also porno. There are horror stories of air hosts coming home to find out that there had been a porno film shoot at their home.
I’m the same as jamfactoryken. I get requests (at least a half dozen this summer). They all try to get in for just the price of the room and disappear when I try to discuss reasonable rates. They are using Airbnb to dupe people that don’t have half a clue what it means to have a film or photographic crew in your house. Being a songwriter, I have had to do many photo and video shoots (especially when I was on major labels), so already knew what it entailed. We have only accepted one project for a popular German tv show on a large network. They were very professional, and paid us $20,000 for five days, plus paid all our expenses to stay in NYC while they filmed (and of course we chose one of the priciest hotels 
) . We also scored an amazing chandelier out of it as a replacement for the one that was in our dining room which wasn’t as nice. That said, it was a HUGE crew. Glad we weren’t there. You know when you see the trucks with the huge lights and crane things? It was that kind of thing.
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$20,000 for five days. And a glitzy hotel holiday in NYC. Bonus!
But I would still insist on a contract.
Thank you for your advice. As expected when I mentioned payment, there was no response! Ha!
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$20,000? Oh please, please someone come film at my rental! Sandy - I will give you a cut if you handle all the negotiations.
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Yes, of course there was a contract also. Heaven forbid damage occurred with the huge lighting gear in the home, moving furniture Etc. Fortunately they were incredibly careful and professional. We were very impressed. I do NOT think this is the typical company searching for properties to film or shoot at through Airbnb though. Usually it is as yours and twoworlds and my other experiences; people looking to find inexperienced people outside of the industry that have no idea of the cost of locations (and why!). I find location scouts that do this a disgrace. They know hosts have no idea about the mayhem that is about to descend upon their home. Crew sipping coffee everywhere, eating food bought from a local takeaway as they continue to work, large equipment that can scratch floors, invariably wanting to move furniture around (which can also scratch floors, damage furniture. The list goes on. A shoot is very disruptive and a big affair, even a relatively small one.
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Lol. Believe it or not, we were pretty shocked at the amount and didn’t even try to negotiate! We probably could have eked another few grand out. It was a very popular german tv show. Nothing to do with my skills or abilities whatsoever, a mere fluke unfortunately,
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So do these crews make efforts to not scratch floors, etc.? Or do they just figure the high price should take care of any damage?
I had a girl from LA say she was coming to scout film locations, and of course my partner was encouraging her to shoot a scene at the property (if it fit in with the movie).
The crew we had made every effort not to make any damage and did very well. We did discover some scratches much later under a rug from our piano being moved, but in the scheme of things it was a miracle that that was all, and we aren’t even sure that happened then as it was our studio in the past. They took photos of where every single item was, so that when they moved things out they could put things in exactly the same place and nothing would be out of place. Considering our ‘Victorian style’ decor which includes lots of collectibles, it was quite a feat.
I would not trust every crew to be so careful however. They would have a contract that includes insurance, but who wants to have their floors refinished after the fact? Remember our company was German, and they are known for being very conscientious and organized. I have been on big shoots in the US and can only say that a some of the crew will be gaffers and assistants, which are typically younger guys that could very well be capable of causing damage while moving equipment around, especially if not overly experienced or not used to working on location shoots. There will be people drinking coffee everywhere, eating food all over after ordering take-in (or most usually having catering), and all kinds of potential hazards.
You have to understand that when a film or photo crew hire your home as s location, they completely take over. You must know how many people. Twenty five people could be using your bathrooms. Are they capable of handling this? Your electricity will be used to its full extent on a film shoot unless they bring their own generator (which they usually do because they can’t afford to lose electricity). All questions you need to ask. If a scout is asking to film for the cost of the nightly rate, they are likely to play down the shoot and even how many will be there. Obviously this is not fair, and the host will be in for a surprise. A Film or photoshoot in your home is not like a few people staying. They mention it because they know it means taking over the home.
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As a side note, we’re in Montreal for work right now and chose a favorite small hotel because it is being paid for by an artist, and low and behold this morning when we came down to get our car from valet, a film shoot was happening in the lobby. It was at least 30-40 people in the crew. Smaller indie shoots or low budget shoots may be just a crew of camera person/DP, director, hair and makeup artist, wardrobe person, couple of gaffers, lighting guy, set designer (may still be on location shoot to move things around and get things set up in the right place) and actors, but it still adds up to 10-15 people. A photo shoot can be anything from a photographer and hair, make up artist and wardrobe person and model to a huge crew with lights, gaffers, set designers, multiple models.
Anyway I think everyone gets the whole idea that location scouts are trying to take advantage of people that don’t have a clue to use their locations for free when typically they should be upwards of $2000-$4000 per day depending on what, where and how. I have been pretty disgusted with the ones that have tried it on with me. They meant to pay nothing, and I think possibly pocket the fee. Everyone approaches with ‘oh, this is a low-budget movie we’re making’, as if we should somehow allow our houses to become a charity cause for every ‘art’ project that comes along. No. Even low budget projects budget for locations. Or if not they shoot in places that won’t cost them like public areas or their own or friends/families homes. This thing of trying to dupe Airbnb hosts into letting them use their homes is pretty uncool. But unfortunately some people are thrilled at the idea their homes might be in a ‘movie’ (even though they might have no idea what it is or if it will ever see the light of day, or if these people can be trusted not to cause damage), and I think they must be letting these people use their properties. Otherwise I can’t imagine why we are getting so many requests like this. They must be getting success using Airbnb for free locations otherwise they wouldn’t keep hitting people up. It’s a pity people don’t know better.
