Russian ****** scam

[katie.]

Good to hear that you like to keep them moist, Denver!!
There would be few things worse than a dried out Ruskie!!!!

 

[azninvasion]

Well said :great:

 

[Mummy_to_one_and_bump]

Probably 3k – clearly the place has standards to maintain.
I originally thought "joiner fees" was about deterring unsavoury behaviour in family orientated hotels etc - then my very first night in Bangkok, reception explained 500 baht joiner fee or 500 baht "call-in" fee if I waned the hotel to send a girl to my room - realised it was just about getting a $$$ cut of the action.

As scams go - hey, I like it. What newbie is going to stand there in the foyer of the hotel, with his bags packed and his taxi waiting and dispute that charge. Excellent.

 

[Sierra]

You mean Le Meridien on the way to Karon ??

The Royal owned place ?? Thats a shocker.

 

[James1343]

A couple of things don't make sense to me:

1) The hotel in question (upmarket and Royal connection) is allowing Russian ******s to openly ply their trade at the pool.

2) The guy does not pay anything direct to the girl.

Maybe I have missed something?

 

[Kass86]

Of course theres always a cost benefit an@lysis.. I think the point JB's tryng to make is that the added cost doesnt equal added benefit as its the actual massage that counts and he doesnt think that gets better the higher up the price chain, I personally doubt that but I am not much of a massage connoisseur so not equipped to comment.

Even if that were the case theres also the aspect of convenience (its right there next to your nice hotel room and pool) and the added pampering (robes, spa surrounds etc). It takes an awful lot of marketing to spin a fugazi at Harry Winstone prices, I guess it happens sometimes but not often.

 

[Rik]

I thought I had heard a few years ago that an "extra guest" was 1500, so a bump up in price wouldn't surprise me. What I want to know is who is watching someone sitting at the pool take a girl up to the room, and then this charge actually making it to the bill.

 

[Mister Diddlez]

The staff serving around the pool I would guess. Yes it's Le Meridien down the hill from the Safari Pub on the way to Karon.

 

[England Sadness]

Paul they will visit your room or apartment for 500 baht an hour, then 300 baht thereafter, how can 2k be okay? cos its on a non-descript beach nearish to Tong with Russian bints around the pool?

 

[Shazz]

Actually, I believe the robot's line was: "Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!" Accompanied by the appropriate arm-waving, of course.

 

[bethxx]

"Yesh! Wheresh Mish Funnyfanny?"

That's not my Sean Connery. I've had 23 tins of Archas! 55555

Petter started it! ut:

 

[HaNnAh <3]

The girl, obviously. She wants her pay.

 

[Navi]

Assuming she was getting paid in cash from the punter..

If a royal owned hotel was taking ****** money for P4P I would be stunned.

 

[Eric L]

Not really, mostly its supply and demand, the 5k diamond is 5k because of its rarity, same goes for rare art etc...

If you are a billionaire you don't want a fake rembrandt painting sitting on a wall, or your wife to be wearing fake or grown emeralds just because you save a little cash. You don't care if most people or even everyone without a magnifying glass couldn't tell, you would know.

In terms of the massage girl, if she's giving the best massage ever then she should be working somewhere making decent money and I still think that the bathing in flowers, relaxing music and look and feel of a spa is worth much more to me than a dingy little place with a dividing curtain.

 

[Zhuge Liang]

Le Meridien is 3-15,000 baht a night, a 3k joiner fee is not a big deal to those guests I would think.

 

[HARP DADDY]

be nice explaining that one away to the wife...who was having a full massage and pedicure at the time....on check out 555

 

[The Manipulator]

because they have very nice rooms, with soothing music
i would much prefer to pay the 2k when i am in the mood for a complete/spa setting
we get massages at JW Marriott whenever we stay there. the setting is fantastic, you then have use of the steam/sauna. dip in the pool. not have to treck home after being totally relaxed
its the whole package i am talking about

i enjoy a foot massage at any run of the mill massage shop but when i am really in the mood, would prefer the whole spa treatment and at 60cad, way cheaper than the 150-160 at the hotel i stayed at NYC last week

and i think it is quite worth it and actually, one of the last things that i feel has actually held it's value vs west since I 1st started visiting Thailand

 

[John Dough]

Well I'm going to test the theory and go and sit by the pool on my next trip.

When a ruski brass comes up and asks to come to my loom I shall have a motorbike taxi waiting outside and take her straight to a ST room off bangala and see if I get it for free then.

 

[Rock on mofo]

What's wrong with a person doing something once in awhile, because it gives them a bit of an ego boost. IMHO, most people enjoy a good ego boost once in awhile. Nothing wrong with that. Why do you put a negative judgment on it?

 

[Whitney O]

Does not really compute with me either. As far as I know, the Meridien security guards are very strict with not letting outsiders onto the property. Would very much doubt they would let (repeat) blonde Russkis from the bungalows on the access road enter at will.

Then again, had a gym membership card there a few years ago and was given full access to the pool and beach. It cost 20K a year back then. I guess --- provided this has not changed much --- that about 2K a month could be affordable for the gals to use as a pick-up place. Under the pretext of using the facilities of course. The place was crawling with high-rolling Russians even then.



Of course, in order for it to work the gals would have to be paid in one way or another. Think there is more to this story…

But if the staff is lenient --- and collecting only JFs (as they where in fact taking outsiders to the room) --- I don’t doubt that the gals could operate with a decent profit even if they let the prospecting customers know their true profession. At one point or another.

EDIT: Would even be plausible that the gals did not ask for money directly, but instead expecting gifts or trips or whatnots from the "customers". Quite a few Thais have been known to follow that MO. GFE Russki style?