Dancer Fees ?

$35-40 house fee....20% tip out at Cheetahs. Probably the best deal in town for the girls

"... 20% tip out ..."

Is that 20% off all they make in addition to the $35/$40? Or 20% in some clubs and $35/$40 in other clubs?

35-40 is the buy in, the girls keep 80% of their dance money

I'll guess the 20% is the $5 they pay for each $25 LD they do. To pay out an additional 5% would be insane.

A fellow TUSCLer just told me that Follies just raised their tip out to $65. I'm not sure if that includes the house mom and DJ. Probably not. So it's probably another $20 on top of that.

They do keep all of their dance and VIP money.

@ mikey:

How much are the dances at the club you mention?

$20....100 for 5 in VIP. They advertise $10 dances, but the girls tell the guys they're air dances, so guys go for the 20. And of course some girls make deals, tip out is the same tho. Tip out covers everyone.

Papi,

My last fave at Stir said she paid 20% of the $25 dance price. I always covered the tip out for her. I don't know of any other fees.

Well the $20 "keep the bouncer looking the other way " fee. :)

It has been awhile since I had this conversation with one of my former favs...
At the particular rural PA club in question:

There was a house fee to work that varied depending on the shift and day. It could be $0 if starting before 6pm on some days and $40+ weekend nights.

Dancers could keep 'all' of their stage tips by were expected to tip the bouncers, doorman, and DJ a cut. Will all the hands that need a tip it could easily be 20%+.

The house took 50% of all lap dance and rooms. Girl keep anything you tipped her in addition to the base cost of the LD or room. (and that was for very strictly enforced one-way contact dances.)

“… the house took 50% of all lap dance and rooms …”

Damn – that sounds pretty extreme – but I def believe it.

That sucks for both the dancer and the custy – dancer busts her ass and only gets half and this also makes the dances more costly for the custy b/c of the high club cut.

“… but here's the kicker, there's a fine for not working Monday, $120, $150 …”

This sort of BS is why a whole bunch of clubs are getting sued by dancers and former dancers – would not be surprised if this club gets hit w/ a lawsuit if they are indeed currently doing this.

^ damn - that's interesting

Shadow, that is consistent w/ what I've been told re Follies. One of my favorites that left, liked to get there by noon because the fee was a bit cheaper.

It's a subject I tend to chat about pretty frequently. Most of the clubs around here have complex systems that seem to be wildly diverse.

For example, girls there when the club opens and/or an hour before the "shift change" often pay no or negligible house fee's but coming in 2-4 hours into a shift can cost $10-$75. Some clubs will waive the fee if the dancer does enough dances. Some clubs actually have shift pay, in some cases they get it for showing up but in others its attached to a dance quota's. Almost all clubs seem to charge more for premium shifts; Sat night might cost $75 but they might pay a shift fee for coming in on Monday. Then there's other stuff they pay, some places rent lockers daily/weekly/monthly while others don't charge. House Mom's are apparently the same, some have to be tipped others just sell shit and are paid partially by the club.

Its a bit of a generalization and based on the extremely shaky foundation of stripper sourced data, but it seems to be about 25% of typical gross goes to fee's/tipouts/etc. The catch is, I really doubt this includes "extra" money since its a topic that almost always comes up with multiple strippers around and very few of the ones I talk to are open about that stuff in front of each other.

Like Dolfan, the clubs I frequent all are different, and unless they are part of a chain outfit (like Rhino's or Vu's) they each have their own systems in place. It averages anywhere from 40 - 55% tip out per dance to the house, and many clubs tack on additional separate tip outs to staff & security. A few clubs, like Bare Elegance LAX, will pay dancers to walk around nude or topless. Other clubs make any dancer who doesn't want to dance onstage pay out more. It varies quite a bit from club to club.

Every club is different. Dancers are often guarded about this info. Some exaggerate if they think you'll tip better. Some worry you'll be pissed and not want to come back.

^ yeah; it does seem to be kinda personal info and why I’m often a bit leery of asking dancers about this

Seattle is among the most expensive places for dancers to work (although I've heard that other metro areas are narrowing the gap).

The fees at my club range from $100-150 per shift plus we have a drink quota to meet. No drinks at shift end equates to another $36. In addition, we tip the bar staff approx. 10% (net-after payouts to the club).

The club across town charges $130 flat fee. I'm not sure about the Deja Vu's.

Most clubs also make you sign an IOU if you can't (or won't-in some devious girls cases) pay and run a balance. If you become more of a liability than an asset, then you are gone.

I've seen more dancers leave because they owe too much, while disruptive problem children are allowed to stay on because they pay their house fees.

Yes, I do have an idea of dancer fees and tip outs at the club.

Wait, mikey, you're in San Diego too?

The house fee varies depending when a girl signs in. Day shift pays less, with before noon paying the least. Basically it creeps up all day until 10, but the big jumps are 4 pm and 10 pm.

Management changes around 8. Girls who do swing shift have to tip out twice. Because it's a percent it's the same money split, but it's something they have to remember and get hassled about.

The clubs I visit have the DJ collect the house fees. Never really understood why that would be the DJ's job... But that's the way it is by me.

Fees include: $ for the house, $ for the house mom, $ for the bartenders/bar backs, $ for the bouncers, $ for the DJ, $ for the front coat check/receptionist girl....
Most girls I know pay $100 or so for the fees.
In addition, there can be late fees of $20 or so for every hour the girls are late for a 12pm to 7pm shift for example.
In addition, it's up to management to decide if fees get imposed or not. For example, if it's slow and a girl doesn't do any dances, the fees or a portion might be waived for the day/night. So it can vary a lot as to what the girls have to pay from one day to the next.

Strippers at PP Cola have told me they have been leaving the club in the red lately.

At my fav Baltimore club dancers pay $10 out of each $30 dance they sell. Same on 2-4-1 Wednesdays. The club collects $60 for a 20 minute room and dancers negotiate their part directly with the customer and keep it all. Before the major high-dollar rental girls kept everything after five dances but that has gone by the board.

There is also a tip out of about $20 per shift that goes to bartenders, bouncers and DJs.

Club I visited yesterday charges $40-50 depending on shift and regularity. One dancer claims she also dances at Flight Club where fees range from $120-200. She claimed she still made good money there but the risk of walking our with nothing made the Hot Spot a better deal for her.

Follies hasn't raised their dancer fees or tipouts for the day shift recently.

Minimum is $55:
$30 to housemom
$10 to bouncers
$5 to the bar
$10 to the DJ (Supposed to be 10% of what they make, but usually not)
Plus, $10 extra for each hour they are late
$20 for leaving early

On Fridays, they pay the housemom an extra $10 to cover the 2nd drink ticket they give out on Fridays only. This may be why in Rentz2's review of a Friday visit some strippers complained to him that fees had gone up. I take it that's what Shadowcat is referring to.

I don't know whether it's different for mid-shift or night shift dancers.

One I go to most, $20 to club house fee & $5 per VIP dance (dances are $20). If there is a DJ on (usually after 9), $10 to him. Although not required, they usually throw a few bucks at the barmaid if their having a good night.