Posting for entertainment purposes

[Colleen253]

It’s a slow night. Then this rolls in.

My name is *** , The Director (ooohhh, caps 🤩) for an upcoming short film, and I am sending this message to inquire about renting your property for 4 days from December 11 to December 15 along with sometime this month possibly a tour through the property for a location scout. We are prepared to offer a higher day rate, and the property will be fully insured for filming and damage for the duration of the shoot if this will work. If this can work, we would have a crew of roughly 8-12 in the house along with a cast of 5. This short film is a horror/drama following the life of a young boy and the “ghost” of his late sister as they grow up through life in an unstable family scenario held together by an optimistic therapist. All equipment would be placed on moving blankets and would be protected to avoid damaging your property. Please let me know what other details you would need to know and if this could work out. If not, no worries and thank you for letting us know. Sincerely, **

HAHAHAHAHA. I gave it my best @Ute42 “NO”.  I miss Ute 😩

Polite though he was, no way I’m biting. Drama/horror this would certainly be.

[Emiel1]

@Colleen253 

I assume The DIrector offered you also a role in the drama, like playing the therapist or the ghost of the late sister ?

And the Oscar goes to ....... !

[Colleen253]

@Emiel1 Haha “but baby, think about it, you’ll be a STAR!”

[Brian2036]

@Colleen253 @Emiel1 

We had something similar a couple of years ago and it was highly recommended by our useless property management company.

 I suppose he was planning to take credit if there ever was any film production.

These people claimed to be representing some religious organization (DANGER) who was sponsoring “a young girl from Nigeria” who was to be filmed while hunting feral hogs. (DANGER DANGER)

Possibly she was going to do this with native weapons. (DANGER DANGER DANGER)

Incidentally, if appearances can be trusted, the Director and spokesperson for this operation was definitely NOT from Nigeria.

I was simple enough to take this at face value at the time, but when they then mentioned that they would be bringing 6-12 additional children, a film crew, and adults to supervise, I started to get a bad attitude.

The property manager was kind enough to accept a booking for five days without my permission, then strongly recommended that I waive all fees in return for credits.

Invaluable advertising exposure, you know.

 I seriously doubt that either he or VRBO were planning to waive any of their own fees, but, regardless, I certainly wasn’t.

They canceled and expressed deep regret that I am almost certainly going to HELL.

 I often wonder what the real story was. Just because it sounds insane doesn’t mean it wouldn’t appeal to one of the many perverse quasi-religious cults around here.

Quite the contrary, actually.

[Colleen253]

@Brian2036 Yikes. That was a massive bullet dodged.

[Michelle53]

@Colleen253   Haha, "No!" seems like the right answer 😉     "Short Film"  probably equates to "Budget".   One really has no idea of the capabilities of cast and crew, or the extent of the "insurance coverage".    Do these people guarantee to restore the property to the state it was in before they rented it, or do they just hand you their insurance agent's card and head for the hills ?

I had one some time back where they asked to film "daily activities" - someone sleeping, getting up, showering (???), and having breakfast.    I gave that one a "No!" too.   

When I hear "Horror Film" my mind goes straight to the fake blood. How on earth does one clean that up ??

Btw, I miss Ute too. 

[Colleen253]

@Michelle53 “…or do they just hand you their insurance agent's card and head for the hills.” 

Yeah, it would be that, if I was lucky. Then who knows how long my listing would be down while restoration took place. Subsequent bookings cancelled. No, thank you!! There is just so much that’s problematic with these requests, it’s mind boggling to even think about it. 

[Brian2036]

@Colleen253 @Michelle53 

In light of recent news events, we might have to consider the possibility of criminal liability as well as civil.

If someone did enough rooting around at our place they could probably come up with a live round to stick into a prop gun.

Or claim that they did.

[Sarah977]

@Colleen253  Only 13- 20 people in a listing with a maximum guest count of 5? What could possibly go wrong?

[Colleen253]

@Sarah977 Oh, but he's The Director, so no worries, and of course we should bend our rules for Him.

[Sarah977]

@Colleen253  I'm picturing the make-up crew flushing make-up wipes used on 5 actors down your toilet, clogging up your plumbing, and 20 people using a septic system designed for a maximum of 5. And he didn't mention the caterers- are they coming with food already prepared, or are they cooking for 20 in the kitchen? 🙂

I would have sent him a list of these types  of questions, just for fun, to see how he answered them. I'm quite sure none of this ever crossed his mind.

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Colleen253 @Sarah977 

Yikes! 

[Laura2592]

@Colleen253 I have a friend who purchased a very magnificent but very run down mansion in the midwest. It was used as a location for an episode of a tv show (or maybe it was a few episodes. I don't recall.)

She was extremely excited at first as the production company (major television, real deal production company) offered to pay for certain features of her home to be restored in order to use it as their location. And they did. She got some repairs to her foyer and staircase out of it. They also painted two rooms (colors she hated). 

The production went long. Her home needed electrical work so they were constantly blowing fuses and bringing in massive generators. The schedule was strange as these things often are. She has small kids and found it impossible to manage naps and other daily chores. Even going to the door for a package met with annoyed stares from the crew if they were setting up or shooting. Basically she had to move out of her house for a month. 

She was well compensated but had a ton of clean up to do. There was not a lot of respect for the space and everyone acted like they were doing her a huge favor for being there. Someone also left behind some very esoteric and very adult reading material. She was tempted to ask one of the actors to autograph it. 

We have gotten requests for photo shoots, and we have been a family portrait location for photographers, but we never do that as Airbnb. I have seen a few other hosts post about similar requests. I wonder WHY on EARTH people try to use this platform for anything other than a vacation stay. There really are holes in the market. 

[Colleen253]

@Laura2592 Sounds like a nightmare! I just want no part of it, even if it were a real deal production. Our space is small and would never even fit the amount of people and equipment needed. I think my listing pretty accurately depicts that, yet this is not the first  inquiry of this type I’ve gotten. 

[Ryan2352]

I think it might just be that they don't know about the OTAs that are designed for photo shoots, movies, art exhibits and such.  I have a home that can also be a wedding or filming venue.  I'm on those as well.