Amy--

There is no standard fee structure for museum rentals, but more and
more are doing it. Renting out the facility has plenty of challenges,
but it also gets new people into the museum and can generate
significant revenue. Here are a few ideas:

Think of the rental fee as part of an overall package that someone is
putting together.  The fee you charge needs to be reasonable part of
that and comparable to other rental venues in the area, although you
can usually charge more for a museum rental than for similar space in
a hotel or function hall.  These kinds of places charge based largely
on how many people a space can hold--anywhere from $2 to $5 per
person and up.  The charge can also vary depending on the particulars
of the event.

You can make a few calls to local caterers and ask them what other
venues charge.  This might also be a chance to promote the museum as
a venue and to talk to them about possible package catering plus
facility deals for your potential renters.

You can also find facility rental information on some museum web
sites now.  This might help also.

Many museums do make a distinction between non-profit and for-profit groups.

Good luck,

Guy

>I jut stepped into a new position (events coordinator)in Long Island, New
>York, the Long Island Children's Museum. This museum moved into a larger
>facility and would like to start renting it out for different purposes. I
>would like to hear from other museums who rent out their facilities and that
>are similar to the scematics of our museum below:
>
>Theater: holds 140 people
>Entire musem: 40,000 sq. ft
>Lobby: 2500 sq. feet
>Studio: holds 35 people
>Conference room: hold 20 people
>
>My question is how much should we charge to rent out each of these items and
>should there be a differnce in charging for non-profits verses for profits?
>More specifically, we have an interest to rent out the entire museum in May
>for 300 people.

Guy Hermann
---------------------------------
E. Verner Johnson & Associates
Museum Architects & Planners
http://www.vernerjohnson.com
Boston, Massachusetts
voice: 617-437-6262
fax: 617-437-1272

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