Hi All,
We are new venue owners so our event space is new to Peerspace. We’ve been getting a lot of inquiries through Peerspace and site visits, but no bookings.
When people come for a visit, they comment on how really cute our space is, but then we get a “Thanks, but no thanks”
I’m wondering if some of you seasoned venue owners have any tips to help us “seal the deal”.
Monique
I am new as well. I have over 45 inquiries and 6 site visits. I have 5 pending bookings now and 3 completed bookings. The 5 booked without a site visit. 2 asked to visit after booking. The 45 inquiries have taken a great amount of my time. I have also had no shows for site visits. I am beginning to see a pattern of behavior now. The serious ones understand that Peerspace venues are unique and booking a place on the site unseen is part of the adventure. The ones that don’t have a date, not sure how many people, they want to have a community event with multiple activities and vendors. I my experience these are dabblers. They are testing the waters and they don’t want to invest in their event without a guarantee of return(ticket sales). They are the ones who will ask for a discount because they are not sure whether they can get people there.
I don’t know how many other hosts charge for site visits but I am going to start. I know what I have to offer in my space and what I’m willing to do to add value. They will need to book a date on the site and I’ll give them a custom price.
Hi guys!
I do not charge for scouting if it’s under 15 minutes and I strongly recommend you do not. The best practice is to have great pictures(take pictures how how you want your guests to use it), have a 2D diagram, website/Instagram to show people how they can use the studio and many more. When they come to your location you want to have a “elevator pitch” ready so they become comfortable with you and your space. Always provide good information. Ask them questions like “what are you trying to achieve?” And offer them tips from the hosts perspective. I would even offer them water Last but not least the next morning send them a message asking them how they liked the studio and are they interested in booking.
Think of it like the Uber drivers, some have nothing the others have water bottles, candy, led lights and charging cables for phones. I hope this helps. Let me know if you need more information.
I also decided to charge 1 booked hour for a “must see before” site visit request.i will credit thescout hour if they book and won’t if they don’t. I am mostly making art in my space when not having a corporate meeting so it’s a ton of work to tidy the space for the scout. I’ve also tried having scout visit with the space as is (as an art studio with stuff in it) and they don’t book.
I will say that the person who needs do a scout visit is usually either- unsure, looking at other spaces to compare, or is an agent for another client who is making them do leg work. Very few of these result in bookings for me just FYI.
It will get easier as you get more great reviews (and make sure to get those). There is more and more competition as Peerspace has added thousands of other spaces so it’s great if you can offer something special “extra care” services or turnkey readiness.
I have read the various comments above and regarding the scout fee I personally don’t charge and am not a fan. I feel if you have a phone call and ask enough of the right questions and give good info it will eliminate a certain amount of the kooky loos. I would say over 1/2 my scouts actually book.
Besides having a photo/ video studio I rent a lot, I also rent many other studios and homes here on Peerspace and if I had to pay a scouting fee I would not go to that location and I am a serious professional but sometimes the photos are deceptive or I need to see loading, parking etc.
My other suggestion is if you have hadctgat many inquiries and no to few bookings then maybe you are priced to high. We don’t get to see your site link here so hard to say. I suggest consider lowering your price as a test to get some traction and 5* ratings. A peerspace rep can help you with price strategy. Good luck. Robert Reiff
My partner and I have 4 locations and over 300 bookings. We find that a well designed space, incredible pictures, clear offerings, straightforward pricing and prompt responses help most.
Hi Chanae, completely agree. A good profile with text and photos will help the guest decide wether they would want you or not.
Has anyone had the experience of a guest who has booked, insisting on coming in for a 2nd visit for pre- production planning? If so, are you charging for your time? It’s a 40 min trip there and back plus time onsite for me and I let them know I’m very booked the week they are requesting. I gave them 45-60 mins on first visit. It’s only 1200 sq ft, yet they keep insisting. They are even requesting additional time on the front end of the shoot (making the shoot quite early), if I can’t accommodate any other time. Any thoughts are appreciated.
I usually have scouting around another guest which has booked. 15-20 mins before or after the confirmed guest’s times.
If not let the potential guest know there will be a small fee.
Agree. We had many more inquiries after a professional photographer came in.
If I have already completed my initial free walk through in the case of a 2nd walk through for perhaps a set dec to take measurements or lighting DP etc. I tell them they have to ad an hr on to their official booking time to cover that and they usually don’t object.