@Kbrown2019 ~ Don't be discouraged by other's travel limits! If you're willing to drive 5.5 hours, that's all that matters! And if all goes well, do her a solid and mention the travel time in your karma so others will see it's worth it.
I just feel like cuddles are beyond a fun and rewarding reason for/perk to adventuring. It has been for me anyway!!
I don’t have a car but if I did, I’d drive for anywhere up to 5 hrs, depending on the length of the session. If for example I drove for 5 hrs, I’d want at least a 5 hr long session so that my day isn’t wasted for a short encounter
@xandriarain
If these clients are demanding that you fulfill requirements you simply can't and actively complaining about what you do provide, then yeah, that's frustrating and obnoxious.
But if they're simply stating their preferences and why they don't want to book with you, then maybe you can take that as data about the state of the cuddle market and how you can be successful. If longer travel time is a show-stopper for many clients, then maybe it's important to host in a densely populated area.
@xandriarain It's good that you got a month to month lease! I'm also sorry it's not working out as well as it should be. Perhaps you're right that cuddling is not popular enough to necessitate renting a space unless its a huge metropolitan area. The pandemic may possible be affecting people's willingness to cuddle right now since we are in the COVID third wave. I'd think you'd get better results when this pandemic is over. It also sucks to hear how you were treated when you said your occupation was a professional cuddler. But hey, platonic touch practitioner worked for you so that's good!
Everyone has different driving preferences, but I personally wouldn't want to drive more than an hour or two. In rare circumstances, I'd drive longer, but I would only have availability for that on certain days and I'd probably also want to sleep at that location if I was driving that far (so I wouldn't have to drive back tired which is unsafe), which pros can't offer even if they do host so that would probably only happen if it were an enthusiast.
Part of the reason people reach out to pros instead of enthusiasts is because it's more convenient - It's very difficult to build up enough trust and interest to meet up with a stranger on the internet to cuddle, and I suppose that being close and available falls into that convenience category for some people atleast.
I would probably drive farther to see an enthusiast because it's free and I'm only paying for gas/tolls and there's probably some special connection at that point.
If people don't want to spend money on a hotel, can't host in their own homes and also don't want to drive 45 minutes to see a pro, I can see why you'd feel frustrated. If all that were true, I might be inclined to think they probably aren't looking for a pro at that point, my guess? A 30 minute drive seems reasonable to me for even people who are relatively busy or don't like driving far, and a 45 minute drive is not far off.
Best of luck in this endeavor, I really hope it pays off for you, but barring that, you learn a lot from it for the next time!
Half way to hell and back.
@quixotic_life thanks for the encouragement and @Miabear I will consider your advice . Thanks for your response both of you .
@CuddleMeLater @sunnysideup some of these clients said they wished I could host and actually were part of why I felt like it was what my business needed to get back to my pre-covid income. If it was just some random person and I was just being pushy about booking a session that would be a different story. The thing for me id I needed my hosting space to be closer to me because I’m the one that has to go there all the time and keep the place clean and presentable for clients and change sheets between each session. I could have looked for offices in New Jersey but they would’ve been further away and more expensive for both rent and taxes The chances of me being late would’ve been much higher and I do not wanna clients sitting in their car waiting for me in my office parking lot.
I don’t expect people to drive many hours to see me but I think anything within an hour or an hour and a half is worth it if you’re trying to save money on a hotel especially since I generally tend to do longer sessions. I don’t even do sessions less than two hours and often do sessions that are four to eight hours long.
Maybe 5 hours one way? I sell used video games online. I buy the games from pawn and thrift stores. So a road trip can turn into a lucrative business trip.
I love traveling and honestly will travel pretty much anywhere in the U S. I do this full time and I absolutely love it.
I know my claim is a stretch, but I call operating a Class 3 electric bicycle “driving”. By this definition I will drive up to 7 miles from a MetroLink train station to meet someone. I’ll readily meet someone whose area requires only one train to get to. MetroLink’s Orange County line runs from Union Station in DTLA to Oceanside in NorthWest San Diego County.
My gut reaction is about an hour one way. For me, traveling more than an hour is an overnight trip, so I might not cuddle unless I was going someplace to do something else, so it was part of the trip; or if it was someone I had known for a while and felt personally loyal to. Then again, I have had so few cuddle sessions, this is largely a hypothetical discussion for me; all of the above could be throw out in the future. But for now, right now at the time I post this message, that's where I am. Does that make sense?
I think it also depends on the length of the session. I don’t go further than 35 min drives unless they’re longer sessions just bc it doesn’t suit my car to drive long distances for short things.
7 hours
@craM That's a fairly specific number. Any reason on choosing 7 hours?
@FlyingToaster Because 7 hours takes you further than 6 hours 59 minutes.
@FunCartel True. Unless you've been sitting at a stop light, waiting for a train, or something else for a few minutes right at that time.