How to hire a stripper?
January 5, 2013 5:54 PM Subscribe
I am helping plan a bachelorette party and have some questions about the hiring of strippers. Specifically, one male and one female stripper. More specifically, in Richmond VA.
The party will be in late May, in Richmond VA. The bride-to-be has requested one male and one female stripper, and would ideally like to receive one lapdance from each and then one co-lapdance. No one involved in the planning of this has ever hired a stripper before.
Logistical hurdles:
-How to find them? No one involved in the planning lives in Richmond, so we can't go and scope people out at strip clubs. Are there legit review sites? Also, is there any way at all for us to hire both strippers at once? Are there companies who have both male and female strippers?
-The bride-to-be doesn't actually live in Richmond either- she lives out in the country and doesn't want to have the party at her house. Can we rent a hotel room and bring the stripper there? Is that too sketchy? Are there any other places we could bring them? Extremely tolerant bars with private back rooms?
-What sort of ballpark costs are we looking at here? Do you tip?
-If we must, we could always go to strip clubs instead of privately hiring strippers. What strip clubs in Richmond are decent and would be ok with a bachelorette party coming in? Are there any strip clubs there with male strippers? A gay strip club would be ok, assuming they wouldn't mind our presence.
-Since you're here already, what other fun things are there to do for a bachelorette party in Richmond?
The party will be in late May, in Richmond VA. The bride-to-be has requested one male and one female stripper, and would ideally like to receive one lapdance from each and then one co-lapdance. No one involved in the planning of this has ever hired a stripper before.
Logistical hurdles:
-How to find them? No one involved in the planning lives in Richmond, so we can't go and scope people out at strip clubs. Are there legit review sites? Also, is there any way at all for us to hire both strippers at once? Are there companies who have both male and female strippers?
-The bride-to-be doesn't actually live in Richmond either- she lives out in the country and doesn't want to have the party at her house. Can we rent a hotel room and bring the stripper there? Is that too sketchy? Are there any other places we could bring them? Extremely tolerant bars with private back rooms?
-What sort of ballpark costs are we looking at here? Do you tip?
-If we must, we could always go to strip clubs instead of privately hiring strippers. What strip clubs in Richmond are decent and would be ok with a bachelorette party coming in? Are there any strip clubs there with male strippers? A gay strip club would be ok, assuming they wouldn't mind our presence.
-Since you're here already, what other fun things are there to do for a bachelorette party in Richmond?
I think your life will be a lot easier if you have at least some assistance from someone on the ground in Richmond. Stripping/exotic dancing is such a grey area socially & (maybe) legally that I think it's very difficult to get trustworthy info via the web. I would be really leery of trying to manage a Craigslist posting from hundreds of miles away.
Example: googling "richmond strip clubs" got me this list. The reviews are all over the place, and when I checked out the website for the Paper Moon Club that's the first one listed, well, it looks nice, but it's really minimal - basically just a list of locations, with hours and directions. I really have no way to tell whether it's a classy expensive joint or a skeevy hole in the wall. As far as trusting online reviews, hey, some people like skeevy hole in the wall strip clubs - negative reviews might actually mean it's exactly the kind of place you're looking for.
Having an actual Richmond local make inquiries of friends, co-workers, etc. about strippers & strip clubs & bachelorette parties will get you better info about who's legit & who's not - this is one of those situations where I would trust the meatspace rumor mill over the intarwebs.
Hiring strippers through local clubs is definitely one way to go about finding dancers for bachelor parties. Again, though, I think better done by a local who can get better info about which clubs are straightforward and which are shady.
There are definitely companies that specialize in bachelor/bachelorette party entertainment. Often they advertise in the back of local alt weeklies or free arts monthlies. In Richmond these appear to be Style Weekly and RVA Magazine. But it doesn't look like these ads are available online, so you'd want a Richmond local to pick up physical copies of these papers.
Having said all that, by Googling "exotic dancers bachelorette party richmond va" I found HB Strippers, who look like they have both men & women dancers, and have some prices listed, and Dance Studio X, whose website is (supposedly) being relaunched, but who claim to offer room rentals & may be a source for dancers. I also found Rouge Ladies' and Gentleman's Club.
