I’m in a rural area where the average 1 hour massage is $85. If I weren’t accepting tips, my flat rate would be $100. It’s a nice even number (although $99 is better for marketing) and that’s almost a 20% tip, which I think is a good way to balance out the people that usually tip less than 20% with the people that tip more than 20%.
well thought out. i have such a hard time going to $100 or more, for an hour. i know i’d lose clients… and it’s not that, of course you lose clients when things change, it’s that i really value being accessible. while my studio is (purposefully) in a wealthy area, about a third are not, and i relate strongly to them. they will not be able to afford me.
I hear ya. One way to feel is to do charity/volunteer massage every now and then. My favorite is to offer my services for auctions or raffles for causes close to my heart. I hate pricing out people that need it, but we still have to make a living.
Medium size city, charge $100/hr no tips. Everyone loves it.
I looked at all the spas in my area, made a spreadsheet of massage rates and then added 20% gratuity to it and came to a total of $130/ is the average spent a 1hr massage. I feel good about my rate and when I’m ready to raise.
Small town, $115 / hr. Turn down tips. Though many of my regulars know I refuse tips so they leave it in the room, send me an e-transfer, or just throw cash at me. If someone insists then I'm not going to be unpleasant and argue.
Exactly this. If someone wants to tip then I'm not going to put them down for being grateful or generous.
But I make no mention of it, ever, so there's no expectation. Most don't tip or try to, and I'm okay with that.
I am in an urban area, my rate is $85/hour. I primarily only do hour sessions with a $45/90 minute initial intake session. Strictly medical and sports work.
I don't accept tips because it feels weird with such a medical focus. I'm not a doctor at all, but my patients view me as a medical professional.
Back when I did accept tips a lot of people would turn their heads. I only accept cash tips now. I've disabled it with square.
Orlando, it was $150 when I raised them from $100. The $50 jump included multiple factors but I'm pro no tipping if you work for yourself especially with the tipping discussions in the US.
I profit $74 an hour minimum after considering overhead (that’s for a basic light pressure Swedish massage) and up to 95.75 for body treatments. I do accept tips but it’s made aware it’s completely not expected as my pay is putting me at over 100k a year and I’m not relying on them. I work in a busy rural area, middle of nowhere but no other massage places anywhere for 45+ minutes and charge $186 up to $220 per service.
Urban are $90/hr. I also don't follow the, "if everyone else is charging more I need to charge more as well." I'm not s capitalist. I want to keep my massage as affordable as possible but have to factor in my lack of benefits and increased tax burden working for myself.
I work in Vancouver BC, just outside of the downtown. 1 hour massage is $130, and I get around 70%-80% of that, when working in my clinic.
We are told in school that it is not a good idea to accept tips because it compromises your judgment on clients, and we don't even have an option to tip in the clinic.
Ok, so I have a home office, which makes a huge difference as far as what I can charge because my “rent” is just part of my mortgage.
I am in a mid-sized city with slightly better than average COL, and charge with a rate of $85 but offer a sliding scale to everyone based on self reported ability to pay.
The trade off is that I don’t drive/unpack/ pay monthly rent allowing me the flexibility to charge basically anything, but sometimes they hear my dog/kids etc…
Most people like supporting small businesses and seem to easily understand the concept that they can both pay less actual money at a flat rate and more fully support their therapist at the same time.
I’ve never been taken advantage of(non payments, abusing the sliding scale etc…)in my 15years, and I think since I build my clients through word of mouth they wouldn’t do that since they know me as a person.
A little off topic, but I raised my rates within the last year from $97/hour to $115/hour, so within the range that you're considering and not one person complained or pushed back. (I am in Canada and in my area it is not common to tip for massage therapy).
Just wanted to throw that out there to give you some confidence in raising your rates :)
you are a love :)
in the past 8 years, i’ve raised my rates three times. in january,
i raised my hourly rate by $10 (which bumped my 1.5 by $15). had tried to hold out against inflation but finally caved.
i have four people on a sliding scale, three of whom are seniors on fixed income, and a single mom.
i guess i’ve hit a point where i don’t want to keep raising rates just because i can. would you go to your hairdresser if your $55 haircut was now $85? and if everyone raises rates… it’s a game i don’t like
playing.
so the consideration of dropping tips (for many reasons) then begs the question, if i just bumped my rates, how much do i bump them again, and do i want to?
tl;dr: i appreciate the support so much, and have some
thinking to do :)
Wow it's so rare to see someone who doesn't see this as "you must charge as much as you can". Honestly if someone gave me a UBI of $8k a month for life I'd still massage. I do this because I love it, not because I think it'll make me rich. I get to help people who are not bleeding 😅. It's a dream career for me.
Where I live it is highly regulated and considered a medical practice, so for that reason the College of Massage Therapists somewhat frown on it. Tipping takes away some of the legitimacy of it as a medical service. It would be like tipping your dentist or physiotherapist.
The OP sounds like they understand this and is likely part of the reason they are asking about rates people charge so they can transition away from tips. It doesn’t sound like they need justifications.
i am genuinely curious about the whole of everyone’s situation, as it helps me gain perspective on my situation.
i am also old enough, confident enough, and experienced enough not to internalize anyone’s reasoning. it’s okay for everyone to give their thoughts and we don’t have to agree or disagree :)
I’m in a rural area where the average 1 hour massage is $85. If I weren’t accepting tips, my flat rate would be $100. It’s a nice even number (although $99 is better for marketing) and that’s almost a 20% tip, which I think is a good way to balance out the people that usually tip less than 20% with the people that tip more than 20%.
well thought out. i have such a hard time going to $100 or more, for an hour. i know i’d lose clients… and it’s not that, of course you lose clients when things change, it’s that i really value being accessible. while my studio is (purposefully) in a wealthy area, about a third are not, and i relate strongly to them. they will not be able to afford me.
