I asked a provider for a 4 hour date with dinner.  I was visiting town and I told her where I will be staying and we discussed dinner options.  Then I asked her what she wants for her time.  She asked me what is my budget and what sounds reasonable.  

Some of us are only human and we desire genuine connections and hate miss out on making a new friend based on rates. If I have good vibes 😎 from the first initial contact you can usually tell, and if they subscribe to my of it’s official they’re a real fan. I have friend who don’t pay my advertised prices. I prefer longer dates. There is nothing better, than knowing your time is valued and you’re going to be wined and dined. No one wants to be lonely. Who doesn’t want to invest in a date that you know for sure is going to end with tasting the rainbow, or opening Pandora’s box? 😈😻

they all should have clear rates for their time

I have not had this exact scenario happen, but I have had a few ladies adjust their rates for me based on the amount of time or activities.
Does she have a website and did you check it for her rates? Or check with other reviewers for a similar situation?  
If she does post her rates then I would offer something reasonable, close to her rates, and see what she says.  Obviously low-balling would be insulting and I would avoid that.

had their rates posted on their website.  Some will say to inquire about extended engagements of more than 12 hours or more, but four hours is usually within their published rate schedule.  I would never ask unless she does NOT have a website or a TER profile listing her rates.  

It looks like she is giving you an opportunity to "deviate" somewhat from her normally posted hourly rate.

Rates should be posted on the website. No dickering or negotiating period.

I recently had a provider ask the same question. The provider did have published rates. I replied, is't $XXX your rate? The provider said yes, and we were good.

Is reasonable to me for 4 hours with dinner.

I hate being asked that question. If I'm buying a car, a bicycle or a new pair of shoes, if the salesperson asks that question, I find someone else. I feel I'm being asked to bid against myself.  

Perhaps.  She has a three hour rate but not four.  Rather than speculate, I asked.  And every time I've done this I got a straight response.  

Website was somewhat ambiguous, 3 hour rate but not 4.  I usually ask in that case but I've always gotten a straight response.

She knows they'll be public time and not a 4 hour pound fest. If it was she'd have said her hour rate times 4. Maybe minus a slight discount. BUT...It'd help me if I knew who the girl is, her ad, is she reviewed and you did discuss a dinner meet and so forth. How was the vibe leading up to this?
And yes in a way I have come across this. I just tell them "help me help you" and I'll say something to the affect of "I want you to be comfortable with our meet so you tell me"...or something along those lines.
But in my world, have done it with first meets and if it works, it works. If it doesn't...c'est la vie

She has good reviews.  But I've never been asked for a budget.  Usually the quote me a rate and I accept it or move on.

I've never felt comfortable recommending a price.  I prefer the provider do so that way they know their getting what they want.  I don't want to be presumptuous.

How do you teach someone to negotiate?  Start low, but not real low, and see how she responds.  I'm guessing you're paying for the dinner and she has to eat.  She's probably new.  Good for you.  My dinner date wasn't as good as the sex.  HA!

Oh, I'm with you. I fully expect the provider to set the rate. I never try to haggle either. But if she has no set rate and asks me, I will answer within reason and ask her if it's okay with her. I wouldn't low ball. That's why I said I would look up what others in her range are charging for 4 hours. But I get it if you don't feel comfortable even after she asked.

What are your dinner "options" you discussed and does a great dinner mean anything to her?

If so you might consider how much public time and how much private time you're expecting and then think about what you think a reasonable discount for the public time might be. She may disagree but seems like she open to discussing total cost based on the activities (plus you're buying dinner, and possibly transportation). Of course, if that is the prelude to a full payment up front I would tread more carefully.

You didn't really answer his question or offer advice. Your title and first sentence, in fact, are misleading because it seems like you're about to offer some advice. But then you tell this story with a very unusual situation and an unusual return. That's awesome for you and it is a nice story. But do you really think his situation is remotely similar?

developed an appreciation over time for the combination of an older gent, a gourmet meal, a fine wine, and seasoned wood, so they will go overtime with the dinner portion of the date.

I had this situation happen to me this week. The provider only listed a rate for 1 hour, I asked if she had multi-hour rates and she responded by asking me what I thought was fair. It is frustrating when it happens.

He brought up dinner, I asked if this was something she would really appreciate beyond satisfying a growling stomach with a trip to Pizza Hut...on him.  I followed this up with a story of how I knew of something of great value to my lady friend beyond money and was able to parlay a work perk into a great experience.   It's about recognizing opportunity when it presents itself.  Dinner is vague and if he thinks she will reduce her rate, he needs to know what is important to her..  It was his parameters and I had an experience that fit, so I shared.    

