Titti Tatti indeed there have been threads on SAAFE on this very topic
A while back (2011) there was a thread “ How many clients do you average out at per week?”(
External Link/Members Only) and (2014) “ How many a day do you normally see… “
External Link/Members Only more recently (2016) a thread “Nosy-number of clients”
External Link/Members Only and there is an ongoing thread (since 2008) “Slow at the minute or just me?”
External Link/Members Only where these questions are discussed (References may be found by entering
External Link/Members Only where 1234 is the number cited in the text).
Of course one does not know how representative the experiences are but both threads give a wide range of experiences. The “Slow at the minute….” thread is a thread where WGs complain about the amount of work they are getting (8871) -it is possible that very successful prostitutes do not post as it would seem tactless (4430,4431,5744,7670)-but the contributions of well-known successful prostitutes to that thread probably means it is fairly typical of the breadth of experiences.
So how many clients does a WG see? This all depends on how the WG wishes to or can operate (1463,5235,7013) and where she is in the country . For instance, some escorts combine escorting with other civvie jobs, both full or part-time or freelance, some supplement their income by webcamming (6700,6808,6929). All this may mean they are less dependent on escorting income than those for whom it is their sole occupation-but also means they have less time to dedicate to escorting(6661). Others value the free time that escorting can bring and are not after maximising their income (1464). Some “high class” i.e. expensive escorts may wish to see few clients a week but spend a lot on clothes and grooming. No two escorts are the same-they all operate in different ways.
Even those without other jobs may wish to escort a few days per week (combining escorting with childcare, studying or other interests ), some set fixed days of work others do not, some only take advanced bookings so they know in advance what days to work others just take short notice bookings and some can only escort at certain times (when kids are at school or do outcalls in the evenings), others find it difficult not to be available and are afraid to turn work away in case it dries up-a familiar problem of the self-employed.
While some set financial targets and will work until they meet them (4853,4871,6852,6989,7015,7064) many are content if their outgoings are covered and bills paid (rent food etc.) (5000) others wish to accumulate money or save for specific purposes (5002) (cosmetic surgery, education, buying property to send to families etc.). All these factors will determine how an escort prefers to operate and the number of clients they would like to see and whether they only take advanced booking (2067) or only on the day bookings(1895,2062,6010) or do both (2064) and if they offer 15 min bookings or only longer. There is no such thing as a typical escort.
Many do not have dedicated escorting premises (and the associated expense) and only do outcalls to hotels or private houses or operate in calls from hotels, others work at home(5126)or from a rented work premises . Many escorts tour different areas in the country and find this can boost their income (4621), making in a couple of days what would take a week at home because they represent “fresh blood” in the area and they also will work longer hours than when at home ( a downside is a “new” girl attracts local timewasters (3645)). However if they tour they run the risk of not getting enough bookings to cover their accommodation costs(1232,3676,3911,4338,4488,4704,4798,4995,5514,6701,7872). Also where they tour can have an impact, sometimes big cities with lots of potential clients are not always good (4805) because of competition. This uncertainty of a steady income plus the stress of waiting around for clients who might or might not appear can be demotivating (4537,4567,4629,5096,7297), here “regulars” can be a god send (7525), the uncertainty makes some question whether escorting is for them (6783,6804).
