Working out how much to charge

[Jazzy J]

Greetings from across the pond, I recently did a hot stone massage course and there was a small session for us to work out how much to charge for the treatments. At least one of the students couldn't bring herself to say how much she wanted to charge and kept bursting into tears. I thought it was interesting what the issue of money seemed to bring up for people.

I have an amount I charge at the moment but may change this based on the math. Our tutor told us we needed to take into account various factors like the cost of our training, travel, rent, how many days/hours we wanted to work, etc. I saw a forumla/formuale (sorry I'm English so don't know the USA word) in a massage magazine but I've mislaid it. Does anyone know what it is? I did a quick search on the forum but couldn't find anything. Not to worry I'm sure I can work it out based on all my outgoings. I have no qualms about charging clients because it's my only business. The one thought that occured to me is that a broke and hungry therapist is probably not going to give you your best treatment ever. I spent 2 years working between 22 to 38 hours a week in a spa and towards the end really didn't have much to give clients any more.

I work in a number of places at the moment where I have no say in what is charged but I am looing to build up my private practice at home.

 

[Joe in texas]

In my area, MT's usually charge about the same as a 90 minute regular session but only do a 75 or 80 minute hot stone session. My hot stone session is currently $5 more than a 90 minute regular session, but is 80 minutes. I raised my rates for regular massage recently, but didnt up my hot stone prices.

I include some hot stones in almost all of my sessions. Once the cold weather rolls in I will get more requests for a full hot stone session. I havent done a full hot stone in a while. Once December rolls around, I can expect to d about 2 or 3 a week. This will last about to the middle of March. It depends on the weather.

 

[Bloke501]

I don't use a formula when setting my prices. Instead, I just see what other MT's and spas are charging in my area for the same service, and put my prices within that range. I raise my rates about once every 18 months (& most other MT's in my town do the same.)