How long does the whole process take before a first evening?

With a few hours' notice a same-evening introduction in central London is usually possible. The enquiry takes two minutes, screening a couple more, and confirmation follows as soon as availability is agreed.

Do I need to give my real name?

For screening on a first introduction we ask for a name and a way to reach you, confirmed once and never shared. Beyond that, first names are all anyone uses.

What if I am nervous on the night?

Everyone is, a little. Meet in the bar, let her lead the first drink, and talk about the room. Companions are practised at putting people at ease; ten minutes in, the nerves are usually gone.

Your First Introduction, Minute by Minute

Almost every first-time guest asks the same question in different words: what actually happens? Not the evening itself, which they can picture, but the sequence before it and the small moments around it, the parts nobody writes down. This is that sequence, written down. It describes how an introduction runs with us; other houses differ in the details, and a listing site differs in almost everything.

The enquiry: two minutes

You send a message. WhatsApp is quickest, the enquiry form is fine, a phone call works if you would rather talk. Three things help us: who you would like to meet or the sort of company you have in mind, when, and roughly what you are planning. A line such as 'dinner on Thursday around eight, somewhere in Mayfair, I would enjoy conversation more than glamour' is enough. You do not need to explain yourself, and nobody will ask you to.

We reply within the hour, day or night, with one or two suggestions if you have not named anyone, and with availability if you have. If the companion you asked for is not free, we say so and suggest who is, rather than talking you into someone.

Screening: a name and a way to reach you

For a first introduction we ask for a name and a working way to contact you, confirmed once. That is the whole of it. It exists to protect the companion and to protect you, it takes a couple of minutes, and it is done once; the second time you book, and every time after, nobody asks again. Nothing from it is shared with a hotel, a restaurant or anyone outside the two people arranging the evening, and members skip the step entirely once verified.

Guests sometimes hesitate here. The hesitation is understandable and, in our experience, misplaced: a house that asks for nothing is a house that has not thought about the woman it is sending to meet you.

Confirmation: what the message says

Once availability is agreed, you receive a plain confirmation: the day, the hour, the place to meet and the figure agreed, with no reference to the house and nothing that would read oddly on a shared screen. Rates run from £500 to £2,000 an hour depending on the companion, and a dinner date or overnight is quoted as one figure rather than by the clock. The figure in the confirmation is the figure on the night; nothing is added later.

The hour before: what to do and what not to

Book the table if there is one. Choose clothes you would wear to meet a friend somewhere good rather than to impress a stranger; the evening goes better when you are comfortable. Arrive a few minutes early and take a seat where you can see the door. Do not send a flurry of messages to check she is coming; she is. Companions are punctual because their evenings depend on it.

The first ten minutes

She arrives at the bar or lobby, not at your room, dressed for the setting you described, and greets you as any dinner guest would: a hello, a hand or a kiss on the cheek, a seat. There is no script. The first drink is for finding your footing, and companions are professionals at putting people at ease, which is in a real sense the heart of the work. Talk about the room, the day, the thing you have been meaning to see. Ten minutes in, most guests have forgotten they were nervous.

Meet in a public room first: the bar, the lobby lounge, the restaurant
Let her lead the pace of the first drink; she has done this before
Use first names; nobody needs a surname beyond screening
If something is unclear about the plan, ask plainly. Vagueness is the only thing that makes evenings awkward

Dinner, and the shape of the evening

From the bar you move to dinner, or upstairs, or on to whatever you planned, when it suits you both. A dinner date runs the length it was booked for, and if the evening is going well and you would like it to continue, say so; extending is usually possible and is agreed between you and the house in a message, not negotiated at the table. The occasions companions enjoy most are listed on each profile, which is why we suggest reading the interests before the statistics.

How it ends

Simply. The figure agreed is settled as arranged, discreetly and without ceremony, and the goodbye is the goodbye of two people who have had a good evening. If you would like to see her again, tell us rather than her; we arrange the next introduction, and the second booking is a single message with no screening. Many first-time guests become regulars, and regulars often add membership, which opens the private galleries and makes re-booking simpler still. Neither is expected.

The three habits that make first bookings run beautifully

Give honest notice rather than booking in a rush. Say plainly what kind of evening you are hoping for. Treat the screening step as the two-minute formality it is. Guests who do these three things tend to become the regulars our companions ask after, and their first evening rarely feels like a first anything. If a question remains, our FAQ answers most of them, and a message answers the rest.