Reply #56 gwailoplayer's post
More detail on my post above (as understood by myself), for those who are interested in the economics of our dear service providers.
The provider I described who rents her office for 12,000 per month told me the going rate in her building which has lots of foot traffic is 14,000, but because her room is slightly smaller and she has known the landlord for a long time he gives her a discount. This includes her electricity and water. She pays approximately 1,000 per month to advertise on this site, a basic listing with a few photos on her page, not with videos or those girls’ photos on the landing page with links. She pays 500 per month for towel service, and provides and washes her own bedsheets. She also enhanced the room at her expense with an additional video camera mounted on the door, additional lights inside, a small refrigerator, and a hot water dispenser. She paid the photographer 500 for her photos, with her face blurred. If she moves out I suppose the last 2 items she can take with her but will need to hire a man with a van to transport the refrigerator. She could also reuse the photos.
On the cost side estimate her total monthly outlay is 13,500. Her basic rate is 400 for 1 pop or 30-45 minutes. She must make 34 sales per month. She takes time off for her period and occasionally a weekend day or 2, so figure she works 24 days per month, so she needs to see an average of 1.5 persons per day just to break even.
On the expense side she rents public housing for 1,400 per month. I don’t know the cost for utilities in a small flat but let’s assume 400 per month running the air cons 6 months per year. My simple mobile phone service cost 250 per month, and my home non-fibre Internet is 200 per month. I suppose her building has some type of management fee, because it would have garbage disposal, maintenance of common facilities like lifts. So calculate 2,250 before management fee she has to spend. Adding that to the above expenditure means to break even after paying for her house mean she has to make 39 sales per month. She has a son who studies and works part-time for pocket money but she has to buy food for 2 and clothes and school fees. On balance, I think she has it good compared to another I know.
This one who works at 37D, and others who I have talked to work at KP, 37D and places like this share their fee with “house”. So if you go there and spend 400 for 45 minutes, the provider gets 200. The good part is she has no overhead. She doesn’t live in public housing but shares a tiny flat with 2 other women in Kowloon city, also providers. Her share of the monthly all in cost is about 7,000. So for her to break even, before eating, she has to make 35 sales per month. I understand however at these kind of places they do pay the girls a small fee to sit around all day as they bring them out to the customers one by one, so she might get an extra 10 or 20 per hour to be brought in front of the customer even if they don’t take her.
So, people like me who have seen their business slow down have nothing to complain about, as compared to these girls as you can see from the above are struggling even when times are good. This week my office landlord told me she would not raise my rent , and I fortunately don’t have to lay off any of my employees. My business will suffer further as the economy slows further, and I will take home less money this year, but on balance I have nothing to complain about. I have been using the quiet  periods during the weekdays, to exercise, go to the beach just slow down.
Keep on mongering 
[ Last edited by gwailoplayer at 4-3-2020 20:06 ] | |
, and I fortunately don’t have to lay off any of my employees. My business will suffer further as the economy slows further, and I will take home less money this year, but on balance I have nothing to complain about. I have been using the quiet 
periods during the weekdays, to exercise, go to the beach just slow down.