413047-Underground-Commercial-Sex-Economy

multitude of environments including public spaces; cars; private homes and abandoned homes; hotel and
motel rooms; and in establishments such as dance and strip clubs and casinos. As shown in figure 8.3, 24
(67 percent) of the 36 participants indicated that they traded sex acts in hotels and/or motels, two (6
percent) in their own homes, eight (22 percent) in other homes, seven (19 percent) in cars, and seven (19
percent) in clubs.
Figure 8.3 Locations Worked
Many sex workers reported bringing johns to hotel and motel rooms they rented for dates. Hotel and
motel rooms were a primary expense for many sex workers; over the years, sex workers spent between
$25 to $80 per day to rent these rooms. Sex workers noted that often, hotel and motel staff members and
managers knew that sex was being traded in their venues but did not attempt to stop the work.
A 35-year-old sex worker from Denver noted that hotel and motel personnel did not interfere with her
work, although they were aware of it. She explained, “I stayed in the hotel. They knew what I was doing.
They turned a blind eye.” She went on to say that the personnel “did not really care because I got along
with them, [and] never caused no problem” (J4). Instead, others noted, hotel and motel staff were
primarily concerned with receiving payments and maintaining rules. A 46-year-old, Denver-based sex
worker who began trading sex in the late 1980s explained this tendency: “Some hotels will work with you,
some don’t, but they don’t know what you’re doing out there. They just care about their money. Some
managers care about money, that’s all. They would say no visitors after 10 [p.m.]” (J2). Deliberate tactics
were used to reduce the likelihood that hotel and motel staff would detect the sex work being traded. A 25-
year-old from Atlanta spent between $40 to $50 a night on hotels, and “moved around a little bit”
between hotels. She explained, “If you stay at one hotel, then people start to get familiar with your face. I
kept to myself, especially doing what I was doing” (N7).
Despite the overwhelming use of hotels and motels, the majority of respondents (n = 25, 69%) reported
trading sex in more than one location or venue over the course of their careers. A sex worker from Dallas,
who began selling sex in the late 1990s, explained, “I would go out there [on the streets] and stop people
[clients] and they would pay me or I would go to the room with them or I would go in the cars [and they
would] park somewhere” (M4).
Certain locations provided benefits to conducting this work. A 43-year-old street-based sex worker from
Washington, DC, who began engaging in this work in the 1980s, reported working in hotels, motels, cars,
224