Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Typically, an escort will interview with an agency. The effectiveness of ads in weeklies or specialized sites has been questioned by some operators as there are so many that they are diluted. It is very common for escorts to enter the business through referrals from friends who have been in the business.
Transsexual or transgender escorts are available from some escort agencies. Agencies commonly specialize in only one sex. There are male-for-male, female-for-male, and female-for-female escort agencies, as well as a few male-for-female agencies. Some agencies may specifically deal in a certain type of escort. Escort agencies typically maintain a list of escorts of different ages and appearances to cater to the varying interests of clients. RecruitingĮscort agencies often recruit individuals to work as escorts by placing employment advertisements in a magazine or newspaper.
Some countries have used a two-pronged approach of criminalizing street prostitution but permitting or licensing prostitution in brothels or via escort agencies. However, there almost certainly do exist agencies that do go by these laws and do not facilitate prostitution.
This has been criticized as hypocrisy, especially where governments license and tax the escort agencies. This fact in turn is well known to police and the political powers, who, where prostitution is illegal, usually prefer to act against more visible and problematic street prostitution. Advertisements for escort agencies often carefully skirt the legal line, and avoid specifically offering prostitution or sexual services. While the escort agency is paid a fee for this booking and dispatch service, the customer must negotiate any additional fees or arrangements directly with the escort for any other services that are not provided by the agency involved, such as providing sexual services (regardless of the legality of these services).Įscort agencies claim that they are dispatching these individuals to provide a social or conversational service rather than a sexual service, since prostitution laws often forbid taking payment for sex or communicating for the purpose of arranging a contract for sexual services. Some agencies also provide escorts for longer durations, who may stay with the client or travel along on a holiday or business trip. The agency typically arranges a meeting between one of its escorts and the client at the customer's house or hotel room (outcall), or at the escort's residence (incall). An escort agency is a company that provides escorts for clients, usually for sexual services.