In a nutshell, Direct Bookings are when the event is contracted directly between the venue and the event booker. Handled Bookings are when Hire Space acts as an intermediary between the venue and event booker.
Direct Bookings are bookings are the traditional way that you'll have handled bookings from listing sites before. They are made directly between the event planner and venue. Hire Space does not act as an agent or get involved with the contracting and invoicing. After the event has taken place, you'll then send hire Space a copy of the final invoice, and we will then send you an invoice for our commission.
Handled Bookings are when Hire Space acts as an intermediary between the venue and the event booker. Hire Space signs a contract with the venue for the event, and then we create a contract based on your unique venue terms, and event booker signs that contract along with Hire Space. After the event, we will then deduct our commission, and send you the remaining payment for the event.
More information can be found under section 3 'Bookings' of our policies.
What are the benefits of a Handled Booking?
There are several benefits to Handled Bookings over Direct Bookings. We usually use handled bookings with clients that we work with more frequently. This means that they only have to approve us as a supplier once, and any venues we then book for that client don't have to go through that process, saving both the event booker and the venue time.
It also means that you don't have to worry about sending us an invoice or paying it, as we automatically deduct the commission. This will stop us from having to chase for any outstanding invoices and your venue team can get on with more important stuff, like selling more events.
If your booking terms require an advance deposit, we can reflect that in the contract we send the event booker.
What if we can't accept Handled Bookings?
We understand that some venues might not be able to accommodate the handled booking process. In that case, clause 5.5.2 of our venue terms allows for an advanced commission of 12% to be applied to bookings that would have been handled but had to go through as direct.