My name is Eric Gibson and I’m a Certified Massage Therapist who provides mobile massage services to the Greater Sacramento area. Whether the service is referred to as In-Home Massage, Mobile Massage, Out Calls, In-Calls, or any longer winded combination of words that ask if massage services are able to be delivered to your home or office — the one thing that is for certain is that it
is a relatively unknown service option that leaves many people with lots of questions.
In an attempt to shed some light on this super convenient service, I wanted to take some time to dispel some common myths about mobile massage while also giving you a detailed explanation of what you can expect when you ask a massage therapist to come to your home.
Note: Skip to the final section titled “what to expect at every step of booking an in-home massage service” if your goal is to get straight to the specifics of how it works.
Becoming a Mobile Massage Therapist
I have to admit that I started off with concerns about going into my client’s homes to perform massage services; however, the uncertainty of renting a business location that I wasn’t allowed to use due to constantly changing public health guidelines ultimately forced me to open my mind to the possibility of converting my business to a mobile massage business. In the beginning, my main concern was that going into a stranger’s home was inherently dangerous.
Another concern was that I didn’t want to show up to an extremely cluttered and dirty space that didn’t have enough space for me to work in. While these might seem like valid concerns to have as a massage therapist that goes into people’s homes, my experience over the past few years has been the exact opposite. Every person that has invited me into their home so far has been very nice, has provided a safe space, and overall has been extremely respectful and appreciative of the services that I am able to offer in the safety, comfort, and convenience of their home.
Common Fears for First-Time In-Home Massage Clients
At least once a week I am contacted by someone who has never had a massage at home and consequently has a few questions about what to expect — I would estimate that at least half of these conversations end without the person booking a massage service. Additionally, the people who do book an in-home massage with me will often ask me to talk about the “bad experiences” that I’ve had as a result of entering someone’s home. Both of the above cases hint at a general social anxiety surrounding the unknown that can present itself when inviting a stranger into your home.
For many people, they’re simply worried that their massage therapist will judge them for having a cluttered home (hint: we won’t!). For others, there is a fear that their massage therapist could be a dangerous person (hint: all California Certified Massage Therapists must pass a background check).
For even more people, there is just a general anxiety about not knowing what to expect or how to act or what to do when booking an in-home service for the first time — after all, anything can be a little awkward if there aren’t clear processes and expectations that are communicated beforehand.
What makes In-Home Massage so popular?
Despite the initial anxiety that some people experience when planning their first in-home massage, the perks of having a massage at home are converting more and more people to take advantage of this service. By far, the most talked about perk of in-home massage is the fact that when your massage is over, you’re already home! By having your massage service at home, you eliminate the commute to and from a business location, you eliminate the need to find parking, you eliminate the need to socialize with front desk (sales) staff before and after your appointment, and most importantly you free a lot of time in your schedule by eliminating these unnecessary steps.
In theory, there’s no reason that you can’t be in bed or watching your favorite tv series less than 10 minutes after your session ends! Additionally, if you live with an immunocompromised person or simply prefer to reduce your exposure to potential illnesses that are going around, having a massage at your home instead of at a high-traffic, public location limits your exposure to just one massage therapist rather than an entire business establishment.
On this same line of thought, if the appointment is taking place in your home then we follow your house rules, and the vast majority of mobile massage therapists have no problem with wearing a mask during your session if that is your preference (I certainly don’t mind).
One final perk that many clients might not realize they are receiving with in-home massage services is that mobile massage therapists tend to have more relaxed schedules which results in a more calm and relaxed approach to all aspects of running a massage business. I consider this to be an effect of the fact that most mobile massage therapists work independently and don’t have the cost of renting a business location weighing them down. These factors give us the ability to put more time in between appointments in a day since we are taking home a larger percentage of the massage rate.
The end result is a higher quality massage from a happier massage therapist who isn’t exhausting their body by racing through back-to-back appointments all day long.
What to expect at every step of booking an In-Home Massage service:
In my experience, the majority of anxieties that people experience when booking a mobile massage therapist can be resolved by providing a very clear explanation of every step of the process; however, since most massage therapists tend to be fairly comfortable working closely with people, we often forget to explain the more minor details of the overall process. In an attempt to be as transparent as possible, I’m going to explain EXACTLY what you can expect at every step of working with me. For simplicity, I have broken my process down into 4 general steps: Booking, Arrival, Massage, and Payment:
Booking
In short, I only need 6 pieces of information from you in order to book your appointment: I need to know how long of a service you would like to book (60 minutes, 75 minutes, 90 minutes, 120 minutes), I need to know if the service is just for you or for multiple people (you can book up to 6 hours in one visit), I need a name to keep on file, I need an email address to send appointment confirmation, I need a phone number if you’d like a courtesy text message when I’m on the way to your address, and most importantly I need a street address where the massage will take place (all information provided will strictly be used for the purpose of your appointment and will never be used for spam or advertising).
