a loss. It's always a gamble. I toured twice a month for 3 years, and never came home with less than what I paid for the trip, but I also did not do very well every single time. My rule of thumb was if I don't get at least 2 pre-booked appts per day, I didn't go. I don't have to see those 2 people mind you, but I want at least that pre-booked because odds are 3 will cancel by the time you get there.
Now, unless someone pays my expenses I won't do it at all. If that happens, I will place an ad for the time that I am not with the guy (guys) who paid for the trip.
I do better in smaller towns vs. major cities like LA, and I think you probably would as well. You can charge more and there is less competition. Also, the ad prices are half of what you would pay in other places just to get lost in a sea of 400 women. A few are Birmingham Alabama, Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Springfield, IL. Stamford and Hartford Ct. and of course Cleveland Ohio!! I do "well" in places like Chicago, Manhattan, etc. but I do fkin awesome in the other towns I have listed. I also change my rates according to the expenses per town. You won't see as many clients by going up, but you won't have to.
If I were you, I would do your first tour close enough to home where you can drive. Flying can be annoying with delays, and of course more expensive. I do the flight and hotel packages booked together on Hotels.com and save a ton of money by booking 30 days out. Another good idea is to hit 2-3 cities if you are driving and spend at least 24 hours or 2 days in each city, vs. prepaying for 5 days in one place with a flight that you are stuck with.
I do this with TN and MIss. I hit Jackson, Memphis, then Little Rock all within 2-3 hours of each other vs. just driving 7 hours to Arkansas. That also allows you to tweak your days spent by placing 3 ads. If you see you have more interest in Memphis than Jackson, head for Memphis. You are not forced to stay in an area when you do it this way, nor do you have to pay for your hotel a week prior. You can book each hotel per city, the night before you know you are going to make money.
Also, know where to advertise because I don't care how great a board is for reviews, not all areas are a major hot spot on certain boards. Advertise at least 3-4 weeks out, so you can start seeing if it is worth it. Don't say you are 100 percent certain that you are going, until you are. Be careful with taking last minute appts. as well. Guys and LE do on purpose to book this way, hoping you will be desperate enough to not screen them because you need the money. My rule is book before I get there, or the night before you want an appt. If he is a regular...different story.
You can email me if you want any advice that I can't say here. I am pretty much a pro at touring, being I am not one to just do it for kicks. If all you want is to visit a place you've never seen and finance the trip, that certainly won't be hard to do on one client per day.
-- Modified on 10/16/2012 11:14:04 AM