VENUE PRICING SECRETS

Venue pricing is needlessly complicated - lots of lines items, hidden fees, etc. But you've discovered this by now (if not, sorry for the spoiler). This is just complexity by design. The price hiding starts when venues don't put their pricing online.

These opaque pricing strategies work - for the venue that is - because complexity misinforms. That's why this is industry standard proceedure and clients need to beware.

We like things simple, transparent.

We publish our rates on our website.
‍If you have to ask for prices, that's too much work. When a venue withholds their pricing, the relationship will usually not get better after you book with them.

We charge only one rate.
It includes everything that we offer, including what clients are already conditioned to think of as extras (tax and card fees, etc.).

We include things that most clients don't even think about (audio, video, lighting, staging, ice and insurance).

If you ask us for a pricing proposal, you'll get only one number back.

This is where things get messy, and many resort to work-style spreadsheets. In order to compare our rental fee to that of another venue, you'll almost need to add these items to the other venue's teaser rental rate:

This will be complicated, but the result is almost always that a venue's cost just got 2 to 3 times higher.

All-inclusive is a term used to describe hotels, county clubs, and other venues that include food, bar and often tables and glassware. It sounds great! Who wouldn't want all-inclusive? It implies simplicity and value.

The truth is that all-inclusive venues usually provide food, beverage and seating at high cost and always with zero selection. There is no choice of caterer. Bar costs are shocking. The furniture is usually basic corporate-style round tables.

Worse is that audio, video, lighting and staging - things that we provide at our venues - are rarely provided by all-inclusive venue. And these items are expensive, complicated to design, and time-consuming to set-up/ take-down. And most clients never think about these until after they book their venue.