[lug] Money and meetings

[Norm Metcalf]

Sean Reifschneider wrote:

> >How much would you be willing to pay to have the meeting at a location
> >with good parking and a large room with good chairs?  $2? $3?
>
> I'd be willing to pay up to $5 for the meeting.  The problem you run into
> is dealing with how to budget it...  If the space costs $100, and you are
> charging $2 per, what happens when 20 people show up instead of the normal
> 50.
>
> Sean
> --

Sean,
    You have a good point there.  Furthermore, charging for the meetings may
decrease attendance.
    To give everyone an idea of the variations Chris and I have found here are
some examples.
    1) a church on both a bus route and a bike path with about 150 parking
spaces on their property charges $50 (+ a $50 refundable deposit) for a
meeting room that holds about 150 people.  They also said that they have 150
folding chairs.
    2) The East Boulder Recreation Center has a room that holds about 100
people (per their estimate).  They charge $45 per hour + a $150 deposit.
    3) a restaurant has a banquet room that holds 88 people.  In order to get
the room at "no charge" everyone must pay $30 for a meal (and everyone must
buy a meal).
    Most places are in auto-rejection mode for any after hours meetings on
their property.
        Norm Metcalf, Boulder CO