But, just to hammer home the point, I'm doing this from a city hundreds of miles away - I've seriously got no idea how legit or nice any of these places or companies are. I really think enlisting some local Richmond help will go a long way.
posted by soundguy99 at 8:09 AM on January 6, 2013
Example: googling "richmond strip clubs" got me this list. The reviews are all over the place, and when I checked out the website for the Paper Moon Club that's the first one listed, well, it looks nice, but it's really minimal - basically just a list of locations, with hours and directions. I really have no way to tell whether it's a classy expensive joint or a skeevy hole in the wall. As far as trusting online reviews, hey, some people like skeevy hole in the wall strip clubs - negative reviews might actually mean it's exactly the kind of place you're looking for.
Having an actual Richmond local make inquiries of friends, co-workers, etc. about strippers & strip clubs & bachelorette parties will get you better info about who's legit & who's not - this is one of those situations where I would trust the meatspace rumor mill over the intarwebs.
Hiring strippers through local clubs is definitely one way to go about finding dancers for bachelor parties. Again, though, I think better done by a local who can get better info about which clubs are straightforward and which are shady.
There are definitely companies that specialize in bachelor/bachelorette party entertainment. Often they advertise in the back of local alt weeklies or free arts monthlies. In Richmond these appear to be Style Weekly and RVA Magazine. But it doesn't look like these ads are available online, so you'd want a Richmond local to pick up physical copies of these papers.
Having said all that, by Googling "exotic dancers bachelorette party richmond va" I found HB Strippers, who look like they have both men & women dancers, and have some prices listed, and Dance Studio X, whose website is (supposedly) being relaunched, but who claim to offer room rentals & may be a source for dancers. I also found Rouge Ladies' and Gentleman's Club.
But, just to hammer home the point, I'm doing this from a city hundreds of miles away - I've seriously got no idea how legit or nice any of these places or companies are. I really think enlisting some local Richmond help will go a long way.
posted by soundguy99 at 8:09 AM on January 6, 2013
So, I lived in Richmond for a few years and while I never went to any strip club, I was friends with someone who was dating a stripper there. Basically, the guy that owns Paper Moon owns every big strip club in town. If you're looking for a stripper in Richmond, you're probably going to go through that guy anyway.
He also, last I knew, owns a private after-hours club there called Mansion Room which is NOT a strip club, although a lot of the bartenders are also strippers or are former strippers. It used to be a gay bar, but now it plays dance music. There's an upper room that you can book for parties. I went there to see Crystal Method play and it's actually not a bad bar, for what it is, and the upstairs room is nice. I'm not sure that they'd actually let you have strippers up there for a bachelorette party, but you never know.
posted by empath at 8:19 AM on January 6, 2013
He also, last I knew, owns a private after-hours club there called Mansion Room which is NOT a strip club, although a lot of the bartenders are also strippers or are former strippers. It used to be a gay bar, but now it plays dance music. There's an upper room that you can book for parties. I went there to see Crystal Method play and it's actually not a bad bar, for what it is, and the upstairs room is nice. I'm not sure that they'd actually let you have strippers up there for a bachelorette party, but you never know.
posted by empath at 8:19 AM on January 6, 2013
The Paper Moon is a hole of vice. I don't have much to add but if I were doing this I would avoid any connection with that place, because I don't get the impression that is what you're looking for. I would use craigslist and get escorts instead.
posted by TheTingTangTong at 2:52 PM on January 6, 2013
posted by TheTingTangTong at 2:52 PM on January 6, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
It sounds like you should post an ad on Craigslist (or your local variant). Outline exactly what you posted here.
Keep in mind that strippers are people. Talk to them, ask questions. You're talking to real people. What you're looking for is a couple that normally works together. This is actually kind of rare. Your best bet is to find a woman who occasionally works with a male partner.
Most hotels have seen far stranger things than you're asking about. Rent a room (if you have the money, rent two and open the door between them.) As soon as you mention bachelorette party, the front desk person will change his/her attitude. If you can go to the hotel in person to reserve a room, push a $20 bill with your credit card and ask for discretion. (If you seem shy, this probably won't work. So best if you know someone who rents rooms regularly and can work with the front desk personnel.)
And yes, tipping is a good idea. I don't know the rates in VA, but you should probably set aside $500 for the night. After the performance, just before they leave, it would be great if you met them outside and thanked them for their performance. That is when you give them a tip.
Again - this is from the far west coast, so may not apply to your area.
posted by BenevolentActor at 5:22 AM on January 6, 2013