How Far Are You Willing To Travel For Gigs?

[John Daniels]

For those that travel 50, 100 or more miles to make more money at gigs . . .

Is it really worth the extra dollars?

Do, or can you charge enough to r e a l l y justify the extra travel time?

Or even to pay for a motel room . . . extra meals that you have to pay for while on the road . . . gas and wear and tear on your vehicle . . . or perhaps even taking a day off from a day job if you have one?

In otherwords . . . is traveling great distances really worth what it takes over providing services to an area close to where you live?

Even if you can't demand higher rates in your area . . .

Is what you are getting pricewise farther away really that much more to make it worthwhile?

_____

Footnote:

I have noticed that the farther away a caller is from where I am located . . .

The lower the price they are willing to pay!

To me, I just don't want to arrive home when the sun is rising after driving all afternoon the day before . . . doing a gig, then driving all night to get home!

I've done it a couple of times . . . never again!

[Jim Casey]

Doc,
I charge by the geographic region and do NOT assess travel fees. It is more costly the further I have to travel. I am close to signing a North Shore Massachusetts wedding at $1299 and have signed numerous weddings at $1199 this year.

Yes, I can justify it. I took 5 vacations last year. I couldn't have by staying local. Simple as that.

[djdonny]

Although I state that I would travel up to 75 miles, I rarely travel beyond 30. I charge an additional $50 for every 15 miles beyond the first 15.

See My Travel Page for details.

[John Daniels]

Jim,

What we need here are your local prices as well as what you are charging for distances . . . so we can see the differences!

My house, and Boulder, are nestled up against the mountains (see photos in my sig line that I took from my patio), so I don't travel too far to the west!

Most of the towns listed in my service area are north, south and east . . . no more than 60 miles away!

That is all the further that I want to travel . . .

And even 60 miles is farther than I really want to go . . .

[djdonny]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>I charge by the geographic region and do NOT assess travel fees. [/b][/quote]

Jim, isn't that a contradiction of terms?

[Jim Casey]

It's not. There are some areas more difficult to travel to than others. My rate for my hometown is $999

Doc, I have signed two island weddings that are 15 miles from home for $1399 and $1499. I charge a significant amount to go to the islands off the coast. Very difficult setup, much extra time.

You can see my rates at www.djmaine.com/rates.htm

[Glen Millar]

I charge $1.25 per km for events outside the Metro Edmonton area. If you are willing to pay the mileage, I'm willing to travel. I charge $650 for a evening and I had some gigs where the mileage was more than the event fee.

[djdonny]

I don't see the difference. I charge a "travel fee" for Manhattan because it is difficult for me to get to, park, etc, and I need to hire an additional roadie, even though downtown Manhattan is less than 10 miles from me. A travel fee doesn't necessarily have to be based on raw distance. If you charge difference prices for different locations, whether it's based on distance, geography, terrain, or that your ex-wife lives in that town, it's still a travel fee in my mind.

[Johnny Dee]

We also charge $200 extra to do Manhattan, NY parties.

[DJMC]

I don't mind traveling whenever the custie is willing to pay us what we are worth!

Case in point: We sent out a contract last May for a September wedding at a $599 rate. Didn't hear back, and then in June we booked another event for the same date in September for $900 in Ukiah, CA.

Ukiah is 3.5 hours each way. So essentially it paid $300 more for a 7 hour drive round-trip. I don't think Teamsters get that kind of cash for a "long haul" with their tractor trailer rigs!