Most guides to booking an escort in London are written by listing sites and read like terms and conditions. This one is written by an agency, and it describes the route we would take ourselves: how to tell a real house from a directory, what to say in the first message, what screening actually involves, how much notice London needs, what it costs and when the figure is agreed, and what the evening looks like from the first drink to the goodbye. It is longer than most because it answers the questions guests ask us privately, not the ones they ask in public.

How does booking a high class escort in London work?

Through an agency it is five steps. You send a short enquiry by WhatsApp, phone or a form. The house replies with suggestions and availability. A one-time screening step takes a few minutes. A written confirmation sets the companion, the venue, the time and one figure. Then you meet, usually in a hotel bar, at the agreed hour.

Agency or independent: which route suits a first booking?

Both exist at the high end and both can be excellent. The difference is who stands behind the introduction. With an independent, you are dealing with one person, her photographs, her diary and her judgement about you, and there is nobody to call if the evening does not match the profile. With an agency, a house has met the companion, checked her photographs, seen her with other guests, and puts its name to the match; if a companion is unavailable, the house says so and suggests who is. For a first booking the agency route is simpler for a plain reason: the house has already done the screening of the companion that you would otherwise be doing yourself from a gallery.

The trade-off is choice. A directory shows hundreds of profiles; a serious agency introduces a small circle, often a dozen or two, and turns away far more applicants than it accepts. If you want to browse, a directory is the place. If you want to be sure that the woman who arrives is the woman in the photographs, a house is.

How do you tell a real agency from a listing site?

Five signs, any three of which settle it. The photographs are of real companions, consistent across the gallery, and the house will say when they were taken. The roster is small and stable rather than hundreds of profiles that change weekly. There is a telephone number that is answered by a person, at night as well as by day. The rates are published as a range and the house explains what is and is not included without being asked. And the house asks something of you, a screening step, because a house that vets nobody is a directory with better typography.

The reverse signs are just as clear. Prices well below the London market for the photographs shown. Profiles that appear on several sites under different names. A refusal to speak on the telephone. Pressure to pay a deposit before anything has been agreed. Our verified galleries guide goes into the photograph side of this in detail.

What should the first message say?

Three things, in a couple of lines. Who you would like to meet, or the sort of company you have in mind if you have not chosen. When: the day and the rough hour. And what you are planning: dinner, an event, a quiet evening at a hotel, a weekend. A message such as "Thursday around eight, dinner in Mayfair, I would enjoy conversation more than glamour, is Lucy free?" is complete. You do not need to explain yourself and a good house will not ask you to. A same-evening introduction in central London is usually possible with a few hours' notice, so the first message can be sent at four for eight.

What not to include: your full name (screening asks for what it needs, once), a list of preferences beyond the kind of evening, or any question about what is included, which is not a question a house answers on a listing and not one a companion answers at a table. The FAQ covers the rest.

What does screening involve, and why does it protect you?

Screening is the step that separates a house from a directory, and it is smaller than most guests fear. On a first introduction we ask for a name and a way to reach you, confirmed once, and for a guest staying at a hotel, the hotel. It takes a few minutes, it is done once, and it is never shared with anyone, the companion included beyond what she needs for the evening. Its purpose runs in both directions. It is why the companion is comfortable walking into a room to meet a stranger, which is what makes her relaxed company, and it is why a serious house has almost no bad evenings to report: the people who will not be screened are the people nobody should meet.

How much notice does a London booking need?

Less than most guests expect and more than they leave. In central London, a same-evening dinner is usually possible with a few hours' notice; the house is open 24/7 and companions keep their diaries with this in mind. For a particular companion on a Friday or Saturday, a day or two ahead is wise, because the best diaries fill first. For a specific restaurant at a peak hour, book the table before the companion. For an overnight, a weekend or anything involving travel, several days: the house has flights, hotels and two diaries to align, and a trip that is planned properly is a trip that runs well. December and the summer season are the busiest months; for a particular companion in those weeks, a week ahead is not excessive.

What does it cost, and when is the figure agreed?

Hourly rates at a high class London agency run from £500 to £2,000 depending on the companion, and a few companions are quoted only on application. A dinner date, an overnight or a weekend is quoted as one figure for the whole arrangement rather than by the clock. Whatever the shape, the figure is agreed in the written confirmation before the evening, and it is the figure on the night. Nothing is raised at the table, nothing is added afterwards, and a guest is never asked for anything that was not in the confirmation. If you would like the evening to continue, extending is agreed by message with the house, quoted before it happens. The rates guide explains what the range reflects, and the payment guide covers deposits and cancellations.

Incall or outcall, and which hotels work?

Outcall, where the companion comes to you, covers the whole of London and is the usual arrangement for guests staying at hotels. Incall, where you visit her, is by arrangement in central London. For a hotel evening, the practical rule is to meet in the bar or lobby lounge first: it lets the first ten minutes happen somewhere public and unremarkable, and to any other eye you are two guests meeting for a drink. The larger five-star hotels in Mayfair and Knightsbridge are used to this and ask nothing; smaller townhouse hotels in Chelsea and Kensington are quieter still. If your hotel has a strict guest policy, the house will know, and will suggest a bar nearby instead.

What happens on the evening?

You arrive at the bar a few minutes early. She arrives at the agreed hour, dressed for the room, and greets you as though the evening were long planned between friends. The first drink is for finding your footing; she has done this before, and she will lead the pace if you let her. Dinner follows, two hours or three of the easy, wandering conversation a good table produces. Afterwards the evening ends where the confirmation said it would, or continues by agreement, and the goodbye is as unremarkable as the greeting. First names throughout, no surname needed beyond screening, and nothing about the evening is discussed with anyone. Our first introduction guide walks the whole sequence minute by minute.

How do you choose between companions?

By temperament first and photograph second. Every profile carries a strapline and an about section written with the companion rather than about her, and those two lines tell you more about how an evening will feel than a gallery can. Read the languages and the areas she is often requested in; a companion based in Chelsea and often requested in Belgravia is the natural match for a dinner on Sloane Street. Then ask. A house that knows its companions can tell you in a sentence who suits a quiet dinner and who suits a party, who enjoys a gallery and who would rather the theatre, and it would far rather make that match well than watch you choose by hair colour. If you have named someone and she is not free, a serious house says so and suggests who is, rather than talking you into a substitute. The companions page shows the current circle with a strapline for each.

The mistakes first-time guests make

  • Choosing by photograph alone. Read the strapline and the about section; the match is about temperament, and a house can tell you who suits a quiet dinner and who suits a party
  • Leaving it until nine for a nine o'clock evening. Four hours is comfortable; four minutes is not
  • Negotiating. The figure is the figure; a house that haggles is not a house you want
  • Meeting in the room rather than the bar. The public first ten minutes are what make the private ones easy
  • Skipping the screening step because it feels intrusive. It is the reason the evening is safe for both of you, and it takes minutes

What about membership?

Some houses, ours included, offer membership to guests who book regularly: a one-off fee, requested only after an application is approved, in return for first call on new companions, priority on busy nights and a single point of contact. It is never a condition of a first booking and never offered before one. The membership page explains what it includes, and the first evening tells you whether the house is one you would want it with.

The short version

Choose a house with real photographs, a small roster and a telephone that is answered. Send three lines: who, when, what. Screen once, in minutes. Read the confirmation, which carries the only figure you will ever be asked for. Meet in the bar, let the first drink settle the nerves, and have dinner. That is the whole of it. If anything in the sequence is unclear, ask the house before the evening rather than the companion during it; that is what the house is for. When you are ready, browse the companions or send us the three lines.