I get a lot of requests for people who want to throw a party for whatever reason, birthdays, graduation etc… Most requests say the want something like Saturday night from 8pm-2am. I always decline these request but was wondering if people ever accept these types of booking and how they handle it. Do you allow alcohol? Do you hire a bouncer? I prefer renting to professionals who use the space for production but was considering a way to make the party thing work. Any advice, experiences, opinions? I would appreciate to hear what others are doing in these cases, how much you charge etc… I am in new york city. thanks in advance.
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Hi Anthony,
I have hosted a lot of birthday parties, baby showers, engagement events, etc. The main things we tried to avoid: excessive drinking, underage drinking, and excessive noise (music and crowd noise). We are in Burbank, a calm suburb of Los Angeles. I have a few residential neighbors right behind my commercial space. Note: we are not currently accepting social events due to COVID.
After letting events go late in the beginning, we decided to only allow bookings that would be wrapped and out of the space by midnight. That’s the time where people start doing shots etc, some just want to get drunk. They can do that somewhere else.
We were pretty relaxed and generally let people bring and serve their own alcohol. One suggestion there would be to insist that they have professional bartenders that you recommend. You want the bartender on your side, ensuring that guests are not overserved.
Bouncer/security. You should have resources here as well, and they should also be on your side. If guests ask about security, for us that would be a red flag. If they are concerned and believe they need security, we may not want them in our space. For us they would mainly be making sure the music is not too loud, and that our loading door in the back stays closed to contain the noise.
Related to that, we typically host private events, not events open to the public. You don’t want some generally promoted event where just about anyone could show up.
For music, you could also have a few DJs to recommend who will follow your rules. Independent DJs feel it is there job to amp up the music and get the party started.
A general tip: befriend your neighbors to minimize complaints from your rentals.
Insurance/deposit: require a damage deposit ($350? $500? more?), and have them secure event insurance from theeventhelper.com.
Happy to answer any questions Anthony. Main thing is to stress your rules, and let them know the consequences. Most of the problem folks will go away, and the chill folks will let you know that won’t be a problem. Trust your gut.
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Thanks @Brad_B! Well written
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Hey Anthony_L
I’m in Brooklyn, NY. When I first started on Peerspace I had a few parties during that time frame but I no longer have those kind in my space. I usually controlled the atmosphere by not allowing big speakers and I told them they must lower the music at 12am. I never had a bouncer but I think it is a good idea. Now I am more interested in hosting dinner parties. They are more manageable. Good luck!
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Brad always has good advice here. I’ll also offer a word of caution about late night parties, since I read another thread about a peerspace host that basically got kidnapped by his guest and locked in his office when the guest refused to leave on time and wanted to keep partying with his thug friends. Then there are other posts about guests lying about their bookings, saying they are shooting a film then end up throwing a party. My point of all this is just to say BE CAREFUL, and vet your guests (PeerSpace won’t do it for you).
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Partner with catering companies and/or event planners and insist that guests use one of your approved options. This works in three ways:
1: The planners/caterer do most of the work. They manage set up, the flow of the evening, and take care of the harder parts of cleaning up. Less work for you.
2: The planners/caterers will bring you bookings (sorry Peerspace). Based on the partners you select, you can more or less control the type of events and people you get in your space. I learned this after having too many parties where people treated my space like it was “da club”. Now I get small weddings for creative types, intimate dinners, and other unique low key events.
3: Caterers usually have off-site caterer’s permits to serve alcohol. Unless you have your own liquor license, you’re going to want this to avoid liability.
Other things off the top of my head:
- NEVER do self-serve bar. People don’t know how to make drinks and ALWAYS over-consume. Exceptions to this might be wine served at an art opening or something similar.
- Insist that people serve food when offering alcohol. This cuts down on the drunks. It’s also the law in NYC (I’m in Brooklyn).
- If you do the above, you shouldn’t need a bouncer. Just be really upfront about the rules, get them to sign something in writing where they agree to them, and then be unwavering in your application of the rules. Once you give people an inch, they will take a mile.
Feel free to message me if you have more questions.
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We have hosted parties in the past, but only small private events. We prefer to rent to clients doing film/photography and music. Small parties are easier to handle, but anything over 15 ppl can start to get a little hectic especially right now with the COVID restrictions. 10 ppl is actually pushing it. Small birthday parties, graduation parties, engagement parties, baby showers, etc are the easiest to manage.
Hi Brad, Thank you so much for all the details. It certainly seems like you have been through it all and have narrowed it down to what works. I completely agree with everything you mentioned, these are certainly key areas to focus on. I’ve taken notes on your reply and will incorporate it into my business plan as we are just getting started with accepting parties. I appreciate it big time!
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Thank you Frederica, dinner parties sound like a great way to minimize any potential drama. thank you for your advice!
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Hi Leon, I appreciate that, I have had some experience with that in the past unfortunately. I’ll be looking for red flags for sure! thanks for the advice
Thank you Geoffrey, I appreciate your insight and we are researching caterers and event planners as you suggested. All points well taken, I hope your business is doing well.
Thank you! I think 10 people would be a good size limit for events in order to keep the damage / headache potential low, great advice I will definitely adhere to. Best to you Elizabeth!
Thanks, best to you as well!