He said dinner date. 90% of the time, that’s a dinner that isn’t so out of the norm. The expectation is that it’s a nice spot. You responded with an extremely rare situation. TBH, sounds more like you saw an opportunity to brag and don’t really care to be helpful.

And what is a nice spot?  Is that like tickets to a NBA game or is it to the game seeing Steph Curry vs Kyrie in conference finals for an escort that's an avid fan?  If the experience is highly desirable, there should be a consideration on her part for the value the client is willing to share.

You can presumably extrapolate from her 3 hour rate. It’s a little odd, but you also don’t need to overthink it.

But that would be too easy. 🤣

A dinner date is dinner. A nice dinner spot is not an NBA game. That's adding more entertainment. Do I really need to tell what a nice restaurant is? Are you that dumb? If you want to add entertainment, she will go with you of course. In any case, if it's something unique enough that she cares about, sure you might get lucky and she might come off clock. It sounds like that what you like, free time from an escort. You prefer to not pay for their time. Got it. Nice.

you rarely get free time from providers, even though you consider it the holy grail.  You are just a hack until you have providers who text you and their opening line is, "Hey, I'm off this Friday . . . . ."  You will get more OTC action if you let them do the asking, but then you have to deliver a luxury date that is not dripping in cheapness, or it will be their only ask to you.  Snafu knows this.  A sporting event or concert where the tickets are more than she charges for a session will usually get you future invites.  

I'll break down the obvious for you.  You had stated "a nice spot" was the expectation.  My question was, what is a nice spot?  A nice spot is vague as fuck to someone who has high expectations.  Fucking Applebee's is nice to someone.  Do you think the property YOU think is a nice spot, would be considered a nice spot by everyone else?  I sure as shit can guarantee that you and I have completely different criteria that would dictate if a property is a "nice" spot.  That's what I usually say to some ignoramus inlaw that brings a bottle of Apothic Red to my house for dinner and expecting me to be impressed..."that's nice".  It's not getting served at my dinner but I might braise some short ribs with it another day.

Heshits(oncocks) is a beta, he will never understand what it is to parlay and leverage opportunity for the betterment of two different individuals.  He plays the game hoping for scraps while we eat at the head of the table that we have set.  

When you have something special, your thought is to see if an escort will join you and not charge you for her time. When I am in the same position, I have enough civie ladies in my queue that I do not need to ask an escort if my extra ticket will give me free sex. But I get it. You're the worst kind of person. So much so, that your highlight is getting a BJ and steak from a civie once. That's because ladies who don't charge don't like men like you.

So you asked the question because you think Applebees is an example of what is nice to some? Dafuq you think we're talking about some dime store crakhead street whore? Look, nothing against Applebees because its one of many cheap but edible places I have eaten at in my lifetime, but any reasonable person should never suggest it as a nice spot. I guess I do have to spell it out to you. A nice spot can range, especially in a big city, from $100-$200 meal for two (American Beauty Steakhouse, Rao's Hollywood, Matu, La Boheme, Ocean Prime, etc..) to a top spot that may cost $400+ like Polo Lounge, Nobu Malibu, or Republique. This is name dropping, but really you should know better, but that just shows you're not too smart. Applebees lmao.

On a slightly related side note, The applebees in Wausau, WI is now also an IHOP? Who else has this? I can order off BOTH menus at the same time?!? How about we sneak in a good sexual joke here? Best one wins!!!

Are you saying IHOP on Scarlette. For an hour in the back booth of Applebees and tip a basket of riblets forthe encounter.
Not really a joke but would be the talk of Wausau!

I googled it and it seems like a thing in many cities. Reminds me of the kfc/taco bell pairing back in the day.

have the same needs for a social life away from work as civvie women do, so they often look for opportunities to go out socially that is not tied to the business.  The obvious best place to look for adventurous outings is with her regular customers that she knows well.  She will start with those customers who can take them to do something that they probably would pay for on their own.  

No dumbass, it's about being able to curate a great opportunity by leveraging well earned business perks and relationships to maximize personal enjoyment.  The fee is never negotiated and is happily paid.  It's her choice to accompany me on her time and if she wants to hang longer as a form of appreciation, that's up to her but never quid pro quo.  Nobody is taking advantage of anyone.  Nor arms have been twisted.  

I haven't seen one of these, and it's a bit of a surprise. All of the iHops I have been to have a lunch and dinner menu. It seems a number of items on the menu would be in conflict.

When things get though for providers they tend to be flexible with their rates, hence asking for your budget. Would it be a "bargain" for them, just an opportunity to get some cash and not scare you away by being too pricy

I agree. It's a sleazeball question so that you name a price that is actually higher. And if you lowball they will act offended.