How far do you travel for Outcalls?

[Doug]

Hi everyone!I'm about to graduate (Dec 22) and I am getting the usual questions about where I will work, how much I will charge, what I will offer.I know that I want to do outcalls for the time being. So for those of you who are doing outcalls, or have done outcalls in the past...My main question, is how far is a reasonable distance to travel for outcalls? Do start from where you live and pick a radius of where you will travel? Do you charge extra if a person is outside your normal travel radius (I'm not talking excessive charge, maybe $5?). If you live in a more suburban area, do you pick a more urban location and draw your radius from there? I live in SW Florida, and people are quite spread out here to begin with. On another note, I have already taken in to consideration many of the things I need to be aware of for my personal safety. For example, I will not take appointments from males within 36-48 hours of the call, unless they are an established client, or have been referred to me by a doctor.) I know there is a thread around here somewhere with tips for consideration when doing outcalls. I will be using my cell phone as my business number for massage too. Thanks in advance!

 

[HolidayOnTheBuses]

I will travel to pretty much anywhere.  Well, maybe not ANYWHERE.  But, within reason...I'll travel there.  In my area it is nothing to drive 30-45 minutes and not think twice about it.  I don't charge too much extra...in fact, sometimes I don't charge anything extra.  I'm an idiot about that stuff sometimes.  I really don't do many outcalls and when I do, I can't stand them.  It's soooo much easier to just stay at my office.  I love going to my client's homes and being in their environment but I can not stand having to drag all that crap with me.  I'm not the organized type so I always end up forgetting something...or being too stressed about forgetting something.  I say go as far as you can without being mad about it....and charge enough extra that you don't feel like you are ripping yourself off.  That's just my 2 cents...of course like I said, I don't do many outcalls so you may get a different opinion from someone who does.

 

[shorty150217]

How far do you travel for Outcalls?

I'm with Terab, I hate doing outcalls. I still do them, but for in-town fees I charge $25 extra. If I have to drive more than 20 minutes, I charge accordingly. I've done outcalls to Houston, which I charged $60 extra, because it is a 1 1/2 hr drive away from here. The way I saw it, I pretty much had to make a day out of the appointment, so I charged accordingly. I ended up getting about $150 for the hour's work, but it still took me 3 hours of drive time, and the annoyance of having to set up my table, hope that they have a clock so I know if I'm going over or under the hour, no music, etc. The only real problem I have with outcalls is setting my table back up in my office. I have so much to do to set the table up when I break it down, so it makes it more of a hassle. Just be sure to price accordingly with how much work YOU have to do, not how much work THEY receive.

 

[Hawaiian_Kine]

Outcalls you are there for at least an extra 15 minutes setting up and then packing up afterwards, you have to allow an extra 30min on top of driving time before you can book your next appointment due to possible traffic issues, and you have to pack up and then set up again at your original location.So, say you have a appointment in clinic that finishes at 2pm, and need to go to an out call 30min away. You get a little bit of a break till 10 past, then you load up the car for 10min, drive for 30min, with allowance for 10min traffic, so you now either have 10min to wait around, or you are stuck in traffic. آ Get to appointment at 3pm, one hour massage plus 15 min setting up/packing up, it's now 4:15, 30 minute drive back, 10 minute setting up your room again, it's almost 5pm. آ You could risk booking another appointment at 5pm, but you gave yourself an extra 30min just in case traffic was very bad or whatever. So, between 2pm and 5:30pm, 3 and a half hours, you've managed to be paid for one one hour appointment.Should you charge your usual hourly rate as if they came to you? ? ? ? آ No way!!!!!!How much more do you charge? I say roughly half your hourly rate for the travel time, with a minimum that suits your location. آ If most people are an hour away, do you really want to do 2 hrs driving anyway? آ If you are ok with a 30minute drive, say it's a 30 minute radius and use mapquest or something to calculate driving time. If you charge $60 per hour for massage, say out calls are $90 per hour for a 30 min radius, if you think that's too expensive, drop it to $80 and do not go over 30min, or increase it to a 40min radius and keep it at $90. آ Just be VERY careful if you will need to do a lot of driving.It sounds very attractive saying you get $90 for an hour, and when you have no other hours booked it is better than nothing, but when you consider in the first example that was 3.5 hours and you charge $90 you're getting about $25 per hour for it. آ It get's better if you can do 2 massages at the one address, then it is $180 for 4.5hrs, about $40 per hour. آ Beter than nothing of nothing, but it's not quite as lucrative as it may sound. آ It's a good way to build up some clients, before you have a clinic, and it can be a way to supplement income outside normal hours. Outcall clients that are more than 30minutes away are unlikely to convert to clinic clients, they'll probably just find another outcall person rather than spend all that time driving/parking/normal office hours....Also, don't say it's "$60 plus a $30 travel fee" - it all gets much too complicated, just say there is an additional fee if they are more than Xminutexs away, anthing closer is a bonus for you and anything over an hour massage is also a bonus.  From the other responses you can start to see a pattern that it's not easy money, you earn every cent.I do outcalls, but I charge more than $90 per hour and I try to get the more than one person in the house to have a massage, or do longer than 1 hour massages.

