Red-Light Report Rhine-Main 2026
What does paid companionship in the Rhine-Main region really look like, beyond the clichés? This report combines official statistics on registered sex work in Germany and the state of Hesse with more than 164,000 anonymous bookings from 13 years. A data-driven look at a market that is talked about a lot and rarely measured.
Registered sex work: the official data
The following figures come from official statistics published by the Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis) and the Hessian State Statistical Office (Statistisches Landesamt Hessen). They cover only people registered under the German Prostitute Protection Act (ProstSchG) and licensed businesses.
32,254
Registered sex workers in Germany (end of 2024)
3,073
Registered sex workers in Hesse (end of 2023)
40,400
Pre-pandemic peak in Germany (end of 2019)
2,250
Licensed prostitution businesses in Germany (end of 2024)
Registered sex workers in Germany
Valid registrations under the Prostitute Protection Act. The pandemic slump and the recovery that followed are clearly visible.
Source: Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), statistics under the Prostitute Protection Act, as of 31 December of each year.
Hesse in detail (end of 2023)
Hesse had 3,073 registered sex workers, 377 of whom held German citizenship. The largest groups by nationality came from Romania (1,248), Spain (474) and Bulgaria (283).
Nationwide profile
- 75% are between 21 and 44 years old, 21% are 45 or older and 4% are aged 18 to 20.
- 82% do not hold German citizenship; most come from other European countries.
- 93% of licensed businesses are prostitution venues (such as brothels).
Source: Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) and Statistisches Landesamt Hessen, reporting year 2023.
The demand side: 164,000 bookings
Alongside the official statistics, an analysis of 164,233 anonymised, aggregated bookings from the Rhine-Main region (2013 to 2026) shows when, for how long and in what form companionship is actually in demand.
164,233
Bookings analysed
13
Years of data (2013 to 2026)
63 min
Average duration
88%
Visits to a house
Key findings
Visits on site dominate
In the Rhine-Main region, 88 percent of all bookings are visits to a house. Classic escort accounts for around 9 percent and hotel companionship for about 3 percent. Despite all the digitalisation, a house you can visit remains by far the most common format. People would rather come by than be visited.
Prime time is early evening
Demand rises steadily from late morning and peaks between 7 and 8 pm. It stays high until 11 pm and then drops noticeably. The early hours between 4 and 9 am are practically dead. After-work hours are clearly the most important time.
Not just a weekend thing
Friday and Saturday lead, but only narrowly. Across the week, demand in the Rhine-Main region is spread surprisingly evenly. Even the quietest day, Tuesday, is only about 10 percent below the busiest day. Companionship has become part of everyday life, not just the weekend.
About one hour per appointment
The average booking lasts 63 minutes. 61 percent of all appointments last between 31 and 60 minutes, a quarter up to 30 minutes. Long bookings of more than two hours are the exception. Most guests plan a clearly defined amount of time.
Autumn is peak season
October is the busiest month of the year, closely followed by November, December and high summer. April is the quietest. The differences are moderate but have been stable over 13 years. The darker months noticeably drive demand.
Pandemic slump and full recovery
In 2020, demand in the Rhine-Main region fell to 6,919 bookings, down from around 15,000 a year before. The recovery took two years: in 2023, 16,543 bookings even set a new record. The market did not just survive the pandemic, it fully caught up.
Bookings per year in the Rhine-Main region
The pandemic slump in 2020 and the recovery to the 2023 peak are clearly visible.
Demand over the course of the day
Bookings by time of day. The peak is between 7 and 8 pm.
Time of day (11:00 to 00:00)
Demand over the course of the year
Bookings by month. October is the strongest month, April the quietest.
88%
Visit to a house
145,095 bookings
9%
Escort
14,061 bookings
3%
Hotel companionship
4,845 bookings
Top destinations for outcall companionship
Frankfurt leads by a wide margin, followed by Offenbach and Darmstadt.
What the data show about the Rhine-Main region
A sober look at a market full of clichés
Paid companionship is discussed a lot and rarely backed by numbers. This report connects two levels: official statistics on registered sex work in Germany and Hesse, and a large booking dataset from the Rhine-Main region built up over 13 years, with 164,233 anonymised bookings. The picture that emerges is surprisingly ordinary. Instead of extremes, it shows a settled, regular market with clear patterns that repeat year after year.
Official figures and demand tell the same pandemic story
The official statistics and the regional booking data support each other. On the supply side, the number of registered sex workers in Germany fell from around 40,400 before the pandemic (end of 2019) to about 23,700 (end of 2021) and rose again to around 32,300 by the end of 2024. On the demand side, the booking data show the same pattern: a slump in 2020 and a full recovery by 2023. Two independent data sources, one and the same curve.
The house beats the escort
By far the most important finding is the dominance of the house you can visit. Almost nine out of ten bookings are visits on site, and only a small share goes to escort or hotel companionship. That contradicts the common assumption that the business is moving entirely to the client's home. In the Rhine-Main region, a personal visit to an established house remains the norm.
A reliable rhythm across the day, week and year
Demand follows a steady beat. Over the day, the early evening dominates; over the week, the days are remarkably close to each other; and over the year, autumn noticeably lifts demand. These patterns have held constant across all 13 years. Anyone who wants to understand the market can rely on this rhythm.
Frankfurt as the centre of the region
For outcall companionship, the geographic pull of the Rhine-Main region is clear. Frankfurt am Main is by far the most frequent destination, followed by Offenbach and Darmstadt. From there, demand radiates into the surrounding towns, from Wiesbaden to Hanau and Aschaffenburg. In this data, the Rhine-Main region works as one connected market with a clear centre.
Frequently asked questions about the report
When do most bookings happen in the Rhine-Main region?
How long does an appointment last on average?
Did the pandemic change the market in the Rhine-Main region?
Which cities are most in demand for outcall companionship?
How many sex workers are registered in Hesse?
Where do the official figures come from?
Where does the booking data come from?
Methodology
The official figures come from statistics under the German Prostitute Protection Act (Destatis, Statistisches Landesamt Hessen) and refer to the reference date of 31 December of each year. They include only registered people and licensed businesses; unregistered activity is not included.
The demand data are based on 164,233 confirmed bookings from 2013 to 2026. They are anonymised and aggregated, and no personal information is published. City figures refer to the destination of outcall bookings.
Media enquiries via our contact page.
Sources
- Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis): “Around 32,300 prostitutes registered with authorities at the end of 2024”, press release no. 240, 3 July 2025 (in German).
- Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis): “Around 30,600 prostitutes registered with authorities at the end of 2023”, press release no. 271, 12 July 2024 (in German).
- Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis): statistical report on statistics under the Prostitute Protection Act, reporting year 2023 (tables on registered sex workers by federal state, age and nationality, and on prostitution businesses; in German).
- Statistisches Landesamt Hessen (Hessian State Statistical Office), cited in DIE WELT: “Registered prostitutes in Hesse mostly from Europe”, 8 October 2024 (in German).
- Wikipedia: “Prostitution in Deutschland” and “Bahnhofsviertel (Frankfurt am Main)” (time series and historical context; in German).
- Doña Carmen e.V. (advocacy group for sex workers, Frankfurt am Main): publications on the implementation of the Prostitute Protection Act in Frankfurt (in German).
- Exclusive anonymised and aggregated booking data from Meine Perlen, Rhine-Main region, 2013 to 2026 (demand data for this report).