Dear Airby: “More cars than your driveway and street can accommodate”

This edition of Dear Airby is based on Special Service, one of the 10 Steps found in
Master of Vacation Rentals.

“Dear Airby,

I have a house that is popular in a wedding destination and I sometimes get questions from guests who want to have an event for one night of their stay at my property. I usually say that we cannot have any large parties because we are on a small cul-de-sac and the parking would present problems and I don’t want to leave my neighbors exasperated with an influx of vehicles to the area. Any suggestions how I could accommodate these types of requests instead of a blanket decline? Oh, one more point. The house indoor and outdoor area could easily accommodate a party of 25 – 30.  “

– Ronald from Healdsburg, CA.

Dear Ronald,

I think you are really asking 2 questions. The first is how to handle more cars than your driveway and street can accommodate and the second is how can you get compensated for the extra burden/risk of allowing a large gathering at your house.

Let’s take these one at a time. I would suggest that the party planner hire a valet or shuttle service to handle the extra cars – be specific about how many cars your property can take and let them know that they would need to decide and organize a remedy for the cars over your max.

Second, you need to think about what monetary reward you want for allowing your house to become a wedding party venue. Decide on that amount and send the potential guest a ‘special offer’ for that amount that is above the lodging amount for their stay. If they are serious about your property as a location then they will step up. Otherwise at least you left the opportunity open to negation without just shutting them out.

Prosper,

Airby