 

[Twinklestar]

I only do two outcalls.  The one was a client that I had for years and the set-up started before I was really working for myself.  She had been a client of mine from a spa that I worked at.  The other client is her friend.The one lives about 15mins from me and the other about 5 mins from her.  I try to book them on the same day, one right after the other.They both supply their own tables and linens.  I charge them my old rate as a reward for being consistantly good clients.  The one woman I see at least every other week, sometimes every week for 2 hours.  The other I see at least once a month for 1.5 hours.I will not do outcalls that require me to bring my own table.  I tried it when I was right out of school and hated it also.  It is so much better when they come to you.I do travel 30 mins to a Chiro office a few days a week.  But, that is usually worth the drive and they supply the table.Good Luck!

 

[Destiny & Kaylee]

How far do you travel for Outcalls?

I use to live in your area in the Port Charlotte, Fort Myers, Florida area and I'd say within your area, you could probably travel 50 miles in an average hour, depending upon rush hour and winter tourists, who can really swell your population and clog the roads.As for what distance you think you should go, one area for your consideration is your preferences.  What you like to do and not do? Maybe, record a journal of your feelings about your outcalls to see your viewpoints more clearly over time?How long you like to drive compared to not doing any outcalls? Etceteras?http://www.mapquest.com is a good web site to get driving directions and how long it will take and the miles driven to and from your outcall massages.What is your time worth to you and your clients?Versus Incalls?I charge an extra $20. for a one hour round-trip to and from their place. If you have longer distances, say a 2 hour round-trip, you might need to charge an extra $40. a massage, there-by you would at least get $20. an hour for driving, plus all the deductions you can take from driving your car.$10 per half hour rountrip for driving is reasonable in my area. Maybe, Check locally to see what your local rates range for outcall fees?It's all up to you and I'm sure you will find what is comfortable to you and your area in time.

 

[Ballet Dancer]

How far do you travel for Outcalls?

hi there!~i'm strictly mobile in daytona beach. my travelling radius is from I-95 to the ocean, from the top of volusia county to new smyrna beach.i charge my set rates as i don't have an office.i book 60 minutes every two hours and have plenty of time. if i have a 90 minute, i break for one hour afterwards to accommodate down/drive time.if you like to chat further, feel free to pm me. i used to live in ft. myers and my parents live in pt. charlotte. i know that area very well.

 

[Drunk Chicken]

I really don't want to travel more than 30 minutes for a client.  Mainly because it takes time away from making more money even if I charge more for the session.  When I was in school they told us that we should charge $1 a minute and maybe tack on an extra $5 for the session.  So I started using that as my rate.  The more privates I got, and figured out what my actual time was, I was cheating myself since I could have made more money at my data entry job!  As I started working more for other people, I realized that I am worth more than what I was charging.    That at the spa she charges $75/hour with a required 15-20% tip, which I get $25/hour plus tip which ranges from $10-20.  I figure that I need to make more money on my own than if I was working for her, since it is still me doing the work.  Figuring this, I started asking other therapist how much they charge for an outcall... I don't know anyone that charges less than $100!  and some of these therapists are out of school a year or less!  Also, look around and see what spas, gyms etc. charge for a session just to get an idea of what people are paying in your area.  But most of all definitely make sure that you compensate for your time and supplies!!!  Think about how long it takes to do laundry get gas for your car, paperwork, etc... it all adds up!

 

[jason s]

I am strictly mobile, so I travel sometimes nearly two hours for a call.  You have to consider the DC Metro traffic situation though.  Northern Virginia roads can be pretty slow sometimes.  They key is focusing yourself after a commute like that and not passing that stress on to the client.TOM