Dancers living in hotels

37 comments

• steeldog65

  •

  5 years ago

  Yes, I've seen it too. And I think it's quite sad. If they have children, is even worse. So many of the large real estate companies that control the apartments have the ability to freeze people out if they don't have good credit or backgrounds or normal jobs. It's an issue that I don't see going away
• bubba267

  •

  5 years ago

  Not seen it a lot but have run across that on occasion. Agreed that it is tremendously sad. It is one of the biggest down signs to being an entertainer.... lack a of credit history, proof of income etc.
• 623

  •

  5 years ago

  As a landlord who has rented to strippers before, I get it. They are not the most reliable rent payers nor do they have a track record of cleanliness or caring for a property. Put me in the never again column.
• pistola

  •

  5 years ago

  Yep. What these gals need to do is stop getting impregnated and having babies with deadbeats.
• steeldog65

  •

  5 years ago

  I certainly won't argue that they are in general bad risks as a population. But it's still sad to see it and know that their decisions that they have made, relatively poor ones at that, have put them in this position.
• nicespice

  •

  5 years ago

  I don’t think being without a full kitchen is a big deal. At least, not for certain personalities. There is an old blog written by a stripper about her life living in a minivan. She made her meals by using 12 volt appliances (the same ones truckers use). And her lack of being “tied down” allowed her huge advantages for travel dancing. [view link] Even without that type of extreme minimalism, however, extended stay hotels/Airbnbs also allows similar advantages. As far as I’m concerned, why not take advantage of the mobility? I could understand for the addict dependent on her dealer, but then I’d judge the addiction as the tragedy rather than the living situation. ...But if children are involved, then I’d agree about the circumstances being sad.
• whodey

  •

  5 years ago

  My ATF lived at an extended stay hotel for the whole 3 years I saw her OTC but it was by her choice. It had a small kitchenette and was actually pretty nice. She told me at $225/week it was cheaper and more convenient than a 1 bedroom apartment. She said ahe had been paying $675 for a decent 1 bedroom apartment plus $150 for cable, internet and phone and $100 or more for electric depending on heating/ac usage. That all added up to $925+/month for the apartment vs $900 for the hotel. Not much difference but still adds up especially during really hot/cold months where the electric could be closer to $150. The hotel was also more convenient because it had a parking lot instead of her apartment's on street parking, was less than a mile from her club, had housekeeping services and a pool. I wouldn't want to live that way for a long period, but at least her logic was relatively sound. What I always wondered but never asked her was how she could get a drivers license with a hotel for her permenant address?
• shadowcat

  •

  5 years ago

  When I used to club in Columbia SC, I saw it a lot at the Extended Stay America. Sometimes I never made it to the club. :) In Atlanta I don't see it too often. Usually out of towners just here for a short visit.
• JamesSD

  •

  5 years ago

  Living in a tourist town there just aren't that many affordable short term rentals. It's more common for strippers, who don't deal with commute traffic, to live in the boonies. In fact, in San Diego most white strippers live in East county, most Latinas just north of the Mexican border.
• Warrenboy75

  •

  5 years ago

  I've seen it before. Especially if they don't want to work where they live. There were a few girls that kept their apartments in the Cleveland area but also rented hotel rooms in Detroit a few years ago. At first it seems like a good idea until they end up staying longer and longer where they work to make ends meet. It is a very poor quality of life if done for any period of time. And Shadowcat is right Extended Stay America is one of the places they tend to use.
• JeffTUSCL

  •

  5 years ago

  Landlords and property managers want people who can reliably pay the rent. A credit check and some proof of job history and current employment are the 2 most accurate ways to verify that. A criminal background check also ensures the safety of other residents and another indicator of reliability. If strippers have an issue, nothing is stopping them from: Reporting all their income, and working up to have 2 solid years in tax filings to show income. If they don't have W-2s to show they can at least save their 1099. They can also stay away from drugs by choice and avoid criminal records. I don't have a violin small enough for this topic. If you're so concerned about them, pay their rent.
• flagooner

  •

  5 years ago

  " And when they do find an independent landlord who will rent to them, they have to come up with security and often last month's rent. " And a blow job.
• Subraman

  •

  5 years ago

  Hotels are way too expensive here now; used to hear about that 10-15 years ago
• rickdugan

  •

  5 years ago

  Jeff, that was equal parts arrogant and heartless. Should a 22 year old girl be homeless for months or years just because she made a bad choice at some point? And I'm not talking about murder or some other heinous act.
• WILLYSGOTAWOMAN

  •

  5 years ago

  def sad. this is why my lapdance money is well spent. those ladies need it. what can i say, i'm a good guy.
• Warrenboy75

  •

  5 years ago

  @ Subraman you can get a room at an Extended Stay just outside of LA for 109.00 a night or basically one stage dance and four private dances........( I know....I know too much for my own good sometimes) Unless the girl is so ugly she gets 7 years bad luck for every mirror she looks in staying in one is possible.
• Papi_Chulo

  •

  5 years ago

  Definitely beats being on the street - not that hard to find an affordable hotel that has a small kitchen and a full-sized fridge - for a single-person is not that big a deal, but with kids it's more problematic
• twentyfive

  •

  5 years ago

  @nicespice >I don’t think being without a full kitchen is a big deal. At least, not for certain personalities< Make me a damn sammich;)
• jackslash

  •

  5 years ago

  I've seen it. Sometimes the dancer has kids and a drug-addicted boyfriend with her. The motels they live in are usually nasty-looking properties in bad areas, and the other guests are drunks, druggies and other undesirables.
• flagooner

