Medin

We shouldn't judge people for what turns them on.
He could also be into Latino circumcised bottoms with a big nose and tattoos with straight hair.
Everyone's sexuality is wired differently. Some are generalists and others are very very specific.
For example...I like a lot of different types of guys (and gals)...but I am often grossed-out by the sight of an uncut penis. So if I am with an uncut Latino guy, I can't bring myself to perform oral on him. 
Just how I'm wired.
 

Long ago I learned that people have preferences, some people have fetishes, and some people are just very clear about what does it for them and doesn't do it for them. I want to agree about just "enjoying men", but I have to admit that there are quite a long list of men types that I want nothing to do with, leave alone get sexually involved with.
I wounldn't judge. It might be just the craving of the hour that will go away as soon as it's satisfied, or it might be tied up to preferences, fetishes, even trauma. I just try to meet people where they are.

Ditto.

Not from me. Rate is same regardless of the client. 

I would avoid----I had a meeting set up and was upsold even before arrival---I cancelled.

I saw MuscleLMT while he was on his most recent tour. My experience was somewhat similar to BuzzLiteQueer's. Communication by text was efficient, with me respectfully describing what I was looking for in a session. The massage was good, on the hotel bed and, thoughtfully, with a face cradle for comfort. I was on my stomach >95% of the time. I didn't realize that he was nude and wearing a cock ring from the beginning. Zero sensual elements while face down; rather, a nice relaxing massage, not deep tissue. Then he asked me to flip over. I'd lost track of time and thought that I would be getting a massage on my front, into which would come the sensual elements. But he went right for the HE. There was a minute or two of muscle worship in the form of mutual touch and him flexing. But he was intent on finishing my HE. His body is hot. He was working me. I finished. I would have loved to have had the experience such as jeffmassagelove wrote about previously. For me: Not erotic. Insufficiently sensual. Nice massage. 
FWIW, pictures in his profile as of this date are accurate.
https://rentmasseur.com/MuscleLMT

I met him a couple of years ago when he was using a different name (he's changed it many times) and it was not a good experience.   A lot of promises before you meet but the actual session was a joke.   One of the worse I've met.  

Because of work schedules I prefer booking ahead so I know I have time blocked for this.  Some providers will do it, others not.  My anchor guys will so I tend to stick with them most of the time.

I met him about 6-7 years ago when he lived in Miami (but he is from NYC).  He was supposedly 23 at the time so he has to be close to 30 by now.  He is the only escort I've met who set a timer on his phone.  At 50 minutes, it went off and he told me to hurry up and get off or he will start charging me for an additional hour after 60 minutes.  Totally killed the mood.  He has a hot body and a nice cock but I wouldn't give him another penny.  

I am not sure embarrassment is the case for most who object to other people being present.
I rarely talk about my masturbation practices with other people. I'm not embarrassed, and I assume others assume I masturbate. It's one of MANY parts of my life I keep private.
And if I do share it with someone, I certainly don't expect them to bring it up 2 weeks from now at happy hour with other people.

Interesting thread.
Seems to me like a lot of you guys are embarrassed by stuff that you're doing but none of these people around the masseurs seem to care.
If "mom" doesn't care about her son doing handy-J's then why should you ?
 

Recently I had a massage with a provider that I had hired a couple of times before. He did not let me know that there was someone else home. During the massage I could hear someone talking on the phone which of course was not great for the mood. At the end of the session on the way to the bathroom, I came face to face with his roommate/husband/partner/boyfriend. I think he was completely wrong not to give me a heads up about the situation and of course I will not be hiring him again.

It sounds like in this case the masseur takes the right approach by only scheduling appointments when the roommate is not home i.e. the functional equivalent of a dedicated space for the duration of the session. As long as nobody else is coming or going or present, that sounds fine to me. Also, he did the right thing by alerting you ahead of time. I agree, you should reschedule for a time that he has the privacy to offer you all the services you want, in an atmosphere you want.
A few of my workspace peeves:
Rule 1) no other people in/around your work space, or hanging around outside of it. The client shouldn’t encounter anyone besides a neighbor or doorman or stranger on the street or in a hall or lobby. Certainly not the masseur’s significant other, family, or friends.
Rule 2) no pets in/around your workspace. People have allergies and pets are distracting, even the most well behaved ones. Who wants a dog licking your feet or whimpering for attention in the next room or a masseur snapping their fingers or raising their voice to ask their cat to exit the room? Or worse, the pet jumps on the massage table. One of my clients told me he visited someone else and the masseur set out a glass of water for the client, upon request. The cat started lapping from the glass during the massage. I don’t blame the client for feeling weird about that.
Rule 3) provide a dedicated workspace
Rule 4) provide a sufficient buffer in between appointments so that clients will not cross paths on their way in/out.
These are just some of the problems with working out of the same place you live. If you live with other people, you must have a division of space that offers complete privacy, with a separate entrance and 100% dedicated bathroom. A client should never feel like their privacy is at risk or that they are being monitored.
One of my favorite masseurs worked out of his apartment and he had clients coming and going through his living room, which functioned as a waiting area. Appointments were back to back, no buffer, so you often saw his previous client leaving before you went in, and again in reverse on your way out. His partner lived separately at the time but was frequently in the living room too. So weird. It never bothered me, but I can’t imagine a lot of my clients would ever put up with that. Good thing his massage is so good. For him, I would have the appointment on the street in the middle of Times Square if it suited him. He is just that good. 

