Wisconsin's ultra-liberal capital city, known as a place where anything from street parties to naked bike rides is accepted, is ironically seen pushing Madison's boundaries by offering the comfort of hugs and cuddling, the Associated Press reported.
At the Snuggle House, customers can spend $60 for an hour of hugging, cuddling and spooning with professional snugglers, city officials said. Snugglers dispute that touching helps relieve stress. But Madison officials suspect the business is a front for prostitution and, if it's not, there's a fear that snuggling could lead to sexual assault, the AP reported.
"There's no way that (sexual assault) will not happen," assistant city attorney Jennifer Zilavy said. "No offense to men, but I don't know any man who wants to just snuggle."
According to the AP, not buying the message that the business is all warm and fuzzy, police have talked openly about conducting a sting operation at the business, and city attorneys are drafting a new ordinance to regulate snuggling.
Matthew Hurtado, Snuggle House owner, hasn't responded to multiple requests for an interview, the AP reported. His attorney, Tim Casper, said the business is legitimate and Hurtado has put precautions in place to protect clients and employees from each other.
"The concept is obviously a novel one and you can see where they (the city) might be a little skeptical," Casper said. "Could something happen? Yeah, I suppose. But they're taking every precaution."
Featuring four snugglers, three women and one man, talking about wanting to help people feel better on the Snuggle House website, the site also shows photos of bedrooms with hardwood floors and videos.
Similar businesses have set up shop as the trend of cuddling has grown into a cottage industry over the past decade.
Police in Rochester, N.Y., said they've had no complaints about The Snuggery, which offers overnight cuddle sessions, the AP reported.
Be The Love You Are in Boulder, Colo., offers cuddles with "Snuggle Stars." Cuddle Therapy in San Francisco offers packages that "focus directly with your current needs around connection, intimacy and touch," according to its website.
Len Daley, a psychologist who serves as executive director at Cuddle Party headquarters in Montgomery, Ala., said that the non-profit organization Cuddle Party has trained about 100 people across five continents to run group snuggle session, reported the AP.
Cuddle Party participants must keep their clothes on and go through a pre-session workshop on how to say "no," said Betty Martin, a Seattle-based sex educator who facilities cuddle parties in that city. She said that she's never had problems with government officials or police.
"People think if there's touch happening there must be sex happening," Martin said. "That's not the case at all."
Police have been keeping an eye on the Snuggle House as well. Lt. David McCaw said police planned to send an officer into the business as a customer "and test the boundaries of what they said they're doing."
"It's right at the edge, isn't it?" McCaw said. "This business is about personal contact between two people for money. ... People have different opinions of what they think Madison is and sometimes people are shocked by pushback."