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My property is in Boston and I get requests from Emerson students to use my place as movie set.I even spoke with the department head. I declined them all.They do not ask the correct questions even.The school takes no responsibility. They are just kids.They no nothing about selecting a location.I see potential for great trouble.It not worth it.
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My wife and I are hosts who have also bee approached several times by film shoots or photo shoots. Our daily business is running an arts facility in NYC and have been the location for numerous film, television and or photo shoots. They can be very lucrative, but can also be very stressful. Remember there is no ‘easy’ money - there is fast money but that is usually the hardest, and these are hard money. Not saying don’t do it, if you can, by all means take their money, but Sandy is right, locations are 2k to 4k per day.
Also make sure you check out the company thoroughly, have them provide you with a copy of their insurance that shows you as ‘additionally insured’, and create a contract that states clearly what they can and can not move or change and which areas of your place they can and can not use. They will want to use every inch if you let them, creating and office, craft (food) set up, extra holding area, etc.
Please feel free to email me or ask here if you think you have a question about this stuff that i may be able to answer.
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Hello everyone,
I just got a inquiry about a tv shoot. Here are some details. I thought of creating a new thread, but it seemed reasonable to add a message to this pre-existing one on essentially that topic. This thread seemed like one of the two possible threads, the other being Do any of your potential guests ever offer to pay more for an event? - Airbnb hosts forum But this one seems slightly more relevant.
Note: I usually respect the confidentiality of guests, but this doesn’t apply to a filmmaker imo. Anyway, I don’t care.
This arrived in the form of a inquiry for the night of the 21st of November.
Here’s the text I got, spread across a large number of small messages (every one of these lines was a separate message!). Yes, Indians are batty.The feature mentioned in the text is probably Second Marriage Dot Com.
So, should I just dismiss this out of hand, or consider the offer to negotiate a reasonable price? And if so, does anyone have any idea how much a reasonable price would be? The guy is being quite pushy - he followed the messages below with requests for my phone number.
Transcription of conversation:
From Gaurav:
Hello sir , my name is Gaurav and I am an independent film maker
I saw Ur listing and liked it just wanted to enquire. weather u give it for shoot purpose
as I would like to shoot at Ur place for a web series
From Faheem:
I don’t know exactly what you mean by a “shoot at Ur place for a web series”. Give me more details, please. For example, please answer the following. What is the web series about? How many people will be coming for the shoot? Will you require special equipment? When do you plan to start and finish the shoot? What part of the house do you plan to use for the shoot? And please provide any other information you deem to be relevant. Thanks.
From Gaurav:
Hi faheen sir
I am making a web series , it’s like a fiction show for YouTube via my channel
Or later I will try to pitch to hotstar
Or visit
Or Voot app
It’s genre is rommentic comedy
And there will be 15 to 20 people
And few light n camera gear
My name is Gaurav xxxxxxxx
And in 2012 I have a feature called as Second (URL HIDDEN)
I need for a day from Morning
And will pack by 11
Do I need for a day
I needed for a day …
From Faheem:
I’ll have to get back to you. For the moment, a couple more questions.
Did you need to do this on a specific day? And which part of the house will you need to film in?
From Gaurav:
Yes sir sure I will answer
I am planning to shoot on 21
This month
And I need to use terrace , room and hall
According to my script
Your house has that warmth which I need to justify my story
For someone who means to tell a story, he can’t write a compelling narrative at all. Is your electricity up to film lights?
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He can barely write English. But that’s not unusual in India. At all. I forgot to ask what language his feature is. Not that it really matters.
No idea. What kind of requirements are we talking about? I suppose if their gear keeps tripping our breakers, it won’t be a successful shoot.
hi,
As a complete hobby photographer I was thinking of using some Air BnB for a few hours and thought most would be open to it, it would only ever be me and a model but sometimes its nicer to have a cool looking place, I do all my shoots as TFP (trade for print) which means I dont pay the models (they get the pics) as its just a hobby. Are people really not interested in that sort of thing at all? I could understand having whole crews of people would put everyone off though
I think it’s more to do with big crews and lots of equipment all causing more wear and tear to your home. And perhaps taking advantage of much lower rates when using Airbnb. This is what people have a problem with.
Someone in your situation, where it’s just the two of you and nothing commercial, would be fine with me if you’re paying the whole nightly rate and remaining respectful of all house rules
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A bit of a late response here, but if you are going to be bringing different people into someones place, even if only a few, it’s a bit of a security nightmare. So it would be understandable if they wanted to charge more, for example.
Sorry to be late to this thread, I just joined the forum. I worked in the film business for years and as a host, I categorically decline any and all requests to use our home for photo or film shoots. I know first hand how many crews treat the location, and even the most conscientious and careful people can inflict some sort of damage. We just turned down a request to shoot a music video for one day. they only wanted to pay the one nightly rate and nothing else. Aside from the electricity needed to run even the most basic of lighting and the disruption to our residential neighborhood, there is a huge liability issue. I would bet that Airbnb’s insurance doesn’t cover professional liability in this situation. All it takes is for one careless person to trip over a lamp cable, the hot light falls on someone and you, as the property owner, become liable for damages.
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I’ve just had a request for film location. Obviously if I choose to accept I will increase my price considerably. However I wanted to know if I decline would this affect my “commitment rate”?
Thanks