Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Community-owned rentals?

[Elizabeth Magill (pastorlizm]

I don't have anything to add about cohousing and this question but I'd be 
careful to check with retreat houses and VFW posts and large town buildings 
about what is happening with their event rental space before you proceed.

It is my impression that it is very hard to get people into those spaces at a 
rate high enough to cover the costs of maintaining the space. Retreat houses 
are closing all over and when I make arrangements to use a space the 
communities fall all over themselves offering discounts and upgrades in an 
effort to get me to use their space. And then always ask at the end: are you 
coming again??? (Alas, I'm almost always creating one-off events.)

I would consider event rental space, outside of incidental rentals attached to 
members, would be a high work load, low income approach to making money.

This, of course, is an anecdote, not data. I'm just suggesting that you need 
some data outside cohousing.

-Liz
(The Rev.) Elizabeth M. Magill
www.worcesterfellowship.org
www.mosaic-commons.org
508-450-0431




On Nov 9, 2013, at 1:38 AM, Sanna McKim <sanna [at] mainecohousing.org> wrote:

> 
> Here at Belfast Cohousing & Ecovillage in Maine, we are brainstorming ways to 
> fund the remaining part of our common house budget which now falls outside 
> our development budget (we're looking for creative ideas other than just 
> charge people a flat fee or add to the condo fees). I'm playing with ways we 
> could earn money instead. Aside from a wild and probably unpopular idea of 
> renting the entire community out one weekend a month to a conference or 
> wedding or something (76 bedrooms at $100/night x 2 plus something for the 
> common house could yield around $20K per weekend). But we also have the right 
> to develop one more building (beyond the barn/shop). I am wondering if anyone 
> knows of communities that have built an additional unit or apt building to, 
> over the long haul, provide income for the community. I know I've seen at 
> least one in Denmark (Dyssekilde ecovillage) that is very plain but very 
> popular. They say it is always full and a good source of regular income to 
> offset thei
> r budget.
> 
> Thanks in advance for letting me know if you've heard of any in the US that 
> do that. (Or any other creative ideas for earning money as a community for 
> shortfalls).
> 
> Sanna McKim
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