I have a question for wedding planners and other wedding vendors that travel at least 30miles outside your service area. How much extra do you charge for travel and maybe hotel accomodation??
I provide group on-site child care solutions during wedding and corporate events and I havebeen getting a lot of calls outside my city. I would also like to expand my services to other cities in my State, but would not want to run a loss after every event.( if I do not charge additional fees for travel/hotel).
My questions are:
1. Do I just charge a higher fee for my service to clients 30 miles outside my zipcode??
or
2. Charge my usual fee, but charge a separate fee for travel and hotel accomodations??
I would love to hear from lots of vendors that provide destination weddings or weddings outside your service area. Thanks a lot!!!
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For bands, there are different costs to go out of town. At Hank Lane Music, we often perform outside our immediate service area which is the New York Tri-State region.
We always charge a higher fee when we go out of town and a greater amount when there is a fly date. The greater the distance the higher the fee. When a band goes out of town, they are taken off the market for the next day and depending on the distance traveled might even need to fly out the day before eliminating the possibility of them performing that day as well. There are always exceptions to this, but in general this is what happens when we go out of town:
As a practical matter, distance is measured from a single location, which in our case is Columbus Circle in midtown Manhattan. This location was established eons ago by the musicians' union as the way to judge distance fairly for both client and musician alike. That is, it does not depend on where the musician lives, but rather one uniform starting point. Union or non-union it makes perfect sense even today.
Anything over 75 each way miles we charge mileage depending upon the distance up to 150 miles. After that, depending on the location we would additionally charge a client for the rental of a coach bus for a maximum of a four hour ride. The advantage of the bus is that the band arrives well rested for their performance and they can bring their instruments onboard. In some cases they may be able to bring a small sound system as well. In other cases a sound system might need to be rented locally. For something like a 2 hour ride they could conceivably return on the bus the same night. The only thing needed is a room for the bus driver to rest. Anything over 150 miles we generally require over night accomodations. Beyond a four hour distance our bands would need to fly. On fly dates, certain musical instruments such as drums, keyboards and amplifiers need to be rented locally. We are always happy to assist clients in obtaining these items. A local sound company would need to be hired as well. And of course rooms and all local ground transportation need to be paid for by the client.
I hope this helps! If a client wants you to go out of town, they need to pay extra and all of the extras!
I usually charge .50 per mile for mileage over 50 from my area. If I need hotel accommodations, I would ask for the same hotel as the bride has booked for family/friends.
I have a program that I got online that's called Wedding Professional. It keeps track of all my charges and Invoices what needs to be invoiced. You can put in the charges and it will print or send an email invoice to them stating the charge.
But did you put in your contract with the clients that there was going to be misc, charges? If you don't have that in your contact then you need to explain to the couple that they will be billed extra dor it.
Hope this helps some.
Hello I am also an Officiant . I have this same challenge often . -----
Thanks ROBERT [ another Officiant ]-, for your comments! YES, I feel exactly as you do ! And I hold my line on these very small requests , for a little extra travel fees .I am disgusted by all the BRIDAL Money they will pay on" HUGE Vanity "items . Yet suddently they pull Budget and cheap when it comes to all my time,gas ,time , --- the other weddings , especially , that I can NOT take on that same day because of their wedding travel mostsly on Saturdays . This is sometimes a reason that I do sometimes , actually, just walk away from wedding bookings . ,---The couple" , do not get "or" want to get 'That the Minister , --/ OFFICIANT , --does NOT ! live, --- on stale bread and water these days ! , SO again.--- GOD does not magically fill my gas tank up ! {Too BAD !---isn't it ! }THANKS for your Comments ! I am Interested in hearing from other Officiants / MINISTERS. Yes beware of letting them put you in a cheap Dump ! It has happenned sadly! SINCERELY SARAH BUNNETT - GIBSON another OFFICIANT HERE IN Ontario , TorontoCANADA
Thanks everyone for your input. I truly appreciate your advice. I will keep you all informed on the extra mileage dilemma.
30 miles of travel should NOT affect your bottom line. If it does, you are charging too little to start with. Calculating the margin on a can of corn (when you are selling 10,000 a day) is down to the penny. However, calculating the margin on a wedding when you do 1 a week should be in $100's of dollars. For 30 miles, you have fuel and a little auto wareand may a hotel stay. All of which is under $200. Find somewhere to bury this cost in your price without appearing to "nickel & dime". Spread it across several items (if necessary). How you get there and where you sleep is not a bride's concern. If you are traveling hundred of miles, then that's a different story.
Sometimes if it is an email that I am responding to, I add the fee in so it is one fee for everything. However, if they ask, I let them know that $x.xx is for the travel. Sometimes people do not want to hear about the travel, etc. so I try to feel them out first. I agree on not charging for .55/mile... it can help you figure out how much you get to write off and what the wear and tear on your car is plus gas, but if it is 2 hours away, that is 2 hours out of your day on top of that, so figure what it is worth to drive, x's how many people are working etc. I do have on my contract a slot that says travel fee (outside 35 miles) which for me (in Orlando) is past Disney, and DeLand or North.
Good Luck!
I charge my regular fee. Travel expenses are separate. I based my mileage upon the US Government IRS 2011 rate for business travel at .51 cents per mile. Please see below:
IRS Announces 2011 Standard Mileage Rates |
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