Grazia magazine about special professions such as running an escort agency

On November 17th, Grazia magazine published a triptych about women with special professions. In this Marike is interviewed, owner of this high-end escort service. She tells what it is like to run a high-end escort service and how others react to this. The original article was published in Dutch but below you can find an English translation.

EH, WHAT DO YOU DO?

When Marike, Renée and Romee tell us what kind of work they do, they often get surprised reactions. Understandable, because you don't often come across working in the world of roller coasters, major lawsuits and the high-end escort service. Marike (37) started a high-end escort service fifteen years ago as a student. She has a turnover of a few million every year. “The starting rate starts at 700 euros, but can easily go up to 10,000 euros. So I think you can certainly expect something from that.'

MARIKE: “I was 21 years old when I started a high-end escort service with a fellow university student. We were both still studying: I international business administration, she sociology. Because she also worked as a model and regularly received dishonorable proposals, she came up with the idea. What if we set up an escort service, where we really offered the complete picture? So higher educated women who not only looked beautiful, but also had something to say and who you as a customer could really go on a full-fledged date with. Although sex would eventually take place, that shouldn't be the most important thing. There were already enough other escort agencies for that and that was not our market.

We set to work enthusiastically. With an investment of a few thousand euros, we started Society Service, a high-end escort service. We applied for an operating license to run a sex business and had a beautiful site made. The first escorts then applied to work with us. We didn't have an office. I lived in a dorm room and my business partner still lived with her parents, so we arranged everything by phone or online. For business appointments, we went to the lobby of a posh hotel. We soon managed to gain worldwide fame with our company. For example, we came up with the 'Virgin Experience', a service for male virgins from the age of 21 who learn how to interact with women, both socially and sexually. We now also offer this service for women, but at the time this idea was so progressive that even foreign press wrote about it.”

Clear screening at my escortservice

“Because at some point my business partner and I got a different view of our business operations, after two years we parted ways. I bought her out and she started a new escort service for herself. In the meantime, I continued to work on the growth of my company. Without having to put in much effort, I received many applications from women who wanted to work with me. Most were beautiful to look at, but what I was most interested in was why they wanted to do the work. What did they like about it and what were their expectations? By having good and clear conversations, I was able to choose the right women who really suited my company. And actually I still do it that way. 

I want the very best for my clients. The starting rate for a booking starts at 700 euros, but can easily go up to 10,000 euros. So I think you can certainly expect something in return for that. And vice versa: not everyone can just book an escort or gigolo through us. The safety of my escorts is paramount. It is often thought that they always go out with a security guard, but that is not the case. By conducting a good telephone screening beforehand, we as an agency ensure that we know exactly what kind of customers we are dealing with. If it turns out that someone is only looking for sex and interesting positions, we kindly refer them to another escort agency. Another way to protect our escorts is that we always have telephone contact just before and after the booking.

In the fifteen years that I have run my business, there has never been an incident. Not even with other high-end escort agencies, by the way… I really love my job. It's fun, challenging and I have a turnover of a few million every year. The only thing I can't get used to is the question of whether I also have experience with this work. Is that important, I wonder? Do you really have such prior experience to be a good manager in this business? I don't think so, but opinions are quite divided on that. The most important thing for me is that I am proud of what I do. And I am, for the full one hundred percent!”