Some entered escorting in the hope of making a lot of money (4995,5002) and feel the certainty of an income from a civvie job is attractive-others point out that they can earn enough escorting to live comfortably with a few hours work a week (4996,5000)
On the forum “Slow at the minute or just me?” several constant themes emerge. One is that “it is not as good as it used to be” (1290,1447,1456,1460,1646,2508,2121,2503,5062,6934,7339,8662,8797) so a long term general decline in the amount of clients per worker variously attributed to the influx of new workers into the business and also the recession(s)(1290, 1365). Some look back on the old days-recalling “carding” in London that they felt boosted demand, others point out that advertising in Newspapers in the pre-internet day was restrictive and expensive. Also the services expected today are much more than several years ago when massage, covered oral and sex were all that was on offer (2510)
For some a quiet time means the phone not ringing-for others a quiet time means they got half the bookings they desired (4853). One thing that does emerge however that escorting (like many self-employed occupations) can be precarious-there is a large fluctuation in the number of clients, days of feast can be followed by days of famine (1230,4162,438,7877,8985), the escort just hopes that the peaks and troughs even out so she can get the desired income (423,2584,2788,6659,6795), and those that tour hope income at least covers the expenses (5514, 6811). Wise escorts put away money to provide a cushion for when things are bad or to invest for the future (2342, 4187,5247, 6159, 6790), some however fail to save (2340,4698,5448)
Then there seasonal factors – generally, post summer and especially the run up to Christmas (4785) until January are good periods (1202 but see 8868)but that February is a low month (due to Christmas cc bills coming in) followed quickly by February half-term( but see 1610, 5462,5470,5614) or end of the financial year (5753,5887)or Ramadan (6115). Other school holidays are also low points (Easter (5744,5747), half terms, bank holidays, inset days (5727) and summer holidays (but see 1926 and 8864)).. Then there are shorter term fluctuations-business may slower on Mondays (6863,6870 but see 7170) some say better (or worse) on Wednesdays (7000,8967)some find the end of the week better (9792) but higher after monthly paydays (1681) lower with big sporting event (football, Olympics etc). Then the weather may be a factor-better in warm weather (1797,2286)-but worse if it is really hot (1768 1842, 5805 but see 1285) or it rains(1947,2361). But overall there seems to be little rhyme or reason as to why one day or month is busy and the next not (3158,3160,5655,5907,6343,6692,6966,8478,8550,8558,8559,9133 ). This uncertainty can tempt escorts to overwork on the good days either to make up for poor days or suspecting they may not get much business on the next (2987,3228,3639,3640,3861,6658,6659,7016,7020,7023) but see (7015)
Indeed while on some days some escorts are busy, on the same days others (even in the same city 5627,5628,5629) may get no work. This uncertainty is stressful, sometimes there are no calls on the escorts phone, if there are calls many these may be “Timewasters”, men with no intention of booking but use the call to masturbate to, or ask pointless questions already covered in the escorts profile, or try to haggle in prices often the escorts instincts help weed these out-then others make bookings but fail to show up (no shows) which is frustrating as the escort may have turned away other clients thinking they were booked up.
A few escorts double book in attempts to mitigate the problem of “no shows” (6710)
Others who make advanced bookings then bombard the escort with text messages (text tennis) or phone calls (5104,5168,5941) to keep some sort of erotic fantasy going(6797)-almost all these were “Timewasters” who never followed through on their bookings. All this make it hard for an escort to stay motivated as she is often alone in a hotel room staring at the wall and wondering if she will be able to cover her costs (4995,5701,6811,6889,6914), in fact some find touring so unpredictable they are tempted to give up escorting (5126,6812) but then in good week they can earn more than in 2-3 months of a civvie job (4997,7017,7133) .
A constant refrain is that relying on “Adult Work” (AW the largest UK advertising site for escorts) is not enough (4427,5370,7675); an escort must do more to promote herself creating their own website (5340)and getting on other directories so they come up high in Google search (1942).
Many would be punters do not know about dedicated sites such as AW and will use Google to search for escorts and find sites such as Vivastreet or Backpage. Many WGs find that they get more bookings off AW when they are new-in the first couple of years-then business drops off so they have to advertise on other sites and do more to promote themselves adding pictures to their AW galleries and use the “Available today” or “Local escort” feature (6238 but see 6506) or blogging on AW or their own websites or going on twitter(1429) Some advertise additionally on Vivastreet (3778,3943,5456) and other forums-but often find while they do get booking there are a higher proportion of timewasters or no shows from those sites (4196, 6564).
From the thread “Slow at the minute or just me?” from those 140 or so escorts who gave an indication of the number of clients seen the median is about 3 per day for those that gave daily totals or between 5 and 6 for those giving weekly totals . Of course this includes prostitutes who are deliberately low volume and the fact that generally escorts do not work every day. Also some of the totals are those seen on a “good” day-these may be interspersed with days of no work(7877).
It is instructive to compare these totals with the spread of earnings of escorts given in “ Connelly L (2014) Working conditions and job satisfaction of sex work pilot
External Link/Members Only on p 15 which gives the median monthly income of independent escorts as £1500-1999 which equates to around 15 clients or approx. 5 a week-not too far from the estimates from “Slow at the minute or just me?”.
These figures are way different from estimates given in Brooks-Gordon B et al Calculating the Number of Sex Workers and Contribution to Non-Observed Economy in the UK (
External Link/Members Only) . Where independent sex workers are assumed to work 120-150 hours per month-which equates to about 31 clients a week or six a day(assuming 5 days a week worked) -more than twice the daily number and six times the weekly total from “Slow at the minute..?” While such high levels of clients might be attainable on tour on a good day ( and remember not every day is a good day-many days may have few or no clients) -the numbers are far from typical. Given the concordance between the estimates of monthly earnings and “Slow at the minute..?” I am inclined to believe the latter figures are closer to the actuality.
