The cost of flights & hotel to any city is an investment, not including the time it takes to travel. I'm trying to see how both sides can be of assistance. People have invested in touring. Do you think it's acceptable to have a tour rate?

...you have to report income that is illegally obtained as well to the IRS, but that includes all relevant expenses as well...so you can tour in areas that you wanted to visit anyway and write the whole vacation off, and if you get any clients, all the better.

They just want to be sure they get their cut [taxes]. The penalties for money laundering and income tax evasion are often much harsher than for the underlying illegal activity. So, file that 1040 and Schedule A!

I have heard it said, I think on this forum, that one can not deduct expenses involved with an illegal activity from the revenue you report to the IRS.

I would only take advice from my accountant of over twenty years. You can only deduct expenses from a legal & legit business. Everything is verified by receipts. You can deduct expenses from your legal LLC &/or fictitious business. My question was not tax related. My taxes are done.

Yes, I think it is perfectly justified to have a tour rate.

I say yes because only you can decide your rate. If you’re touring simply to turn a profit, and your regular rate makes it not worth it because of the expenses, than that is a you and only you decision. What you’re asking isn’t unusual, so any client will understand it. That does mean you will price yourself out of some of their budgets.

there are all kinds of grey areas…if you are engaged in illicit businesses, chances are your accountant will know clever ways

guys in cities you are touring to look online and see that they are paying more than the locals are paying when you are in a static location.  Since there is little chance for a repeat session unless you will be there more than a week, the first thought that comes to mind for these customers is, "Hmm.  I'm paying more, but what incentive does she have to give me her best effort if she may not ever see me again."  It's makes them feel like they are being fleeced in order to see someone new.  No one likes to pay more for the same thing someone else paid less for.  

I see it all the time on tryst. Providers have touring rates listed on their ad or website and the touring rate usually is higher. I’ve also seen providers list different rates for different cities, with certain locations like LA or NYC being more expensive. It doesn’t seem to cost them clients or cause their business to suffer. I think most clients understand that touring costs more money than staying put and that hotel rooms in some cities are more expensive than hotel rooms in other cities.

What you are not seeing unless you look for it is when providers doing this end up canceling a particular tour stop because there was little interest in advanced booking.  I'm not suggesting my way is the ONLY way to do it, but the ladies I have coached through this that work Conventions in Vegas love it.  There have been many posts here from mongers who said they booked a girl who was scheduled to visit their city, and then the girl canceled the tour stop at the last minute.  Maybe you missed those.  In most cases, that monger was probably the ONLY one that booked for that week and she wasn't going to incur the travel expense for one customer, because it doesn't even break her even.  

I agree. Charging more than their "home" rate can be off-putting. It's even more so if the provider already has a rate significantly higher than the local average. Unless she satisfies a bucket-list desire, I'll stick with my local gals.  

When a provider is working from her home base, most of the costs are relatively fixed. Rent, utilities, regular advertising, etc. Once those are covered, the rest of the schedule is mostly about filling time. Touring changes the cost structure because the overhead is immediate and very real. Flights, hotels, meals, transportation, and the time spent traveling all come out of pocket before a single appointment is booked typically. That’s one of the reasons pre-bookings or slightly higher touring rates are common. It offsets the additional cost and the risk of being in a city temporarily.

I'm meeting a touring lady next week whose rate is actually lower than her home rate. Very odd I'd say but I'm not complaining!

By all means have a tour rate.  Or book early and get deposits.  I hate the paper trail of this but can make it work if the Vmo or other is to a “smith and Jones LLC” rather than a naked lady photo.  Just saying.

Many women just love travel and that is an equal, or at least a competing component, to money.  
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For example, some women love the West Coast, or Florida, say, and would vacation to those locales anyway, so they may view it as a free vacation. They can also walk away with a few bucks to boot so they can charge less than their at home rate which may in turn increase the number of bookings.  
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The women in this line of work are not monoliths. Sure, money is a motivating factor but it doesn't always make it the only one, even in p4p, for every single girl. There are other considerations at times.

I've touched upon this in some of my old posts. Here's one:
http://www.theeroticreview.com/discussion-boards/ter-general-board-12/market-research-and-more-1002525
"... I also bring up the Q about the goal of any given tour. Some Providers NEED to do much better than break even in order to call it a success. Some are happy if they break even (plus or minus a small amount). Some just love to travel, see new places, visit museums or see the architecture or go whale watching, and if they have an appointment or two it helps to defray their costs, even if they end up spending more than they earn.  ..."
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Summary of touring goals:
1. Have fun! Be happy! Maybe not cover all expenses.
2. Have fun! Be happy! Break even, or close to it.
3. Have fun! Be happy! But MUST show a profit; it's a biz; need the money or the trip is a failure.

It forces the gal to not give her all during the sessions. Has to save for the high repeat nature of having to pay for the touring.  

A provider’s touring rate should be based on the market rate, not her costs. For example, if a provider can get $500 per hour in Milwaukee, but based on her looks and service she can get $700 an hour in LA, then if she tours to LA she should charge $700 per hour! The decision of whether or not to tour in L A is a different one. If the provider calculates expenses to tour in LA and determines that she needs to charge $1,000 per hour in LA (her market price is $700) to make her desired profit, don’t tour in LA since she won’t get bookings there. If she can get $600 in Chicago and it will be profitable then go there. Ideally she doesn’t have five different rates on tours. So pick a few cities to go to where you can be profitable and charge the same rate. I know providers who charge more than their home rate when they come to LA, and I will pay if I think their rate is fair for the LA market.

It doesn't force anything. Why would it???