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Old Dogs, New Tricks

DW staff (jen)March 15, 2007

Talk about your early-bird special. Pensioners in Germany are being offered the kind of senior discount that could make some turn their nose up at a half-price dinner: a rebate at the local brothel.

For seniors, a visit to one brothel in Cologne is a bargainImage: picture-alliance/dpa

In Cologne, Germany, some practitioners of the world's oldest profession may soon be attracting the world's oldest customers.

The Pascha – a 120-room behemoth of a bordello in Cologne, Germany – is no stranger to creative marketing.

According to its Web site, the establishment offers four themed rooms ("The Darkroom," "The Hayloft", "The Doctor's Office" and "The Car Room"), a phone-sex hotline, and in-house pizza delivery. Also new: the "First Floor Express -- 30-minute orgasm guaranteed."

The Pascha made headlines last summer with a racy ad during the World CupImage: AP

Despite the fact that the Pascha is "so busy it frequently crosses the 30,000-visitor-per month mark," according to manager Armin Lobscheid, there was room for improvement. In a move to boost afternoon traffic, he followed the lead of movie theaters and low-price restaurants, and instituted cut-rate admission for people over 66 years of age.

Now, every day between 12 and 5 pm, spunky seniors who are willing to be carded (proof of age required) can get 50 percent off services rendered.

The discount for a "normal session" works out to be 25 euros ($33).

"We don't earn as much money, but we're establishing ourselves across a broader range of age groups," a spokesman for Lobscheid told the Reuters news agency.

After testing the water with reductions for senior citizens once a week, the Pascha decided earlier this month to make the offer a daily one.

"There's been plenty of demand and people have certainly been taking advantage of the offer," the spokesman said. "Older folks are more active than you think."

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