn't scorch on the bottom. When the cocoa is thoroughly hot and starting to get small bubbles around the edge, mix in the broken chocolate bar and stir constantly with the whisk until it's all melted. Stir in a little vanilla extract at the end if you wish, then pour into cups (I prefer tea cups, not mugs) and serve immediately. Top with whipped cream if you wish.

This is the ultimate drinking chocolate, guaranteed to please any chocolate lover.

Sorry I can't help with the housing problem.

"Are hostels still a thing?"

Not common in the U.S., they are often shared rooms and if someone is there with you, you'd have to pay for 2 people, may not have privacy, sometimes they are segregated by sex i.e. a women's dorm and a men's separate. Might be a possibility in some places.

poolman

Motor caravan with amenities would be great, then can host too

@Babichev I didn't know this until about a minute ago and I platonically love you so much. Just... soooo very much, you hot chocolate goddess. ::goes to add a few very necessary things to grocery list::

@Babichev: What @daylightsdream said. What a recipe! That is wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing.