Hourly Home Rentals for Production Can Make Owners Hundreds

Becks Harvey, a 46-year-old British expat living in Brooklyn, Recent York, never dreamed she’d be earning six figures a 12 months by renting out her home for photoshoots. Nor did she imagine she’d host quite a few celebrities — amongst them, Amanda Seyfried, Jennifer Coolidge and CJ Wallace, son of The Notorious B.I.G.

But like a whole lot of other homeowners across the country, Harvey and her husband rent out their properties for production.

For five years, they’ve been renting out the constructing they own, a former auto shop remodeled into three separate apartments (certainly one of which they live in). In that point, they’ve hosted dozens of photo and video shoots for advertisements, documentaries and magazine covers. Nearly all of their bookings come from Peerspace, a web-based platform where people can find properties to rent for various purposes; Splacer, the same marketplace; or a handful of traditional agencies that work directly with clients.

Hosting might be highly lucrative. Harvey says they earned greater than $200,000 from one unit in 2021 and again in 2022. At this point, managing bookings functions almost as her full-time job. While her situation could also be unusually profitable — Recent York City is uniquely well-suited to high-profile production projects — it’s common for hosts nationwide to charge $50, $100 and even $250 per hour. Many shoots last for multiple days, making the annual income enough to complement a mortgage.

In fact, the businesses take a commission on bookings. And there are risks to opening up your property for business use. Hosts speak of dents on the wall, scrapes on the ground, and a good amount of logistical management, especially since bookings are sometimes made lower than two weeks prematurely.

To guard their homes, owners have to be prepared to treat their home like a business. Nonetheless, many individuals deem it price it: Peerspace reports that there are greater than 40,000 bookable spaces on its site worldwide.

Tips on how to rent out your property for production

Listing an area on Peerspace or Splacer is free and might be done in under an hour. To start, hosts create a profile for his or her home, including details about size, amenities and parking. Hosts set their very own hourly rates, that are viewable on their profile. Just like Airbnb, those seeking to book a spot can filter by price, location, capability and other aspects.

Previous experience isn’t needed. Alexis Hammond, a 42-year-old psychiatrist in Baltimore, got the concept in 2020 after joining a financial literacy book club.

Soon after listing her home on Peerspace, Hammond had earned enough in a single month to cover her mortgage. While the income varies, she was eventually in a position to afford a second house round the corner, which she bought for the only real purpose of renting it out.

“Financially, it’s definitely been helpful,” she says, adding that she estimates she earns as much as $20,000 per 12 months between the properties. “I discovered it hard to say no to anyone because I used to be just very excited and sort of stunned that it was so successful.”

What do people search for when scouting locations? Jessica Yager, a contract production manager in Seattle, says it is determined by the client. A house doesn’t necessarily should be super fancy to be fit. (In actual fact, some brands draw back from spaces that look too luxurious to be accessible to their goal customer.) Spaciousness is often necessary: It’s common for crews to consist of 15 to 30 individuals who need room to maneuver and work. Natural light is a plus, too.

A typical day for Yager begins early — often before 7 a.m. The homeowner may or not be present; some just instruct her to enter without them using a keypad. Once inside, she and the crew photograph every nook and cranny so that they know the right way to put the home back together. Then, they put down moving blankets and other equipment to assist protect the floors and the partitions. Sometimes, they remove all of the furniture from a room and replace it.

By mid-morning, the home is stuffed with photographers, digital technicians, wardrobe stylists, hair and makeup, and production managers — all of whom have their very own assistants. Then there’s the talent (aka models and actors). When the shoot wraps, the homeowner is available in to do a walk-through to see if anything looks awry.

Suggestions, tricks and celeb sightings

It’s necessary for residents to grasp the risks involved. Sarah Dupuis, a real estate agent in Seattle who rents out three houses, including the one she lives in along with her husband and three children, says she’s learned lessons the hard way after nearly 10 years within the business. During one booking, the client took out all of the kitchen appliances, leaving visible dents within the floors.

While the experience didn’t put her off of hosting, she’s since tightened up her requirements. As an illustration, she now not allows rolling equipment or dollies due to heightened potential for damage, and he or she has clients sign a special variety of contract for filming on private properties.

“We have learned some tricks,” she says. “It’s knowing what the production is for, what company is behind it, if it will be video and so forth.”

Having one other property to flee to when renters are present helps. Dupuis, 46, rents out her primary residence roughly six times per 12 months, requiring her family of 5 to rearrange furniture, lock up their valuables and shuffle their lives around. They sometimes go to certainly one of their other houses during shoots, but in the event that they need to stay home, they retreat to the basement.

That said, the perks aren’t all about money. Hammond says she feels hosting has been a satisfying creative outlet. Her homes have been used for every part from commercials to maternity photoshoots, all of which she diligently tracks on social media.

There are the celebrity sightings, too. Harvey gets a kick out of knowing stars are having fun with her homes, though she’s often too shy to approach them.

“I do not trust myself around famous people,” she says. “I just know that I might say something and regret it eternally.”