[Callers] Re: Going rates for ONS dances?

A clarification: "If alcohol, double your fee" is something I heard years ago from a few veteran callers. I used to charge a bit more for "wet" events than "dry" ones, but found I had to work just as hard at the "dry" ones, so started charging the higher rate to everyone. Currently I ask $475 for corporate or private events, $400 for nonprofits. I've been told by a couple of top callers that I could/should be charging more, but when I've tried raising the rates, I've gotten so many turndowns that I make more money with the lower rates. My rate includes travel within ~1 hour of home, and once I'm there, I'm willing to stay up to 4 hours. I always recommend 1.5 to 2 hours of actual dancing if people aren't used to it, but I make it clear that I'll call as long as people want to dance. Almost never does anyone take me up on it; typically they've had enough after 90 minutes. Rate changes: I ask $500 if it's a wedding, to cover repeated interactions with the client before the day. (Top DJs often ask a LOT more for weddings than for other family parties.) I'm willing to dicker if I don't have to bring, set up, and run sound, but I have to be sure that the gear and the operator will be adequate. My one-nighter rate for calling & sound is the same whether or not there's a band - obviously it's more work to do sound for 4 people than for 1, but the energy of a live band makes up for it. Tony Parkes Billerica, Mass. www.hands4.com<http://www.hands4.com/> New book! Square Dance Calling: An Old Art for a New Century (available now) From: Tepfer, Seth via Contra Callers &lt;contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net&gt; Sent: Monday, July 31, 2023 11:34 AM To: Contra Callers &lt;contracallers(a)sharedweight.net&gt; Subject: [Callers] Going rates for ONS dances? Hello hive mind The costs of everything have gone up post-COVID. What are you charging for one-off dance events, aka One Night Stand dances? Assuming: * you, the caller, are running sound and providing sound equipment * there is no band * It is 90 minutes give or take * it is NOT a wedding * no alcohol (hat-tip to Tony Parkes - if alcohol, double your fee!) If the assumptions above are not true (there is a band, it is a wedding, there is alcohol, etc), how does that change your rates? Seth Seth Tepfer, MBA, CSM, PMP (he, him, his) Senior IT Manager, Emory Primate Center [cid:image001.png@01D9C3A5.F782E0B0]<https://outlook.office.com/bookwithme/user/fcd3f5d71da848759228584d1a49babd@emory.edu?anonymous&ep=signature> Book time to meet with me<https://outlook.office.com/bookwithme/user/fcd3f5d71da848759228584d1a…