Game Over

Could it be that the world's oldest profession has had its day? Has the glow from the famous red light finally faded? According to Hamburg brothel owner Waltraud Mehrer, prostitution just ain't what it used to be which is why she is closing down the port city's oldest pleasure palace.

"It's time to go," Mehrer told Reuters. "It's a pity, but business just isn't what it used to be. We used to have 10 girls working here. Now we only have four."

Mehrer blames the incursion of more respectable establishments for the decline in business of the Hotel Luxor, which was opened on the world famous Reeperbahn in 1948 by Mehrer's father-in-law. The rehabilitation and regeneration of the notorious St. Pauli district means that more discos and nightclubs are opening at the expense of strip bars and fleshpots.

"For every shop around here which closes, a disco comes and opens," Mehrer said with regret. The widespread introduction of close circuit television (CCTV) cameras and police patrols in the area have also deterred would-be punters, contributing to the sharp fall in business which Mehrer cites as one of her reasons for closing.

Internet and age are business killers

Mehrer also blamed Internet pornography and the rise of the credit card for the decline in business, explaining that most women preferred to be paid in cash.

The Luxor, the only family-run brothel on the Reeperbahn, had its heyday in the late 1960s when the booming Hamburg harbor provided a steady stream of customers. But the commercialization of the port and the city's changing image means that shore leave no longer means a night of stiff drinks and a transaction with a lady of the evening.

"Sailors used to come here often but now the regulars are dying out," one of the working girls told reporters.

Quality of service goes down, so to speak

The suspicion that some of the girls coming to work in Hamburg's brothels may have been the victims of kidnap and human traffickers may not put too many of the lusty punters off their stride but the people who own the establishments have been put on guard, another changing aspect of the game. Mehrer believes these girls are contributing to the slow decline of service quality and the consequent dissatisfaction and disillusion of clients.

"Sure those girls are pretty, but some of them are just nineteen," she said. "They're mainly foreign women, eastern Europeans, and don't care about the satisfaction of their customers like we do."

Despite her initial sadness at having to shut the Luxor, Waltraud Mehrer is resigned to its fate and looks back with warm memories. "We've had some great times," she said. "But times are changing. Things here just aren't the same any more. Now we've got to come to terms with that."