Murder mystery party host cost

by Calli sandahl
(Des Moines, Iowa, USA )

I have been hosting murder mystery parties for the past 5-6 for my personal friends and family. I recently connected with a venue that requested my help with hosting a party at their location.

Do you have any experience hosting for a venue? What would you recommend I charge for my services if this partnership does work out?

I’ve never worried about cost before, as it’s been something I just love to host for friends and family, but moving on to an “official” event space, I feel I should appropriately charge for my services, but I’m not sure where to even start calculating that!

Any help or support you would be willing to provide would be much appreciated. Also— thanks so much for your website! It’s very informative and helpful. I’ve hosted many Freeform games in the past, including Hollywood Lies, and really love their (your) system style. When I wrote my own stories, I always use Freeform as my template. :)

Thanks so much for your help!

My response:

Thanks for your kind words about my site and the games!

Your question is an interesting one, and I don't have a definitive answer for you, but here are the things I would consider:

Time: How much work are you putting in? Are you buying and printing the game? Are you organising invitations or other publicity? Are you arranging the catering and other things? Or are you just hosting the game on the day?

And when you have estimated how many hours, you can put an hourly rate on that. (And don't undersell yourself!)

Costs: Are you purchasing the game or is the venue? (Either way, a commercial licence is needed.) Are you having to travel far? How much does the venue want to charge? Is this income taxable?

Insurance: What insurance do you need?

Repetition: How many times do you expect to do this a year? (As some costs will come down the more frequently you do it.)

Sorry I can't give you a definitive answer, but those are the kinds of things I would consider when working out a price.