I'm not referring to massage in high wage countries, where it may make sense to charge large, hourly rates, I'm talking about Mexico, where 20 pesos an hour is what cashiers at Costco are paid, and where my maid was happy to get all the ten centavo coins we'd collected over the last four-five months. Why are massages so expensive here, even outside the HZ (where it makes sense, owing to the high overhead)? I spent a year in Thailand (Hat Yai) where there were large massage parlors (legitimate) in which you paid the equivalent of $5 USD for a two hour massage, and it was done by a well trained person. The least expensive massages I've seen in Cancun were 250 pesos/hour (except for one I got in the jail for 50 pesos, in a project to teach inmates skills they could use when they got out). Something is grossly out of whack, here, in this very straightforward personal service business.
I find it funny that when you come onto this post there are ads for "hot full body massages and "Find 100's of Costa Rica ladies" Probably not legit.....
I hear you and don't understand it either. In Lima, Peru, they come to your house and massage you for $5 for an entire hour.
This massage business reminds me of the strolling minstrels of Mexico. There is no overhead in them singing a song, but they would rather keep walking than do you a set of three songs for 50 pesos. The cheapest massage I've found here was a woman who would do a one hour massage in her home for 250 pesos. I'm all for people making money, but where's the balance in this? 250 is a day's wages for many people with full time jobs.
So are wages of 20 pesos per hour compared to what full time employees of businesses in Canada make. The point of this query is the disproportionality of the charges for some things; what may cause the prices of some things to be disproportionate, and why those who have no overhead would rather not perform their service than to accept less money- though it means not working at all. How many times have you seen a strolling minstrel approach customer after customer and not play a single song- but when offered money for a song, refuse to play at all, and move on. (I've offered 50 pesos for one song, and been turned down. It's a good return on three minutes of "work".)
Yes, it is peanuts but it doesn't address the question. We are not IN Canada. We are in a country where the minimum wage is what... about $5 USD/day? The idea of a more than likely uneducated, uncertified person commanding $21/hr here is absurd. I pay my administrative assistant, an educated, very knowledgeable woman $100/week here and she's happy to get it. When I hired her, she was working in the sun, spraying insecticide on plants for $50/week. Anyway, as a copywriter, I understand the market commands what it will bear. If they are charging $250/pesos for a massage, it is because they can get it, or assume they can get it. This whole concept of "gringo" pricing pisses me off to no end. I will not shop where the prices are not clearly marked. And if I HAVE to buy a service, I send my Mexican assistant. Its the only way to keep from getting ripped off. Hey... there's an idea Find a Mexican to hire the massage therapist at the Mexican price and then let them be surprised when they show up
I'm no expert, but my guess is because most locals aren't in the habit of getting massages. A "spa day" just isn't really heard of here (except for some particularly colorful mani pedis, of course). This would lead me to think that most of the people getting massages in Cancun are expats or maybe some well-traveled upper class locals, meaning the masseuses can charge more. In other words, I doubt charging less would get them more customers because they'd be moving into a market that isn't at all interested in massages. I might be wrong, just thinking out loud here.
I know here in southeastern MN they are getting between 35 for 1/2 hour and 56 per hour for (legitimate) massages. https://www.secure-booker.com/bodykneads/Services/Services.aspx I dont think its that out of line compared to these^ prices.
Just out of interest how do those prices of 250 to 500 pesos compare with those of illegitimate massages?
