I have different views on this subject, I can understand the SP side of things, such as guys booking and then decide not to show up, it’s obviously A lost of income and time for the SP, and chances of someone wanting to book at that precise moment are very minimal.
On the other side of this, no matter what type of industry you are in, there will always be risk associated with being a service provider.
Let’s look at it this way, let’s suppose you are a finish carpenter, in order to provide your service you have to run back and forth and provide a quote, and get nickeled and dimed on the price just to get the gig, and once you have the gig, try to complete what you priced for, without having to do additional crap, that you had not included and then having to barter just to get this job done, and does it end there, no, once you have completed, 10% hold back, and wait 30 days to get paid.....
As a client, I will not give any deposit, Yes I agree maybe I lose the opportunity to have a great time, but the SP requiring a deposit , may end up losing a loyal long time customer because of that.
The industry I’m in, often there is no deposit, sometimeS we are in at quarter of a million dollars From our end , even before we can submit a partial draw, yes we take a risk, but these are conditions we need to work with to get clients, we are providing a service.
As I mentioned before, I have never given a deposit, or will I ever do, no matter how good of a reputation the SP has, they have risks to encounter I can appreciate that, but I have same risk, if not more to deal with, give a deposit, show up, the lady is not having a good day, or we do not connect, or she is totally YMMV, I have forked out $250 or up to $400 for an hour, and walked out totally unhappy going home and questioning this hobby.
All in all, all the power for those ladies or agencies requesting a deposit, I’m sure They have assessed their pros and cons.