Dipping our toes into the rental game- Contract Examples anyone

[Aaron Clarke]

So at the last board meeting the topic of renting our facility came up for about the 100th time and this time they actually want to pursue gathering some information.

Background-
1900's Vaudeville house owned by a non profit that produces solely on volunteer work other then a P/T office manager. It's a 500 seat house, they produce about 10-13 productions a year themselves. We located in a town of about 45,000.

The interest is renting the facility for simple things such as comedians, weddings, other simple things that could be put on in front of the grand.

Where they are at now is very basic and high level. They are asking simple things as prices, what you provide and what you charge extra for, what the other risks.

If anyone has contract examples they are willing to send that would be fantastic, just message me. Any other advice I may not have seen such as the below doing some basic searching on here.

-NO Wrestlers or body building
-Have a good plan for food drink and require cleaning deposit if you allow it.
-I kind of gather a base rate with one mic and general wash is the starting point and then charging extra for more.
-They of course want to require a duly appointed rep to be present at all time. We lack a true tech director and my suggestion is they cough up some cash to pay who ever is their rep a decent hourly rate which is worked into rental rate. If more then one general tech is required that you tack onto the that cost.
-Someone will be in charge of final scheduling/coordinating and we have to somehow get the season directors on board.

Questions that come to mind:

-How do you handle charging for ticketing service if asked for it?
-Do you set by hour or by day or half day?
-Any aspects we're overlooking in base rate:
Utilities, labor for rep, housekeeping, general wear and tear (facility and equipment)
-How do you generally approach valuing those things.


Thank you all for you soon to be dispensed input. The board is finally seeing this could be a could source of income if it's thought out.

 

[JohnD]

I'm really surprised that no one has responded yet. While you are doing your research, check out the technical packet threads.
Oh, and don't forget the glitter and confetti fees!!! Also, remind the renters that should they want flying, pyro or open flames, they must contract with licensed professionals with multi-million $ liability insurance and proof of listing the venue for also insured.

 

[TimMc]

You might get more info by using an internet search for "venue rental" or similar terms, perhaps focusing on locales around the size of yours or on restored theaters (those beautifully crafted restorations often have more restrictive use rules). Find the "rental info" or "technical info" links and go from there. Contact the venue sales department, tell them what you're doing and you'll probably get more info than you need.

Wrestling & body building - what they seem to have in common (besides men in unfashionable garments) is OIL. One private venue I work in solved the oil issue by specifying one room or area for this function, laying down VisQueen on the floor with carpet (from a recycler) on the walk-path to the stage. They put up pipe&drape pipes and hang VisQueen to protect the walls. With body builders the other issue with oil is the smell that lingers; how much of an issue that is depends on your board of directors and what they find objectionable.

Food & drink - there was thread on CB a few months back about a venue with an ethnic client (for whom food is a big deal, culturally) and what could reasonably be done considering the condition the venue was left in. Lots of good info in that thread, from allowing only caterers with venue contracts to cleaning/repair deposits. It's well worth finding.

I'm of the opinion that any venue that does not have a representative onsite from the time the client comes in until the client is driving away is asking for abuse, damage, lost revenues and generally disregarding its own value. That rep needs to be versed in both technical operations and house use provisions so he or she can say yes/no as appropriate and stand behind those decisions regardless of client pressure. That also means the VENUE should have right of approval of any theatrical labor not employed by the venue. You need a venue "single point of contact" on the sales & marketing side.

How much of what comes with the venue rental? My answer is "whatever the venue representatives can realistically handle." That means for most functions - a general lighting wash of the stage, lectern special, similar basic things. In audio that means a couple of mics (maybe a wireless) and not running cues. The client should supply needed artistic staff and have the venue supply theater technicians (or venue approval of technicians supplied by client) if these basic provisions are not sufficient. At our local PAC there is an IATSE contract and the union dispatches technicians for one-off clients. Also in our local PAC there is generally a minimum provisioning of each performance space - a certain number and type of lighting fixtures and dimming/control; installed sound system with consoles appropriate to the room size and use, plus intercoms , etc. Additional charges are incurred for clients using: follow spotlights (fee per performance/rehearsal), PAC inventory of wireless mics, additional lighting instruments from halls not in use, laundry facilities, storage, paint shop and scene shop, office space not part of the theatre... then other charges for tables, chairs, risers and platforms, additional trash cans and refuse service, compressed air, natural gas, electricity, water & drains in non-performance spaces.

That's a few thoughts, there are plenty of things not included.

 

[Aaron Clarke]

Thanks all.

I did find a few examples to forward on and suggested they contact our local PAC to see what they have.

I think at least for now the goal is simple things such as weddings, comics, simple bands. Anything where they can tell the directors, we just need the space in front of the grand for the day. The directors don't seem to care that a small inconvenience on there side several weeks out actually may keep the place open versus folding up broke.

Re: Tech Director- I love that when I inquired on the history the response is, "we had one once but it just didn't work out". So that one TD didn't work out, either you hired the wrong person OR just maybe expectations were not set. (I'd guess the second one) so you just cut it all together.

 

[Gobokat]

Aaron,

So - the point of doing non-community rentals is to increase revenue. . . and currently the total staff is one PT office person? OK - before I chime in on rates let's be real about the additional overhead that your org is probably going to have to take on. First off, sales, booking and FOH management night of the events. I'm guessing your current part time person is maxing out hours just organizing the community use of the space, so if you're gong to add to that plan on making that person full time or finding a very flexible and responsive PT additional person who can call prospective renters back in a timely window, schedule facility showings, assist them in making local marketing contacts, and potentially box office (depending on how your org decides to go on that route.) Then you'll have to decide who heads up your ushers and watches your FOH during the performance nights. Is that one of your staff people, a volunteer, a responsible rep from your community renters? But you'll definitely need someone on performance days to watch your FOH. Next, if you're renting your space and a baseline tech package you need to make sure it's all safe and functional. Renters are responsible for not breaking it during their performance, but your staff is responsible for making sure it's fit and proper in the first place. Who's gong to be in charge of that, or for running the performance? Will you have to hire another PT technician to do pre-show setups and repairs? Also, many smaller circuit comics, magicians, musicians, etc. depend on a decent level of "house" support, i.e. they might tour with a PSM, or maybe a FOH sound tech, but probably not their own LD. Can you provide those positions if needed? Once you think through the additional staffing you can add that to the base electrical/HVAC/Cleaning cost of a day in the space and you'll have a base-line number for your expense. Whatever you charge for a day in your space, your rental fee has got to be higher than that number. You can certainly charge more, but you really can't charge less if, as you say, the point of this is to fill in budget gaps.

There are a lot of practical details the board has got to work out, but I would start with a real basic "cost of your labor plus utilities", even keep the cost of the building out of it for the moment, but that's a base number. Then you need to look at entertainment saturation in your area, how many other venues like yours are available (be realistic, a break out room might be as acceptable as a vaudeville space to some of the acts you're gong after), what are your competitors charging, and how busy do you want to be and see if it makes sense to pursue additional rentals.

Once you determine if this still makes sense, and what your baseline expenses are, then I would suggest googling venues that you know about in a 5 or 6 county area and see if they have online fee and tech rider information on line. I'm not saying copy it, but it will give you a sense of what your market rates are and how venues have set up their technical support.

Doing this really means they're taking on a commitment, not only to the building but to the incoming renter. They're going to be charging for a service and need to be sure they can deliver.