  •

  5 years ago

  Earl lived in a motel.
• twentyfive

  •

  5 years ago

  ^Juice lives in a van by the river ;))
• steeldog65

  •

  5 years ago

  If someone chooses to live in one for whatever that's fine. I'm just thinking if you have kids and they are living in that situation that's tough. Most the time there is only 1 other Room/bedroom if any, that's hard on kids.
• Papi_Chulo

  •

  5 years ago

  I don't kids, more specifically small kids, really notice or know it's not normal
• Papi_Chulo

  •

  5 years ago

  Rents have skyrocketed in many areas especially with a lot of people that lost their houses in the recession increasing the # of renters and lowering the supply - seems it used to be much more common to find affordable apartments in the past - a big issue with renting hotel rooms indefinitely is that it's usually even more costly than an apt (unless those extended stay places have reasonable monthly rates)
• grand1511

  •

  5 years ago

  A movie out about a year ago, "The Florida Project," focuses on this. It's a fictional story based on true events. The main character is an addicted single mom who dances, tricks, hustles to keep living a day-by-day existence. Really felt sorry for the young kids who have to grow up fast in those conditions.
• georgmicrodong

  •

  5 years ago

  @twentyfive: “Make me a damn sammich;)” If she can walk to the kitchen, you don’t deserve a sandwich. :)
• gawker

  •

  5 years ago

  More years ago than I want to admit I was a landlord. I bought a 5 family about 3 doors down from a bar/strip lib. I inherited the renters from the seller and there was one 3 bedroom apartment with a man & a woman and 3 pre-school kids. A week after the sale the husband took off and the wife started dancing. Then she got into coke, stopped paying rent and social services got involved It was around February when I started looking at eviction, but no judge in Mass. is going to put a woman and 3 kids on the street in a Northeast winter. Ended up paying her $1500 to move to a shelter. Despite rumors to the contrary, I’m not a social worker. Every new tenant after that had a credit check done. Even then, it’s still a miserable way to make money. A friend’s brother & his wife rented a completely rehabbed one bedroom. When they moved the place smelled. Ended up ripping out the carpet and the brand new plywood underlayment showed everywhere their dog crapped and peed. Varnish & paint on the plywood, then new wall to wall. You can’t win.
• nicespice

  •

  5 years ago

  @25 make you a sandwich? Odd request, but alright. When I see you at Tootsies next week, I’ll try to remember to bring two slices of bread and attach them to your ears. xD
• twentyfive

  •

  5 years ago

  ^ Rye please ;)
• rickdugan

  •

  5 years ago

  grand posted: "A movie out about a year ago, "The Florida Project," focuses on this. It's a fictional story based on true events. The main character is an addicted single mom who dances, tricks, hustles to keep living a day-by-day existence. " This movie is currently on Amazon Prime and I got curious enough to watch it, though I fast forwarded through a lot of the extended stretches of the kids playing and talking. The mother did not paint a very sympathetic figure in this one. I was actually happy when DCF showed up to take the kid away.
• JeffTUSCL

  •

  5 years ago

  >>> "Jeff, that was equal parts arrogant and heartless. Should a 22 year old girl be homeless for months or years just because she made a bad choice at some point? And I'm not talking about murder or some other heinous act." We're all accountable for our decisions. Why does a dancer deserve any more pity or charity than the next human being? These girls mean more to you because you're a customer of theirs and feel a connection to that kind of lifestyle, but significantly more people end up with hardships in life due to forces outside their control. The weather, the economy, a disaster, being victims of a crime, or illness. Having a child: a decision Doing drugs: a decision Choosing to strip instead of a regular job: a decision Hanging around shady people: a decision Not educating oneself: a decision
• flagooner

  •

  5 years ago

  ^ Good point. But I'm shallow.
• IceyLoco

  •

  5 years ago

  They don't have paychecks to prove they have a steady income, so its hard to rent an apartment unless its with someone who has pay stubs and shit to show. So a lot stay in weekly rentals or long stay hotels/motels.
• Lovelyeast

  •

  5 years ago

  Honestly even with kids unless they’re a 5 below a dancer could make money to get a place. It takes discipline and treating dancing like a Job. Unless she’s a drug addict it would be hard. When I came back to New York I was homeless for a week, stayed in hotel. After that I saved up for a room. 4 months later I had saved up for a place. Yes landlords turned me down but I gave two months and security and one said yes. Money talks. If I had to save up for 5 months I would have. Nothing beats your own. I think they want to live that way. It’s called having a proverty mentality.
• rickdugan

  •

  5 years ago

  Bharlem, things are a little different down here. Frankly it's the reason that I said in another thread that you should stay put if possible. Money is easier to come by up there and so too is housing for dancers since more apartments are run by independents.
• April9424

  •

  5 years ago

  what area is that? is it an affluent area? i admit my credit isn't good but i've always been able to sign a lease without an issue. both with roomates and my own place, in cities where rent is high, just with a letter from the club stating how much i make. granted i have never been evicted or anything like that so maybe that's what happened to them to make it impossible to rent. btw +1 to grand15 for The Florida Project reference, it is about this exact topic and an amazing movie. most girls i've known who lived in motels fit the stereotype they portray in it, sadly
• April9424

  •

  5 years ago

  what area is that? is it an affluent area? i admit my credit isn't good but i've always been able to sign a lease without an issue. both with roomates and my own place, in cities where rent is high, just with a letter from the club stating how much i make. granted i have never been evicted or anything like that so maybe that's what happened to them to make it impossible to rent. btw +1 to grand15 for The Florida Project reference, it is about this exact topic and an amazing movie. most girls i've known who lived in motels fit the stereotype they portray in it, sadly