Become an event host and get new clients

Spaciously is a place where small business owners can get corporate clients. Corporate clients come to Spaciously to book team-building events. Team-building events usually include a fun activity, a lunch at a restaurant, and a beautiful reception. The business owners from the Spaciously community come together to make an event like this happen: restaurateurs, artisans, event planners—people who work and source locally. When we are together on one platform, we make it easier for clients to book events, and we increase our chances of being hired.

‍Where is Spaciously available?‍

‍Spaciously works in all U.S. cities. If you don’t see a lot of listings in your city, you’ll have less competition.

What does Spaciously do to bring corporate clients to small business owners?

• We help corporate clients discover our community. For example, we write comprehensive articles, which inlcude our community listings and rank high in search results. We also send a helpful newsletter to thousands of HR professionals and people leaders.
• We have a live chat and a phone number to answer questions about your experience before it gets booked.
• We educate clients about events logistics like insurance.
• We collect feedback from customers to make it easier for them to find and book events from Spaciously hosts.

Click the button "Become a host." You will receive an invite to schedule a meeting with Peter, our host community manager. He will answer your questions and help create your first listing.

Who can apply to join Spaciously?

We welcome all small business owners who can make a team-building event a success:

• Artists
• Artisans
• Instructors
• Chefs
• Team-building facilitators
• Event planners
• Decorators and florists
• Community center administrators
• Musicians and DJs
• Caterers
• Restaurant owners and managers
• Venue owners and managers

‍There’s no fee to list your business. We charge a 15% commission only when you get hired. So if you don’t get booked, we don’t get paid.

‍Why do you charge a 15% commission?

‍‍The commission is how we keep our business going. We don’t believe in charging our small business community fixed fees. We want to earn only when the community earns. It keeps us on our toes! We will also use the 15% to experiment with dynamic prices for our clients. When there is less demand, we will pass some of the commission to clients to encourage them to book.

No business is too small to join. We love working with small business owners who know their business inside and out, can make quick decisions, and care deeply about the client experience.

Who should I talk to if I have more questions?‍

If you have more questions, you can ask in the live chat. Alternatively, you can click the button "Become a host." You will get an invite to schedule a call with Peter, our host community manager. Peter is a wonderful, helpful person. He will answer your questions and help create your first listing. Your questions and feedback help us improve Spaciously for the entire community!

‍A good listing is easy to read and book. He is what we strongly recommend:

• Make it short
  Clients want to scan your listing quickly. If there’s too much to read, they give up and leave. Make your listings short.
• Package it
  ‍Show exactly what you are offering and how much it’ll cost. Too many clients were lost when they had to “fill out a form or talk to someone to request a quote.” Of course, when you are offering different services, it is hard to give a quote before talking to your client. The solution is to break down your services into smaller packages, go with one price for a while, and then adjust the price if needed.
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  For example, you rent out different arcade machines. The price of your service will depend on the machine, the delivery distance and the date. Take the component with the most variable price (e.g., the machine), and create packages based on that. One package will be “Small machine (1-day rental + delivery in the Bay Area).”
• Set only one price for your package
  Some clients will underpay a bit (but you’re more likely to get customers that way, and you aren’t wasting time on a custom quote). Some clients will overpay a bit (but it’s worth the time they are saving). After trying with a few clients, you can adjust the price up or down.

‍Why do you encourage simple packages?

• Clients are more likely to book when services and prices are crystal clear.
• Clients are more likely to book your package together with another small business owner’s package.

For example, a client needs a restaurant and a fun activity for their team-building event. They’ve already found an easy-to-book restaurant on Spaciously. Now, the client is picking between two activities: 
- a candle-making workshop, which costs ~$50 per person, but has a “request a quote” button instead of a clearly indicated price
- a paint-and-sip workshop ($80 per person). 

The client knows that their team will enjoy both activities equally, and $80 is within their budget. They have no idea how much the candle-making workshop will cost or how long they’ll have to wait for a quote. They will pick the paint-and-sip workshop simply because it’s less work to book.

What should a Spaciously listing include?‍

• Description
  ‍Your description should have an introduction to the activity (for example, what is ikebana?), a run of the event (what will participants do?) and things that the client should bring or provide. Your description should be specific and to-the-point, not fuzzy or lofty. It should read like a technical manual to your class, not like an ad.
• Photos
  ‍The first photo should show a group of people enjoying the activity you’re offering. The second should zoom in on one guest participating in the activity. The third photo should be the finished product or a final group shot. For example, for a “Love Letter Writing Workshop,” the first photo could be of several people writing love letters and the instructor helping them. The second photo will zoom on one guest's hands writing a letter. And the third photo can be of love letters and a beautiful stationery setup.
• Price per person
  ‍You’re in control of what you want to charge. We only ask that the price is not higher than elsewhere on the web. Please include all taxes, fees and Spaciously's commission in the price.
• ‍Minimum price
  ‍This is the minimum amount a client will pay you, even if they are booking for a small group.
• ‍Group size
  ‍Make sure to set the maximum group size. We noticed that many hosts underestimate how many people they can handle. So here is a rule of thumb. If you can turn your activity into a "self-serve bar," you can handle groups of 100+. For example, a bath bomb making class can become a bath bomb making bar, where participants grab their ingredients and then follow written instructions and an instructor demo to put together their bath bombs.
• Your availability
  At the moment, you don’t need to proactively update your calendar. When someone books, we will reach out to confirm your availability. If we don’t hear back from you within 24 hours or you aren’t available, we will reach out to other small business owners who offer a similar experience. In the future, we will ask you to sync Spaciously with your calendar and proactively maintain an accurate schedule.

‍When you get booked, we reach out to check if you’re available. We will wait 24 hours before moving on to the next small business owner. Once you confirm that you’re available, we connect you with the client and help you both coordinate your event logistics.

There are a few team-building staples that we ask you to have for every event: name tags, water and cups.

What if a client cancels?

‍We ask all host to adopt the following cancellation policy:
- 7+ days before the event: free cancellation.
- 6 or fewer days before the event: full payment is non-refundable but is transferable if the client moves the event to another date within a year.

How do I get paid?‍

We will send your payment through a direct deposit into your bank account. At the latest, the payment will arrive into your bank account a few business days after your event is completed. Please make sure to reply promptly when we ask for your bank details.

‍‍We sincerely wish we had an answer to this question. As we keep developing Spaciously, we hope to publish stats about frequently booked events. We hope that, equipped with this data, more small businesses can become profitable with less risk.

In the meantime, our promise is that:

• Listing your business on Spaciously will forever be free, and we will charge you only if you get booked.
• We will be around to help you build relationships with your clients.
• 99% of our effort goes into making Spaciously easy for your potential clients to find and use.

‍‍How do I improve my chances of getting booked?‍‍

• Create an accurate listing with beautiful photos. Our team will help you with this during your onboarding call.
• Get a verified host badge.

What's a verified host badge on Spaciously?

‍A Spaciously badge is a stamp that appears on your profile. It shows that you’ve done group events and come recommended by clients.
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With the Spaciously badge:

• Clients see your profile on the home page and are more likely to book you.
• You can download and feature the badge on your own website.

How do I get a Spaciously badge?

‍You get a Spaciously badge when at least one client recommends you. If you get booked on Spaciously, we will ask the client for a review.

If you are just joining Spaciously, you can connect us with your previous client. Previous clients are usually happy to give recommendations, get curious about the Spaciously community, and come to book again. When you refer a client, and they book you again through Spaciously, we never charge you a commission for that client—no matter how many times they’ll book you. (It’s your client!)