Balance on arrival, settled at the room door

Two payments make up most reservations here. The first, the deposit, is sent before anyone leaves for the hotel. The second is the balance, and it is handled inside the room within a minute or so of her arrival. For a reservation that carried a deposit the balance is the other half of the ladder price. Where no deposit was taken, which happens only when a known guest wants one or two hours that same day, the balance is the entire fee.

Three ways to settle it

Notes are welcome in euro, and in another major currency too, with the exact amount in that currency confirmed in writing before she sets out. A guest who has come straight from the airport with dollars, pounds or francs in his wallet does not need to find an exchange desk at eleven at night. Card is accepted too, and so is cryptocurrency. Naming your choice in the thread beforehand saves a pause at the door.

Cash has one role only: it settles the balance. It cannot stand in for a deposit, since a deposit must be in place before the therapist sets out and banknotes can only reach her once she is standing in your room.

How the halves fall

• A guest's first reservation, ninety minutes: one half sent ahead, the matching half at the door.
• Two hours for one guest looked after by a pair of therapists: half sent ahead, half at the door, divided however the guest prefers between the two.
• Two hours for a couple, each partner with a therapist: the same even split, first sent and then handed over.
• A returning guest, one hour this evening: the entire fee handed over in the room, and nothing at all sent in advance.

Settling at the beginning rather than the end is a small piece of hospitality. The practical matter is dealt with once, while everyone is still standing, and nothing about money needs to come up again before she leaves. Guests wondering whether anything beyond the fee is customary will find the local habit explained in the tipping guide. The total owed never differs from the rates on the therapist's own profile; the advance half is explained under deposit.