As bizarre as it is, I believe it's exactly what it's presented as.

[Hey Allen, have a guy with a glass of wine in his hand and a blue-eyed crow on his shoulder standing nearby. Liam glances over, easily being able to determine that Allen wasn't human.]

It seems it's simply an auction to win a man or woman's company for a date. [He scoffs a little.] It almost seems like a socially acceptable form of human trafficking.