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Cerb is a God send to us companions and Sp's alike...I'm not sure if you gentlemen realize this or not but in order for us to advertise on other sites we have to pay...not just pay to advertise but pay to be degraded,insulted and more. Sure there are lots of decent guys that maybe on those sites but they i think sometimes are afraid to say anything as they might get bashed. I did however have one positive on another Canadian board where someone was saying some BS about me and the guys that knew me all spoke up...it made me feel wonderful...but i decided not to use these other boards anymore...I'm on strike...lol....why a person pays to be treated like crap is beyond me. One would think that if you have to pay to be on a site that one can decide whether or not she has a say in what people say about them....so thank you Mod. kisses and hugs, Emma ps-i like the word recommendation much better then review...another plus

This a rant about a bee that sits in my bonnet and it's about time it got put out there. I have just heard from yet another Indie SP who is coming to Ottawa for a visit because she has been asked and encouraged. Now that her travel date is almost here, she has had numerous cancellations. This is a standard MO for Ottawa, I have spoken with agency managers and indies alike and they tell the same tale. The plans are made, the hotel deposits paid, flights paid for and then the cancellations start to come in and the inevitable no shows happen. The visits are seldom truly profitable, and it leaves a bitter taste on the tongue. So I will take a moment and break down the costs of a trip so it is understood what is involved when an SP takes on a trip... 1. Travel - if an SP is flying one will spend about $1000 for flight, extra bags, taxi etc. 2. Hotel - even a good deal online will run about $140 a night for a decent hotel so for week it will be a financial committment of another $1000. 3. On top of that there are the incidentals, food, refreshments for guests, and a number of other little niceties and toys that are expected which add up to about $250 for the week. That is a bare minimum of $2250 outlayed to "come for a visit". At $250 a visit, that is 9 appointments for the week just to break even. If we stay put, we don't spend that time, money and effort and will still be able to service our established guests. When an SP makes a committment to travel she is putting her money on the line upfront, and I think that it's about time people realized that. Ottawa had a longstanding reputation as being the "cancellation capital" and girls didn't like to visit because of it. The Ottawa market is now seen as "hot" because of the activity on CERB and the quality of the regular posters. This can be misleading because there are only so many appointments to be had with the local hobbiests and the behind the scenes communication shows that guests are making appointments ahead of time with an SP only to change and book with another SP just prior to the intended arrival of the first SP. I realize that everyone has the choice of who to spend their hard earned dollars with, but please show some integrity and when you book with someone try to follow thru, don't cancel on a whim. It gives Ottawa a bad reputation that it doesn't deserve. The time will come when quality SPs will again avoid Ottawa, and that would be a shame because it is a great city full of great people.... Catherine

The only incurable STD besides HIV??? I didn't say that... I should not have to tell you this but you really need to do your homework. You obviously have concerns about heath risks and you obviously have not educated yourself in regards to these risks adequately - this is not wise and it makes me shake my head at you. Herpes and Aids are both incurable and condom use does help ... but they are not the only STD/STI's that are incurable and you are forgetting two that are much worse!! Your forgetting about Hepatitis (Also can kill you) and Genital warts (HPV) that doesn't really kill but has no cure and apparently it can also cause certain cancers from what I have read and well.. the HPV doesn't kill you but Cancer can. Luckily a condom is about 98% safe to protect you from Hep! If your not going to educate yourself internet porn is probably a good place to go back to as many people only use the computer and internet for that purpose... but .... if you want to smarten up you could use the internet for something better than porn and research some STD's / STI's and educate yourself.

Dear Emma A, Born in Montreal and now in Ottawa, the language barrier is on the other side for me. I find English people in Ottawa quite cool. My big French accent when I speak English seems not to bother anyone, and sometimes is considered sexy ! For sure, some people are intolerant and dont give a chance to anybody different; in every culture bad people remains bad people ( and I am polite !;-)); it's universal. But in any culture, to try to understand eachother and to make some effort to learn from the others is the key to live together in harmony. You want to learn and are open to new things, then you are in the right track. (as you can see, I even have an accent, when I write.:lol:) But French is not only a nice language to learn, it has have many good thing to offer: "French Fries", but also LFK, and DFK. Ooh la la... :p

I realize that cancellations and no-shows happen on both sides. This thread was intended to bring to light the challenges a travelling SP faces. I realize life happens, and I have never implemented a cancellation fee in Ottawa because when my guests have to cancel it is almost always a reschedule and it rarely happens. But I have the luxury of it being my home town, I have a location and my overhead is controlled. The summer of '05 I toured. I spent 3 months on the road in Ontario, planned the trip to the finest detail and came home with a grand total of $1200 net profit for three months work. Most of that came from quick trips back to Ottawa. I would have 25 appointments for a week in a city and 5 would show. Those that did show often wanted to negotiate my rate that had already been lowered to $250 for 2 hours and I had several that walked without paying. So I made $10 per day for the summer. I didn't add in the expense of advertising which required print ads and that was an added expense that actually put trip into the negative. Very disheartening, and I decided not to take the travel route again. I will never "tour". I came home exhausted, demoralized and it was the reason I pulled my ads across the board. I did not have the sparkle or the strength to meet anyone new. I simply maintained the guests I had in Ottawa and did not entertain any new clients. The issue at hand is the expense incurred. Growing up I had it drilled into my head that if something doesn't start well, it probably won't end well. When I see someone like Emma, who seems to share my committment to this as a profession and is so well liked by those that see her, my frustration with the situation comes to the surface. I would like to see the SP's that take this seriously be taken seriously. This thread wasn't directed at the gentlemen whose conduct is governed with integrity, it was for those that fail to realize their behavior has long term consequences on an SP's decision making process. For all those who weighed in...thank you! Catherine

I'm with some of the others, I will only book if I'm 99% sure I can be there. I've only had to cancel once, and even then I made sure the lovely lady received full payment because I didn't give her any notice at all. It's just the right thing to do when you care about a girl you're going to see. Actually, it's the right thing to do when you care about YOURSELF, because who wants to be blacklisted?