When you have a country estate, a palatial home, or a piece of property that’s particularly scenic and beautiful, you have a lot of options to then monetize it.

For example, you might rent out a property as a short-term rental to travelers.

Another option that’s often less thought of but can be even more lucrative is using your property as an event rental space.

There are some logistical considerations to starting a venue business. For example, you may need to ensure that people who rent the space for events have security on-site to safeguard your property and valuables.

The following are some other things to consider and think about if you’re considering starting an event venue, particularly with the property you already own.

Understanding Event Venues

There are a lot of reasons people might rent an entire property as a venue for an event. Weddings are one we think of most often, and that can be a significant source of revenue depending on your property.

There are other reasons as well.

People rent venues for team-building and conferences, family gatherings, and parties.

If you have something like an estate, you can rent the property for several days at a time. If there was a wedding, for example, you could rent it out for that event itself, but people with the wedding party could also stay on-site during this time.

If your property is located where there’s a big yearly event or something similar, then you might also rent it out during that time of year.

If you rent a space for a corporate event, a wedding, or something similar, you could make tens of thousands of dollars in just a few days.

Another option is to rent the property for TV or film shoots, which can mean thousands of dollars a day in income.

Insurance Issues

If you’re going to rent your home out over the short term, you need to figure out what the insurance implications are.

In the UK, if a property is being used for short-term letting, insurers may not provide full coverage if certain online platforms are being used. Also, if you rent your property out in a short-term capacity and don’t let an insurer know, it could invalidate your current home insurance policy.

It could also lead to the non-settlement of a claim for any guest-related incidents while they’re on the property.

If you have standard landlord insurance, your short-term tenants may not be covered. Landlord insurance requires background checks, references, and at least six months of assured shorthold tenancy, while sub-letting is usually excluded. Of course, this isn’t necessarily applicable to you if you’re only renting your property out for events, but you do need to talk to an insurance professional.

There are some policies that will let guests stay in a property for a short period of time, but the coverage is usually not adequate because these policies may not cover guest theft for damage inflicted maliciously.

If you offer a short-term stay option and you use a B&B or guesthouse policy, then terms of insurance may also not be appropriate. For example, you might not be covered for your personal contents.

All of these are some of the primary things to consider if you’re thinking about turning your property into a business.

Legal Requirements

You have duties in most cases in the UK as an event organizer. Your venue has to be safe, and it can’t put people visiting or working there at risk.

There are venue capacity limitations and restrictions on certain existing structures. Ground conditions and topography of the site are relevant, as are infrastructure and amenities in the local community.

You have to consider safe access for pedestrians and vehicles on-site and around the site.

There could be local requirements for selling liquor or serving food, and you’ll need to find out what those are.

Taxes

If you rent your home out for events, talk to a financial advisor about what your tax burden will be. In the U.S., if you rent out your full-time residence for less than 15 days a year, it’s a completely tax-free business, and you don’t have to claim it on your tax return. You’ll have to determine what applies to you in the UK.

Building a Business

While the above refers primarily to the logistics and insurance, and legal issues that might arise if you have an event venue you’re renting out, you also have to think about the business side of things.

For example, you need to do market research.

Your home or property isn’t likely to appeal to everyone looking for an event venue, so you need to have a good understanding of who it will appeal to, to target your marketing.

You’ll want to learn about your competitors once you have a better idea of your target market, and from there, you can begin to build a business plan.

You can also reach out to trade organizations that focus on events and weddings, and they may be able to point you in the direction of relevant resources.

Creating Contracts

Before anyone rents your property for any event, you should have worked with a legal professional who can help you create the necessary contracts. Contracts are extremely important in any type of short-term rental business.

You’ll have rules and policies not only for the renters themselves but any vendors and contractors they work with. You should make sure everyone who is involved in each event knows what the expectations are, what the rules are, and how you expect them to prevent damage.

It’s also a good idea to include a security deposit in all of your contracts.

Anytime you’re opening your home to strangers, but especially for big events, there’s a risk of damage. A security deposit that you charge in addition to a rental fee can provide you with some protection.

Once each event is over, if there’s no damage and everything is left in order, you can refund the security deposit.