I live in Los Angeles and everyone always wants a scout. We are doing 1-2 of these a week and we’ve been ghosted after a scout over half a dozen times.
We set rules: 2 people for 15 mins tops. Everyone breaks this rule. Yesterday 8 people showed up and stayed 45 minutes discussing blocking and then said they were not sure yet. I know it’s going to very hard to get compensation for scouting, but wish that Peerspace would demand a small 25-50 scout fee for home locations that can be charged across anyone not running a “commercial” operation (studio, etc).
Is there a way anyone has been able to do this. As soon as i set the rules they say ‘oh we need 4 people’ and when i say they can book an hour they back down. It makes me look difficult when I am not. I know this is the entry to doing business but those of us renting homes are letting strangers uncompensated all the time.
I agree, scouting should be handled differently but it rarely is. One of the other sites (names are blocked) charges a $40 scout fee which if they book is a credit. Great idea but many won’t then scout with me there. I allow short first scout visits, then if booking only longer tech scouts with more ppl. That usually works.
I don’t bother with scouts. I understand that it is a profession and they need to look at multiple locations to see what works but the host needs to be compensated for his or her time too. I politely answer a scout back and let them know I don’t do scout visits. I send a link to a private video. Almost all “scouts” that have contacted me do not have a review on this site or others or have a legit resume. The last “scout” that contacted me had a listing on IMDB ( don’t know if he was catfishing) and offered me thousands off of Peerspace. They always want to come last minute, oh I’m going to be in the area tomorrow….I liken scouts to headhunters, they must show their “busy work” to payroll to keep their jobs.
If it’s that bad, just charge for scouts. Get a Square or Stripe card reader and require the first person inside to run a card for $50-$100, call it a deposit, provide a credit when they book. They can wait on the lawn if the finance person hasn’t arrived. Be polite but firm, and counter any argument with the simple fact that your time is valuable and your space is not free.
Serious productions will not have a problem with this, even if they aren’t sure about the location.
possibly charge a scout fee and if they book, reimburse them. I believe you can add a scout fee as an “add on”. Or you can arrange a scout on a confirmed booking.
Charge them. These appointments to scout are taking up alot of time and time is money.
I’m constantly getting requests from prospective renters that want to exceed our business hours. It seems there are quite a few prospects that don’t read the information provided about our space.
It’s so competitive in LA that scout fees will def turn people off if they are not across the board as a policy. Peerspace could easily mandate that scouts with more than 1 person lasting more than 10 minutes need to be charged.
It’s really frustrating to deal with the requests. The 8 people that showed up on our last scout and stayed 45 mins even though we asked them to wrap up twice didn’t bother to tell us they decided on another location - had to chase for an answer. Just had two people from the same company on different Peerspace accounts ask for scouts and then ghost.
Things i have discovered as first contact are often assistants with no authority to authorize any payments. If i add a scout fee as an add on, will Peerspace take commish on that? I guess i can see if i can do a custom offer with just the add on?
My other biggest peeve is having someone scout and then never hear from them again. The amount of questions and back and forth it takes to get to scout point is also time consuming, I know this is part and parcel of doing business, but it feels like there needs to be a better system in place for scouting to ensure hosts across the board can not waste so much time and energy.
I have an online scheduler for all tours. It helps organize and reinforce the time angle www.TourMyHugeChurch.com. My handouts explain the most asked questions and I reinforce that the booking date is open until it’s booked. My booking rate is about 70%.
I encourage a scout. This puts you one ahead in the pack of locations that the production team is looking at and/or visiting. I only request that I know who is coming and what they want to see. I have had a lot of scouts so I usually know what they want to see and are often surprised at how I have things organized for a shoot. Every scout puts you closer to booking a gig, so take the scout. I did have a production that, after a small scout, wanted a technical scout with 6-8 people - the DP, Director, etc. and on their own they booked an extra hour to cover that time. I could never bring myself to charge for a scout.
What an excellent response Ron, it is the best one I see here. Some of my bookings are comebacks from a non booked scout walk. This past week I had Emma Chamberlain photographed by Petra Collins for CR Fashion book and it was from a person I met on a walk (not even the person asking to book) months later. Ron is looking at the big picture. If what you have doesn’t match this time around, maybe it will next time, Its like planting in the winter for a summer crop. Yes, it takes time, ok…
The issue here seems to be scouting private homes vs full time photo/film studios.
I would find scouts super annoying if I was renting out my home and would want compensation.
For my studio, I encourage people to come by and scout. I limit them to 30 mins, but do not charge.
I particularly love professional location scouts. All they do all day is look for locations and if you’re not right for their current project, you might be for another one next week, next month, next year.
I actively reach out to reputable scouts and scouting companies to make sure they have me in their catalog. I also send them updated pix whenever we add furniture, paint, etc.
They would laugh their asses off if I tried to charge them for doing an on-site.
Coming from the production side, it is very helpful to physically see a home before using it for a shoot so not offering scouts altogether is not going to go over well.
We are managing homes and we are clear up front that we offer a 15 minute walkthrough for free (We do not limit headcount). We offer scouts over 15 minutes at $20/half hour and we will credit that cost if they end up booking. If the production is doing a tech scout or blocking or something, that should be charged as use of the space. If that turns them off then we are ok with it.
Also, coming from the production world, I charged for my time to scout a location and I am willing to be that producer or art director is probably billing for their time so only fair that the location is too.
I agree a long scout visit, with several people and no compensation is frustrating especially if they ghost you. In my opinion being in highly competitive Los Angeles I try to be as accommodating as possible. If you or the website charges a fee for a scout visit they may pass you up for the next location. Every scout visit is an opportunity for a future production or referral to another scout. I’ve had several productions that came from the one scout who passed me up the first time but remembered my home.
I have found I like doing tours especially when more than one person comes. The people I meet in LA wear many hats, the lines between producer and director and even actor are blurred. It’s like I’m doing a commercial directed at the right people and everything I do to has potential. I am essentially advertising our place for every other production they do in their lifetime if I do it well. The potential is there for a job in the future. If I do it poorly or what I present can be found anywhere it might be a waste of my time
Even if they don’t pick me for this project, if their job is finding locations for whatever reason, I want to get them out here to see the place in real life no matter what. I would be opposed to charging for it.
(If I did not live on the property I might feel different)
We are a family operation as well, but a pretty large property. At our place, I don’t think you can run full speed around it in 10 minutes.
I just today got a booking from someone that walked a year ago (After I started writing this)