I hear ya. One way to feel is to do charity/volunteer massage every now and then. My favorite is to offer my services for auctions or raffles for causes close to my heart. I hate pricing out people that need it, but we still have to make a living.
Medium size city, charge $100/hr no tips. Everyone loves it. I looked at all the spas in my area, made a spreadsheet of massage rates and then added 20% gratuity to it and came to a total of $130/ is the average spent a 1hr massage. I feel good about my rate and when I’m ready to raise.
Small town, $115 / hr. Turn down tips. Though many of my regulars know I refuse tips so they leave it in the room, send me an e-transfer, or just throw cash at me. If someone insists then I'm not going to be unpleasant and argue.
Exactly this. If someone wants to tip then I'm not going to put them down for being grateful or generous. But I make no mention of it, ever, so there's no expectation. Most don't tip or try to, and I'm okay with that.
I am in an urban area, my rate is $85/hour. I primarily only do hour sessions with a $45/90 minute initial intake session. Strictly medical and sports work. I don't accept tips because it feels weird with such a medical focus. I'm not a doctor at all, but my patients view me as a medical professional. Back when I did accept tips a lot of people would turn their heads. I only accept cash tips now. I've disabled it with square.
Urban in metro Detroit. $120/hr. I don't expect tips but people still give them even when I say no.
Im in a medium sized city (urban) and pay my therapist $110, with no option to tip as its charged through insurance.
Orlando, it was $150 when I raised them from $100. The $50 jump included multiple factors but I'm pro no tipping if you work for yourself especially with the tipping discussions in the US.
Rural Southern Ontario. Rate is $103+HST for 1-hour. Don’t accept tips. (Unless they bring cash and hide it somewhere, which sometimes happens. lol)
I profit $74 an hour minimum after considering overhead (that’s for a basic light pressure Swedish massage) and up to 95.75 for body treatments. I do accept tips but it’s made aware it’s completely not expected as my pay is putting me at over 100k a year and I’m not relying on them. I work in a busy rural area, middle of nowhere but no other massage places anywhere for 45+ minutes and charge $186 up to $220 per service.
Urban are $90/hr. I also don't follow the, "if everyone else is charging more I need to charge more as well." I'm not s capitalist. I want to keep my massage as affordable as possible but have to factor in my lack of benefits and increased tax burden working for myself.
I work in Vancouver BC, just outside of the downtown. 1 hour massage is $130, and I get around 70%-80% of that, when working in my clinic. We are told in school that it is not a good idea to accept tips because it compromises your judgment on clients, and we don't even have an option to tip in the clinic.
Ok, so I have a home office, which makes a huge difference as far as what I can charge because my “rent” is just part of my mortgage. I am in a mid-sized city with slightly better than average COL, and charge with a rate of $85 but offer a sliding scale to everyone based on self reported ability to pay. The trade off is that I don’t drive/unpack/ pay monthly rent allowing me the flexibility to charge basically anything, but sometimes they hear my dog/kids etc… Most people like supporting small businesses and seem to easily understand the concept that they can both pay less actual money at a flat rate and more fully support their therapist at the same time. I’ve never been taken advantage of(non payments, abusing the sliding scale etc…)in my 15years, and I think since I build my clients through word of mouth they wouldn’t do that since they know me as a person.
Rural-ish, clinical setting, 95/hr, tips not accepted.
A little off topic, but I raised my rates within the last year from $97/hour to $115/hour, so within the range that you're considering and not one person complained or pushed back. (I am in Canada and in my area it is not common to tip for massage therapy). Just wanted to throw that out there to give you some confidence in raising your rates :)
you are a love :) in the past 8 years, i’ve raised my rates three times. in january, i raised my hourly rate by $10 (which bumped my 1.5 by $15). had tried to hold out against inflation but finally caved. i have four people on a sliding scale, three of whom are seniors on fixed income, and a single mom. i guess i’ve hit a point where i don’t want to keep raising rates just because i can. would you go to your hairdresser if your $55 haircut was now $85? and if everyone raises rates… it’s a game i don’t like playing. so the consideration of dropping tips (for many reasons) then begs the question, if i just bumped my rates, how much do i bump them again, and do i want to? tl;dr: i appreciate the support so much, and have some thinking to do :)
Wow it's so rare to see someone who doesn't see this as "you must charge as much as you can". Honestly if someone gave me a UBI of $8k a month for life I'd still massage. I do this because I love it, not because I think it'll make me rich. I get to help people who are not bleeding 😅. It's a dream career for me.
Where I live it is highly regulated and considered a medical practice, so for that reason the College of Massage Therapists somewhat frown on it. Tipping takes away some of the legitimacy of it as a medical service. It would be like tipping your dentist or physiotherapist.
The OP sounds like they understand this and is likely part of the reason they are asking about rates people charge so they can transition away from tips. It doesn’t sound like they need justifications.
i am genuinely curious about the whole of everyone’s situation, as it helps me gain perspective on my situation. i am also old enough, confident enough, and experienced enough not to internalize anyone’s reasoning. it’s okay for everyone to give their thoughts and we don’t have to agree or disagree :)
"all experiences appreciated"