You can find a full list of appointment lengths and types along with my exact availability by using my easy-to-use online booking link — by going this route, you can have a spot in my schedule in just a few short minutes. I’m also happy to chat over the phone or through text message at (916-724-9858) if you would like for me to personally handle the scheduling for you. Whether you book on your own or with my assistance, you will receive confirmation and reminder emails from my scheduling app (Acuity).
These emails provide a link for easy rescheduling or cancellation of your appointment without the need to talk directly with me.
Note: There is no penalty for canceling an appointment with me, but I ask that you don’t abuse this policy by repeatedly canceling with very short notice.
Arrival
About forty minutes before your scheduled appointment time, I will enter your address into my GPS and I will send you a courtesy text message to give you an estimated arrival time. I typically arrive at your address about 5-10 minutes before your scheduled appointment time along with my massage table, sheets, massage cream, and a speaker for music.
I always park at the closest available street parking (unless instructed otherwise) and I take off my shoes upon entering your home. I will then spend 3-5 minutes setting up my massage table and music in a location of your choosing. As a general rule of thumb, I recommend a space that is at least the size of a full-size bed so that I have enough room to move around the table (I’m open to any room in the house where you are comfortable while also meeting this minimum space requirement, so no need to overthink on the setting).
Massage
Once the table is set up, we will spend a few minutes talking about your goals, preferences, and expectations for the massage session — don’t worry, this won’t take away from your hands-on massage time!
This is the time to tell me about parts of your body that need more focus as well as parts of your body that you don’t like to have touched (there’s nothing wrong with spending the entire massage on one part of your body if that’s what you prefer!).
This is also a good time to tell me about the level of pressure that you prefer (if you’re unsure, I’ll be sure to communicate extra during the session to find the perfect pressure for your needs).
Once we are both clear on the direction that the massage will go in, I will step out of the room to give you privacy to get on to the table. Usually I will ask if you have a restroom or kitchen sink that I can use to wash my hands while you get on the table, but I’m also fine with just stepping around the corner or into a hallway and using my hand sanitizer. When getting onto the table, you should only undress as much as you are comfortable undressing and you will start face down under the top sheet.
If you choose to leave a piece of clothing on, I won’t be able to apply lotion to that area, but I can still perform massage on the area over the top of the sheets. In this manner, it’s entirely possible to receive a full body massage without taking off any of your clothing. If you choose to be fully unclothed during your session, I will only uncover one part of your body at a time while I am working on it and I will never uncover your crotch or your “inter-gluteal cleft” (aka your butt crack).
Additionally, I will only uncover and touch the parts of your body that you have requested to be touched. For those who are curious to know what lotion I use for massage, the name of the product that I prefer to use is Biotone. I like it because it glides easily like oil while still having the absorbency of a lotion which means no feeling oily after your session — here is a link to the product if you'd like to learn more, I'm happy to use one of your products instead if you'd like.
Note: If you have scheduled multiple massages in one visit, I will replace the sheets with a clean set of sheets and repeat the above process in between each massage.
Payment
When your massage time is over, I will leave the room to give you privacy to get off of the table and put your clothes back on. When I return, I will quickly clean up my massage table followed by processing payment. I strongly prefer payment in the form of cash or through Venmo so that I can keep my processing fees as low as possible; however, I’m also able to process debit or credit cards through Square and I can accept checks if that is your preference. If you prefer to not think about payment after your massage has ended, you can request for me to process payment before your session starts, and I will also provide a QR code that allows for easy payment to my Venmo business profile at any time before, during, or after your session.
Conclusion
I went to great lengths in this post to describe my process in such specific detail to ensure that you have the option to know EXACTLY what to expect when booking my mobile massage services. To sum it up in a much simpler way, you can expect your entire interaction with me to take about 10-15 minutes longer than your actual scheduled massage time. That means that if your 60-minute massage is scheduled to start at 1:00 pm, you can expect me to knock on your door at 12:55 pm and you can expect me to be out of your home and back to my car by 2:10 pm at the latest. While I’m sure that this was a painful read for people who view in-home massage as a very straightforward service, my hope is that this thorough explanation gives at least one person some peace of mind when considering whether or not mobile massage is a good fit for their needs.
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