Brothel owner blames online dating apps like Tinder for downturn in business. Uber has done it to the taxi industry, Airbnb has done to it hotels β now there are concerns that dating apps are destroying the legal brothel industry.
She has blamed the downturn on a rise in the use of internet dating apps like Tinder where people can access sex for free. The coast's other legal brothel closed in June last year and attempts to sell the once-busy brothel via auction and then private treaty were unsuccessful. Rebecca, who has managed legal brothels in Queensland for eight years, three of those her current location, said while it was "still a good business", they had "definitely seen a decline in the last year".
She said people still wanted to come to regulated facilities like legal brothels, but changes in the last year were "definitely having an impact". One Gold Coast brothel has been trying enticements, like free sausage sizzles, to bring in customers. Rebecca said similar initiatives were being tried on the Sunshine Coast. Rebecca would not reveal the amount the brothel paid on licensing fees, but said it was "way over the top" because they could only advertise in the local newspaper or on their website.
She said an increase in sex workers operating legally out of hotel rooms, without the overhead cost of licensing fees, was also having an impact. She said private sex workers did not need a sexual health certificate and warned that health and safety needed to be the highest priority. While the business currently remains open, Rebecca said she was unsure what the future held for Queensland brothels.
She said she believed there were only 12 licensed brothels left in Queensland because they are closing "willy nilly all over the place". We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work.
