How to Price Use of House for Filming?

Question

Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but here goes.

A film student wants to use our house to shoot her thesis film.

Our HOA is cool with it.

The student has insurance through her university (USC here in LA).

Here is what she said: "We will be filiming for 12 hours for 3 days and have one day to prep. Shoot hours would be either 8-8 or 9-9. Can I know the price for the location to make sure it fits my budget?"

It'd be on weekdays, so my wife's and my schedule wouldn't be intruded on too much.

So how do I go about pricing something like this? What are the questions I should be asking?

Thanks!

Ryan Detig · Answer

@Logan Allec @Stefan Stankovic I like your idea of Air BnB to compare. Obviously I don't know the entire situation but it seems like she "wants" to use your property for a specific reason. That leads me to think that the price would be higher than AirBnB pricing. Assuming you don't know this person from Adam I would probably make her give you a price first and start negotiations from there. Use 1.4 to 1.8 times AirBnB pricing (for example) as a check and balance to whatever she offers you. Good luck.

Stefan Stankovic · Answer

My first thought would be to check AirBnB rates in the area and price similarly, assuming there are enough other homes to compare with

Erik Anderson · Answer

You might consider asking her to make you an offer of what she is willing to pay. It might end up being more than you're thinking of charging.

Andy Rouvalis · Answer

I agree with @Ryan Detig that you should definitely be charging more than a typical air bnb rent. Personally I would start at 2x but as it is student film there may not be budget for that. Most importantly I would ask how big the crew is going to be and how much equipment they will be bringing in and out. (also will they be leaving the equipment over night?). I have had commercial shoots in the past the amount of people and equipment used was eye opening.

How to Price Use of House for Filming?

How to Price Use of House for Filming?

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