Please note that this mostly concerns owners and managers of private properties (houses, villas and other private spaces) and not professional venues which may prefer to use a “minimum spend” approach to cover privatisation costs.
The 4-step pricing process 👇
Start by estimating your costs: This may seem obvious, but the first thing you need to do when setting the rental rate for your venue is to ensure that you cover all your personal costs and make a profit. To ensure that your property is working for you, you will need to take into account utilities, labour, food and production costs when you hire out your space for events.
Price your time: When pricing your event, you should consider the time you spend communicating with the client (clients often have questions about the venue), the time spent arranging tours (some clients may want to visit the venue before booking), as well as the time spent checking in guests during the booking process.
Professional check-in: Depending on your venue, you may want to use a concierge service to control the entry and exit of your guests. However, this type of service is expensive and is usually reserved for luxury properties that contain many valuable items. If you prefer to greet your guests yourself, we have prepared a handy check-in list that you can download here.
Cleaning and linen: If your property offers overnight accommodation to your guests, you will need to factor in the cost of cleaning and changing the beds in each room. These costs will vary depending on the number of guests and the length of their stay.
Making a comparison check!
On the Native Spaces website, you can search for venues by space type, location, size or capacity plus a property’s specific features and equipment. Use our filters to find similar spaces to yours then make a comparison based on their rental rates. To make things easier, we’ve made a video to show you how best to use our filters to get accurate results when checking pricing details online.
The 10 important features that can impact your property's rates:
Size / Capacity - This includes the overall event space in the venue, both indoors and outdoors. Properties with large, flat outdoor spaces can accommodate more guests. The size of your property will therefore help you define the maximum capacity for hosting events. Check out our article on how to calculate your venue's capacity here and remember that bigger is not always better, as people also like to hold events such as parties and weddings in more intimate venues where they can give their guests a truly unique experience.
Number of rooms - When hosting guests during an event, the number of rooms in your property is very important information. Prices usually start at 100EUR/room/night (plus the cost of hiring the venue per day), so the more space you have for guests to sleep, the more you can charge.
Bad weather options - When hosting events with more than 50 guests, it's always good to have a back-up plan in case of bad weather. This could be a suitable indoor living space, a covered outdoor area or even just a large tent in the garden of your property. (When it comes to tent hire solutions, we're here to help, so please contact us to find out more).
Sea view - you probably already know that a sea view is always in demand by clients on the French Riviera, but did you also know that a sea view can also increase your rental rate by up to 50% when you rent your property for the day.
Swimming Pools - a great asset in the warmer months, swimming pools are also a highly sought after option and can add up to 50% to your rate plan during the summer season.
Entertainment options - Features such as a tennis court, bocce ball court, pool table, golf courses, etc. add value to events, but also to your rental rates. (It can be difficult to define exactly how much to add to your prices, so we have created a price analysis to help you further down the page).
Location - When it comes to renting your venue for events, location is key and properties on the Riviera tend to be more expensive due to international demand.
Be located in/near a city or airport for easy access to the property and back home.
Be located close to convention venues such as the Palais des Festivals in Cannes. Prices are always higher during major congresses, when many international companies are present in the city.
The look/design/story of your venue - As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, so we insist that our owners use beautiful, professional photos of their venue for maximum impact. Social media apps such as Instagram also play an important role in helping guests choose their favourite venue for their special day and you can increase the value of your property by up to 50% with a good online presence.
For expert advice on promoting your property online, you can contact our communications manager by emailing [email protected].
Consider the alternatives 🤔
When setting rental rates for your property, you should also consider other possible sources of income for the space or property, especially if it is not your primary residence.
For example, if you are renting out your property for long term stays or holidays, what can you earn in a week?
In general, events offer a better return to owners, as the rental rates are 1.5 to 2 times higher than the daily rental rates for holidays. Event rentals require the same costs but take place over a shorter period of time and although there is a slightly higher risk of property damage, there is no need to panic as Native Spaces provides you with an insurance policy of up to €1.5m in property damage (see more here).
As the owner, you will also draw up a detailed event contract between you and the event organiser to define any rules or limitations you wish to apply to your property during the event.
Taking into account seasonality and high demand periods is a given, but we remind you of it here. The high rental season (the very high season) on the French Riviera runs from June to September, with July and August being the most expensive months with rental prices 1.5 to 2 times higher. May and October are also popular months in the south of France due to the warmer weather and are generally considered the mid-season with higher prices than the low season.
Special events and high demand periods should also be considered, including the Cannes convention season which runs from September to June and includes the Cannes Film Festival, Cannes Lions, MIPIM and many other events, in addition to events such as the Monaco Grand Prix, New Year's Eve and the Nice Carnival.
Some data to start with 🎈
By space:
Setting the rates for hiring your space really depends on what you have to offer. To get an idea of how to assess your pricing, you will need to consider:
- The location and accessibility of your space.
- The facilities available on site
- Whether you have on-site accommodation
- The reputation of your venue in the local events sector
- The setting surrounding your venue.
By type of event:
Depending on the type of property you have, you may prefer to focus on hosting specific events such as weddings or parties. To decide which type of event is best suited to your property, you will need to consider the following:
- Who is your target audience?
- Do you plan to host local, regional or international guests?
- Will the weather affect your venue's ability to host events?
- What facilities do your guests expect for their event?
- Do you have the right structure to support business events?
- To help you answer the questions you have about the price of your venue, we have developed the following grid. To learn more about how to price your space, simply review the rental criteria below and then submit your rates for review here. We'll get back to you with comments and suggestions as soon as possible.
Here is our pricing grid:
High season :
Low season :
To help you with any pricing questions you may have about your venue, we’ve come up with the following grid. To learn more about how to price your space, simply check out the rental criteria below then share your pricing with us for review here and we’ll get back to you with feedback and suggestions ASAP.
Once you’ve established your rental rates, all you have to do is click the link below to finish your registration on the Native Spaces website.
Need more help to determine the rental price of your space? Ask one of our experts here