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@littlehost i’m not knocking anyone for what they choose to do in their homes for airbnb, i’m giving a different opinion on the subject. I don’t live in LA/NYC so the photographers that have come through my home have been small, no production team, etc.
That said, i have PERSONALLY never had issues with photographers in my home, they pay the full amount and are out of the home within a number of hours (hours we agreed upon). PERSONALLY I would allow the photographer and model to use my home if it was within my regular renting hours. I PERSONALLY have had all positive experiences with photographers using my home for location.
@Amber0517 I know you were sharing your personal opinion about your own property (as we all were doing), but at the same time you also implied that those of us who don’t rent out to photographers seem to be unreasonable. Or that our concerns were immaterial. Didn’t you ask, “What extra utilities would come into play? Liability?” So you were kinda knocking us…Not just merely giving a different opinion.
The purpose of our replies is to help the original poster make an informed decision to rent or not to rent to this particular photographer guest. And to do that, it is also helpful for her to know of all potential risks involved. Dismissing those risks we brought up as seemingly irrelevant and absurd gives a false sense of security, possibly leading the OP to make the wrong decision for herself.
And btw, I don’t live in NYC/LA either. In fact, I live in a small town in a non-first-world country. But that doesn’t make me immune to the risk of exposure to photographers who are planning a big production, and planning to use my space for a fraction of the cost of renting an actual professional location. Just because you live in a small town doesn’t mean every photographer/business is a small-time photographer/business.
To @ld89, if you are seriously considering accepting this booking or similar ones in the future, my advice aside from everything else I’ve said: Charge more than what you usually do for one night, have a separate binding contract, then ask for extra cover from your insurance, or require a liability policy from your guest. Sorry we kinda went off-track
Well said! As I said above, we get inquiries quite often for this sort of thing. (We are in a picturesque location).
My reasoning is simple, why accept them when you can get ‘normal’ guests easily? I’d rather have regular guests than the potential problems that might or might not happen.
Here, neighbourhoods are zoned for various activities. I doubt that ours zoned for commercial movie/photographic reasons. Any filming or commercial photography in our city requires a permit. Can I trust the ‘guest’ to do that? Will I have to check the permit? Would they get the additional insurance or would I have to do that?
And … why are they using Airbnb? Because it’s cheap? There are specialist companies who locate and arrange movie/photography locations - why aren’t they using one of these?
The only reason I would ever remotely consider it is if I had gaps to fill. Which I don’t. If I was desperate I might think about it but I’m not - too much hassle for me. Regular guests are stress-free.
Exactly. It’s complete bullshit. The lingerie part is the giveaway. If it were a legitimate photographer the location scout company would be contacting you and frankly, they would hire entire homes. Not a bedroom in a home. Complete bullshit. Lingerie, my ass.
