wedding rehearsal dinner

[Thomas-And-Janel0]

 Good morning,

We have a wedding party that will be staying at our property. They are asking if they can have somewhat of a peri-wedding event. They have also stated that they would like to have it catered  with a tent and seating outside.   It does not sound very formal but I am unsure of the ramifications. We live in a rule area and I do not believe there will be much disruption of the four neighbors.   Do we specify an additional price for this... Per person or simply a flat fee. Also would I need extra insurance, for example liability insurance? Any suggestions would be much appreciated? I'm sure this dinner will have extra foot traffic and wear and tear of the property.  Also would I need extra liability insurance? Any suggestions would be much appreciated

[Clare0]

Have you already accepted and agreed to this party? If not, I would tend to not accept it for all the reasons / questions you have posed. 

How many will be there?  Is your homeowners insurance adequate? If you agreed to a party, Airbnb's Host Insurance might not cover damage.  Regarding charging extra: I'd definitely charge extra, but how much more I couldn't say...don't know what the going rate is for this kind of thing.  You do have a hefty security deposit, but if you have to claim damages against it, be prepared to have photos, repair estimates, etc. especially in the event the guest doesn't feel they are responsible.  You have 48 hours after check out to get these things organized and make a claim against the security deposit.  

Most veteran hosts would advise against guests having a party in their home....there are plenty of stories of Airbnb homes being destroyed / trashed by out of control guests.  Are you prepared for that?  What time of year is this to take place? Will the guests be outdoors or indoors?  Is the reservation for one night or several?

All in all, it's your decision, but if you've agreed to allow a guest to have a party, then you're kind of stuck with all it entails...

Wish you the best of luck and everything turns out ok. 

[Maria-Lurdes0]

If you haven't had any discussion yet, I'd go with a pretty hefty fee to put them off.  SOmething like "we charge $1,000 for a party rental".   You have to consider access to bathrooms as well, are all of the party go-ers going to be using your guests booked space?  

I'm pretty certain that since this party is part of a commercial activity (rental of a room/listing) your homeowners insurance would not cover anything, and by even asking your insurance company about this could send up a red flag.   Yesterday I had  a chat with a local fellow host, and she called her insurance broker to ask questions about the availability of a policy to cover short term rentals in her home, and the next day her insurance company called to tell her they were cancelling her policy.  So you have to be very careful around insurance.....

[Kelly3]

I would do the same thing with @Maria-Lurdes0.

Definitely charge them more for the parties. Comparable to the amount other party venues would charge around your location.

If they still want your listing, they will get what they want, and you will have enough money to repair/replace anything they mess up.

The thing about party is that - even the nicest people can ruin the place. It is impossible for the guest who booked your place to control and manage every singel guests there. It is just safer to charge more for just in case situations.

[John-and-Heather0]

We sometimes allow this type of thing . . . but we have a occupancy agreement, an event addendum to the occupancy agreement for parties, extra deposits and fees, we know our occupancy limits for day guests versus night guests AND know what the septic system takes (and when they must rent porta potties, for example). We don't normally do this for AirBNB guests (because we don't have control of the deposit). If you are considering, you should know where you stand on everything with attorney, accountant, insurance, liquor license, overflow parking and local regs before you consider saying yes.  You'll get there with your hosting--but if you aren't quite there yet saying "no" is probably the smartest move.

[David126]

A totally different business and well outside an AirBnB lisitng.

I very much doubt any Insurance arrangements you have would cover this sort of operation.

My first thought is that it is a one off the amount you are likely to be able to charge simply does not make it worth it.

If this is a business that you want to get into and it will become a regular event then that is a very different situation.

[Anonymous]

Aside from being an Airbnb host, I'm an event manager and caterer.  I would never request an Airbnb accommodation such as yours for an event, nor would I advise a client to do so. There are many websites dedicated to event rentals - some of them even look like Airbnb clones - and I'd recommend that your guests use those instead.

For one thing, an event involving rental equipment and hired crew is going to have a high risk for damage and injury, and when you read the fine print, Airbnb's limited Host Guarantee/Protection is not anywhere near sufficient for events. A proper event location is going to be much better covered for what your guests need, they'll have more of the relevant equipment already onsite, and they'll be better prepared to set clear parameters and anticipate issues. What's more, it's generally only the owner who pays the commission on event rentals, so while your guests will surely spend more on the party space than on your nightly rate, they won't be losing hundreds in extra fees.

If your guests have trouble finding an appropriate party space in your area on their own, have them seek suggestions from their caterer, who would certainly know what to do.

[Cormac0]

@Thomas And Janel

I once went to a very posh wedding held in a person private residence, it didn’t seem that posh when the toilets available couldn’t cope with the number of guests at the wedding.

So, on a practical level do you have the appropriate facilities to cope for such an event, or are you going to be up to your neck in "dodo", I wanted to use the word sh*te to drive the point home, but I did not want to upset "Lizzie the Admin" 

@Anonymous is in my opinion one of the most sound contributor and you should give his post particular attention.

Regards

Cormac

The Explorer's Club Krakow III

The Explorer's Club Krakow VIII