The door fee upfront has been happening for years, I remember a discussion about this 2+ years ago. And its not because of covid, thats an excuse, they are just shit. A shit-tier spa that targets clients who are drunk/clueless or desperate.
They pull tried this door fee upfront on me too. I had my eye on two girls, wanted to see the line up and pick one. Even called them ahead of time, but when I came to the spa they wouldn't let me see anybody. I even showed them the cash, but they wouldn't budge so I walked out. Its their loss, if I stayed for a session I could have been a repeat client but now I'm not going back and I'll make sure to warn everyone else that reads this about the shit they pull.