I think part of paying for a massage is getting undivided attention for yourself for 60/90/120 minutes.  If there were other people in the area it would definitely affect the ambiance/mode for me. 
For those clients that also have to concern themselves with discretion I would think this would be a deal-breaker.

I did tell the masseur that I appreciated his thoughtfulness in disclosing it before my arrival.  
A forum member, via personal message, mentioned to me that having the room mate hanging around might also impact the masseur.  What if it causes him to hold back?  What if the room mate needs something from the kitchen while we are hanging around naked, in the living room, post coitus?  It is an unnecessary complication.

Hv had several sessions with them (or at least i suspect to be one of them), not reccs. IME, waste of money and time, those 6packs are not a guarantee lol.

No. First of all, the communication problems makes it difficult to find out if they'll do what you want, or if they understand what they're getting into.
Second, I don't believe they have the experience and reliability to demand a full 300/hour (let alone more). They're new to the country ("influx"), and probably lack experience in SW. You don't start at the top of the ladder, and you don't charge that if you have 0 reviews.
According to providers in my area, Venezuelan refugees are primarily on Grindr and massively undercutting prices, but only through increased risk of a scam or bad session. I don't know if that's true, but that's what many of them believe, or at least tell their clients.

My short answer is "no."

I gave no more than two tries in one conversation. If I keep getting one-word responses, I just move on. Sometimes I don't even end the conversation, just simply move on. To me that's a reflection of what I could expect in a live session, so I don't bother. Not once have I gotten any follow up or anything after I stop.

In my overall experience, this hasn't been the case. Typically, I tend to ask multiple questions in a single message. If I receive one word responses or answers to only one question, I generally interpret it as disinterest and proceed to the next provider.

Like @SirBillybob, I rarely weigh in on the pricing debate because I know what I am willing to pay and when a guy quotes a higher rate, I politely decline without being outraged by the guy's rate. I don't see that as pushing back, much like deciding not to eat at a restaurant whose prices are outside my budget is not pushing back. 
That said, I don't let a provider's OF status influence my decision to accept/decline a rate that's over my threshold. Firstly, not every provider who says they are in the top 1%, 0.0625%, or whatever can possibly be at that level. The math just doesn't work. Secondly, I don't find most providers' content to be particularly interesting, so I'm not really looking for the scene they enact in their vids. Thirdly, (and I've said this many, many, many times before) some of my most lackluster hires were guys who were acclaimed, vaunted, and beloved by Forum members and popular among the porn-watching public. 
I guess the summary is "If you don't like the rate, take a pass." When enough prospective clients do this, rates will come down.

Not taking this out of subject but it was a golden age for providers because of so little competition compared to nowadays. 
Yes, I also miss Rentboy, unfortunately they went too far and got caught. 
I don't mind sending texts asking: "Hi, nice pictures. How much do you charge for outcalls in the DuPont Circle area?". I don't think that's much of an effort, but I'd rather have the rates available right in the ad like it used to be. 

Around Chicago at least, demand for hiring seems to have gone down, and rates have remained in the 300/500 1/2 hour range, usually lower.
For the first time since the pandemic,  I've had providers message me on RM without any prompting on my part (I hide my RM browsing history).
So here at least, supply and demand is working properly. 

I know a local escort who asked $300 for incalls in Minneapolis, some clients consented but he also had a lot of cancellations. 
He told me: "from now on 300 in call in DC and San Francisco, everywhere else in the middle of the country is 260". 

One more thought: there are lots of providers who have only gone up a little (like $50) or not at all. So those asking for double the going  rate or more, better have a market differentiator; and better be very compelling.