Hey guys,
A little background: I've been escorting part time for about a year. I do it mostly in my home city but I also occasionally put up travel ads when I am going somewhere in the hopes I might get a client or two while I'm there. I've made all the rookie mistakes but I think now I am to the point where I'm pretty comfortable and I have that sixth sense about when a situation just "doesn't seem right."
One thing I have never done however, is have someone fly me to another city specifically for a weekend of escorting. I'm open to doing it but how is the plane ticket normally handled? Obviously the client has to pay for it, but if he buys the ticket he's going to need my real name. I occasionally tell clients my real FIRST name if I'm comfortable with them and have seen them a few times but I don't think I've ever told anyone my real FIRST and LAST name, which of course they would need. There's always the "transfer-the-amount-of-the-plane-ticket-to-my-PayPal-and-I'll-buy-it-myself" option but that really seems like its asking a lot of a client, especially if they've never actually met you. So how do guys normally handle this?
Follow up question: for local clients I don't normally ask for a deposit first, but for someone that is asking for a whole weekend of my time, where I have to make arrangements to be away (someone to watch my dog, etc.), I feel like it wouldn't be out of line to ask for a small down payment as proof they are not going to flake. Is that customary also?