This thread is (probably unsurprisingly) quickly devolving into rants about rates, but whatever, I'll add my 2c to the mix.
I can remember when there was a number of agencies in town (Victoria's Eden, Seduction Unlimited, Class Choice, SVIPS, etc, etc) and all of them seemed to have a good number of ladies working for them and rates were almost universally lower (often significantly so) than independents and extras were virtually unheard of. Whether that was good or bad for either side (clients or the girls) is debatable (I'm not trying to romanticize that era as the "good old days" by any stretch), but there was a time when there seemed to be a sense of variety around agencies in Victoria.
Now there's two (I don't particularly count this new agency as a third given how it's clearly owned & operated by the Vogue folks), and in all honestly when I look at their sites I don't see much in the way of variety of types of girls, services offered, rates, etc. So I at least applaud the idea behind Hush as trying to bring something different, though I'm extremely skeptical as to if it will be anything other than effectively a 2nd Vogue location. Time will tell I suppose.
Rates are a tricky subject that is a lot more complex than I think many conversations I see on here would imply. Seeing SPs is significantly more expensive now than it was say 10 years ago (heck, even 5 years ago), no question about that. Obviously the pandemic had an effect that contributed to that. I'm personally very fortunate in that my personal financial situation is dramatically better than it was pre-pandemic so I've largely just been able to absorb the increase, but for many/most folks (both clients & SPs) that's not the case. Cost of living/inflation has skyrocketed as well, and whenever that happens A) people who work in service industries (like SPs) raise rates to help offset that and B) discretionary spending on things like seeing SPs goes down. What I find interesting is I often hear clients complain about how seeing SP's is so much more expensive yet they still see them, and I see SPs complain about how things are so "slow" now as they don't see the same volume of clients as they used to (arguably because of higher rates). You'd think those two forces would cause a correction in pricing, but in practice it doesn't seem to. If I were an economist I'd find studying this absolutely fascinating as it all just seems so counter-intuitive me.
I suppose another factor is that supply has significantly changed in Victoria. Look at Leolist & Tryst and while there are still SP's here the number of them is definitely decreasing, and of the ones who remain, many are older. To me there's a sense of more SP's leaving the industry than joining since the pandemic. It's harder and harder to find a great SP and that's a trend that's been going for awhile now. So maybe that's at least partly it -- supply has decreased, demand is same == increase in rates.
There's always been a suggested correlation between rate and quality of service (ie "you get what you pay for"), but I've never found that to be particularly true. When I think of all my ATF's (such as ones who are no longer around like Sadie Rose, Danica Summers, Electra, or ones who are still around like Lola Bunni, & Lexci Lust) almost universally they were/are all mid or in some cases lower on the side of rates (or at least have options for lower-cost sessions) and few had "extras" as we know them today All of them seemed more interested in finding consistent regulars than "a quick buck". Almost without exception when I've splurged on a higher end SP I've regretted it.
What I do see is a strong correlation between cost & body type/age. Spinners cost more, and perhaps some clients equate "banging the hot 19 year old spinner type" as "better service". I don't. I'd rather be with a curvy older girl who knows what she's doing & is actively engaged in making the session as memorable and enjoyable as possible than the model-type who does nothing other than lie there & get you to finish ASAP.
More anecdotal observations: I spent more money last year (2023) on escorts than any other year before (and I've been seeing SPs for a very long time). The vast majority of that spending was on SPs I'd seen before (ie before 2023) that I was repeating with (ie SPs for whom I was a "regular'), and in fact about a quarter of my spending was on one SP in particular. In 2024 I'm currently on track to spend less than half of what I spent last year, and of the SP's I've seen only one have I repeated with this year, and only two others are ones I'd seen before 2024. That is: the vast majority are with SPs I've seen once and not repeated with. I wonder if others have similar experiences?
Having said all that (wall of text apologies), I don't for a second blame the SPs for the rates of today. Obviously somebody's paying those rates (and TBH there are some extremely wealthy people in Victoria), so if they can demand those costs, good for them. It does mean though that some clients are being priced out of this hobby.
