Write once, with all of it
A name from the register, the date, the start time, the length, and the address, whether that is a hotel in Belgravia or a flat in Shoreditch.
BookingOne message · from £250 an hour
How a booking runs, from your first message to the door
Five steps and no hidden ones. You write, the desk checks, the desk confirms in writing, she travels, and her fee is handed to her when she arrives.
Cordelia takes the messages on WhatsApp and Telegram, in writing, because a written answer is one you can hold the desk to. She does not write maybe, and would rather lose a booking than take one she cannot deliver.
5 messages
From the first line to the knock
Wait for the check
The desk reads that companion's diary against your hour and answers in minutes: a yes, or a no with a different name attached.
Read the confirmation, then agree to it
It repeats everything back: companion, date, start time, length, address, arrival window and figure. You give the full name your room or flat is held under and, for a hotel, the room number. She leaves once that is in writing.
She travels, and you hear if anything slips
If the window changes while she is on her way, you hear during rather than afterwards. Fifteen minutes of slack runs both ways.
Settle, then forget about it
The figure in the confirmation is handed to her in person when she arrives, and it does not come up again.
The booking line · copy it, fill in the brackets, send it
Hello, I would like to book [name] on [date] at [time] for [duration]. I am staying at [hotel name], and will share the room number on confirmation.
The desk · 02
What the desk asks, and what it does not
It does not ask what you do, why you are in London, or anything a booking does not require, does not ask for identification, and keeps no file. The privacy page sets out what is held and for how long.
The desk · 03
Notice, and what it changes
Same day bookings are ordinary here and many evenings are arranged inside two hours. Notice buys choice rather than speed: write in the afternoon and most of the register is open to you. An overnight wants a day ahead, a weekend several.
The desk · 04
Hotels and private addresses
For a hotel the desk needs the hotel, the room number and the name the room is booked under; for a flat, the street, the number and the flat. She arrives as your guest and speaks to nobody on the way. No hotel named on this site has an arrangement with the desk.
Before you write
Answered plainly
01How quickly does the desk reply?
Usually within minutes, and inside about fifteen at almost any hour. If a companion has to be checked with first, Cordelia says so rather than going quiet.
02Can I book for tonight?
Yes, and many are. If the companion you chose is free she can often be at the door inside the hour; if not, the desk names someone who can.
03What if I cannot choose a companion?
Say what the evening is instead: the district, the hour, and how long it should run. The desk puts two names forward with a reason for each.
04Do I have to give my real name?
The desk needs the full name your room or flat is held under, because that is how she reaches the right door. No record is kept afterwards.
05What if my plans change?
Write one line. With three hours' notice or more it can be moved or cancelled at no cost, and the desk will try to find you another hour the same evening.
Your turn
One line is enough
Write the district, the hour and the number of hours. What comes back has a name in it, a time in it and a figure in it, and nothing moves after that.