The Ultimate Guide to Renting on Giggster

Finding a rental space that fits the needs of your production can be a difficult and intimidating task. Tools like Giggster make this process much easier while saving you a heck-of-a lot of time. In this article, we’re going to break down every step you’ll take in the booking process while hopefully answering some questions you might have.

What sets Giggster apart?

Giggster is a web-based platform that connects you directly with property-owning hosts. Just like Airbnb for vacation rentals, our goal is to simplify the way you find, contact and book film-friendly locations. We consider our relationship with our renters to be mutually beneficial and based on shared trust. Our product implements cancellation, overtime, dispute resolution, and insurance policies, all while ensuring your security. Giggster has a customer-oriented team that is always willing to answer any questions, walk you through the booking process, and even provide recommendations on locations.

What type of locations can I find?

Giggster’s catalog sports a huge variety of production and event locations, all of which are production friendly. Our locations are split into four main categories.

In residential, you can find apartments, houses, mansions, etc.

In commercial, you can find airport hangars, galleries, restaurants, etc.

In studio, you can find TV studios, photography studios, film studios, etc.

In transportation, you can find any vehicles such as cars, boats, planes, or trains. Our selection is huge and definitely has a property that can meet all of your criteria.

How much do the locations cost?

Location prices are set completely at the host’s discretion, so the price you see is the price they set. You can choose a daily or hourly basis when booking, and can even contact the host directly to request a custom rate.

Giggster adds a processing fee to your total. The percentage that’s charged depends on the total cost of the booking—you’ll see the exact fee during the booking process. Usually, the higher the cost of the booking, the lower the fee.

How do Giggster Search Tools work?

Giggster search tools work by learning your criteria, and then providing recommendations to you based on your needs. You can begin a new location search by selecting either production or event, the category of location and the city. Then click the green Find button. (If you’d like, you can get even more specific by adding additional filters such as style, price, and crew size.)

How do I book a location on Giggster?

Once you select a location on the search page you will be taken to the individual listing page where you can view photos of the property and get more details on the location’s features. If you like the property, the next step is to contact the property owner with information about your shoot. Simply click Contact Owner and write a message detailing the basics of your shoot such as dates, crew size, and budget.

After you contact a location owner, you should expect to receive a response within 24 hours. The host will either ask for additional details or confirm the location is available for booking. You can then go back to the location listing page and send your booking request by clicking on the green Request Booking button.  

When you click Request Booking, you will be taken to the last step in the booking process, which is to complete the booking and payment forms. Here is where you will enter your shoot details, such as the project name and description, well as the credit card information you will be using to pay for the shoot. Using the information from the booking form, Giggster will automatically generate a comprehensive location agreement that can be printed or exported as a PDF. Once you’ve filled out the information and reviewed the Location Agreement form, you can click Submit Request to request to book the location.

Once you submit your request, the host will either Approve or Deny the offer. You should expect to hear back within a few hours of submitting the request. Once your request is approved, you will be charged for the full amount of the booking and for a security deposit which will be held in escrow by Giggster.  To review the details of the booking, and find the exact address of the location you can click on the Bookings tab in the header menu. From here you can also get in contact with the owner, and print out your location agreement and receipt.

When will I be charged?

Your credit card will be charged for the full amount of the reservation once a booking request has been accepted by a host.

Once your booking has been confirmed and you’ve been fully charged, Giggster cancellation and refund policy takes effect. We strongly recommend that you only submit a booking request when you are certain that a cancellation is very unlikely. For more information, head over to our explanation of the payment process.

If you got this far without falling asleep, congratulations! You officially know as much as I do about the Giggster booking process. So, what are you waiting for? Go put your amazing new renter skills to the test!