Planet-Love.com Searchable Archives

Sorry for the sarcasm Patrick, but I'm sure you know where I'm comming from.

It will take a while but the market will correct itself.

Hey Ralph,

The Latin Love of old and in its heyday was more than a matrimony agency it was an experience.  For $90 a day you could stay in a great place, meet Calenas, hang out at the pool, talk with all the other gringos and just enjoy yourself in a fun and relaxed atmosphere.  

I'll probably piss some people off but it was doomed to fail  not because of the breakin but because gringos are cheap bastards the second they get off their $750 flight from the States.  The nice furnished house, the pool, the AC in your room, the big staff, the parties, all these things cost real money.  You can run an agency on the cheap but it won't be special, it won't be an experience.  

In its heyday, I believe it would have taken at least $300 per day, day in and day out for Latin Love to have a modest profit.  While guys complain to no end about membership fees, they aren't very comfortable with $100 daily fees either.  People who are otherwise relaxed about their money become sudden bargain hunters the second they step off their plane.  We just had a trip report where the guy is complaining about an extra $6 he paid for a pivate pickup as opposed to the taxi ride he had last time.  I'm not trying to pick on this guy as he's really no different than anyone else.  

Anyway, I don't think another Latin Love like experience is possible from the agency scene in Cali today.  There are some decent places but it's just not the same in my opinion.  It takes money to offer the whole experience and we gringos aren't willing to pay.

El Diablo

It seems like I am following you today. The Latin Love nut was about $5,000 a month, two rooms at $100.00 for the whole month would have done it There was room for profit but the confidence in the security was a major fear of the frightened who were new to Colombia. Some of the others on these boards just would not let the scandal die. Hey some of the newbys think they will get shot by farc in Unicentro.  There is no agency that provides the luxury and service that LL did when john and Bud were running it.

  There is no reason for the membership fees charged for the agencies that are now in existance. If you understand the costs. Most of these homes rent for less than $1000 per month some as little as $350.00. The bilingual employees work for about $200. to $250. a month. The maids for $100.00 to $150.00. I believe that a weekly rate is the fairest and this doesn't include room and board. It is the choice of the agency owners to discount the rate if you stay at the agency and others who wish to stay in better accomodations should not be penalized. The whole membership scam is to insure that you will not go elsewhere and if you find a novia they will have got the maximum money out of you. Hey Norman ran for three monthes for thirty five dollars a night including three meals. I am sure that many will disagree with me but the girls are free to them and you are paying big bucks to meet them. On the other hand there are some really cheap guys involved in this. jim c

Being a good friend of Bud's, you probably have the inside scoop on costs at the Palace.  I do believe however that's Bud's operation was considerably more expensive than your typical agency.  Did you ever see Ruby's paycheck, you could pay for at least several Veronica's with it.  Also the utility bills could be outrageous, I thought my 300,000 peso electricity bill was bad until I heard one month what they paid, I think it was more than the rent, the phone bills were terrible too as the three lines were constantly in use.  In any event, if I'm in Cali for only a week or two, I'd much rather stay at the Palace, pay a little more, than stay at the present group of agencies.  There's just no comparison in my opinion.

But if I'm living in Cali as I do from time to time, the daily rate just doesn't work for me and I prefer a membership type fee structure.  Bud was kind enough to give me a membership fee type deal for when I lived in Cali last year.  I didn't have all that many appointments however it allowed me to contribute something reasonably fair and not take too much advantage of my friends like Veronica.

I guess the whole cheap gringo thing is one my pet peeves and so perhaps I'm making more of it than is reality.  I sure did run across it a lot though...  Take care.

El Diablo

It seems like I am following you today. The Latin Love nut was about $5,000 a month, two rooms at $100.00 for the whole month would have done it There was room for profit but the confidence in the security was a major fear of the frightened who were new to Colombia. Some of the others on these boards just would not let the scandal die. Hey some of the newbys think they will get shot by farc in Unicentro.  There is no agency that provides the luxury and service that LL did when john and Bud were running it.

  There is no reason for the membership fees charged for the agencies that are now in existance. If you understand the costs. Most of these homes rent for less than $1000 per month some as little as $350.00. The bilingual employees work for about $200. to $250. a month. The maids for $100.00 to $150.00. I believe that a weekly rate is the fairest and this doesn't include room and board. It is the choice of the agency owners to discount the rate if you stay at the agency and others who wish to stay in better accomodations should not be penalized. The whole membership scam is to insure that you will not go elsewhere and if you find a novia they will have got the maximum money out of you. Hey Norman ran for three monthes for thirty five dollars a night including three meals. I am sure that many will disagree with me but the girls are free to them and you are paying big bucks to meet them. On the other hand there are some really cheap guys involved in this. jim c

  I also love Latin Encounters.  The agency has great looking women.  Sorry, but i took the best one and she is now my wife in Texas!!!!!!!!!

                                   Larry in Dallas

I also think that once an agency "scene" gets more known, the news spreads pretty quickly amongst the less serious, "free night on a Gringo" girls. that doesn't mean that there are not a ton of great ladies available, I just think that the more prevalent the agencies become the ratio of serious, versus "party girls" or GCS goes down.

I find the notion of guys getting engaged to someone they just met a bit disturbing, but maybe they were there on  repeat visits to the same woman.  Don't let fear of losing a lady because some other gringo may commit faster push you into making a very important decision too quickly or you could be making a mistake.

I agree with you it is just difficult at times always wondering what they are doing while you are not there with others. I don't want to make a mistake by doing something before I am ready. Do you think it would be alright if for example one were to meet someone on a trip and proposed to the young lady and did not get married right away but gave it some time? You are right about the young 18 and 19 year olds. I don't know how to handle this because how do I know if it is for real or she is just having a good time? Being 26 what do you recommend for my next trip in November to Latin Love Mates? Thanks for your advice.

Thank you, come again.