Charging for 3 day event 2 painters (22 hours total)

So I know this questions has been asked a couple different ways but I am still a little unsure how much to charge for a 3 day event. They want at least 2 painters, one that can be more flexible and do balloon twisting also. Our normal hourly rate is $70 per hour, so what would we charge for the 3 days (2 8 hour days and 1 6 hour day)? Even dropping it by 25%, it is still quite pricey for 2 painters, so my husband thinks I am way off and wants to go way too low. I need some help from those who have done this type of thing before. To me, we do need to give a discount off of our hourly or have a flat day rate, per person, but not give it away just because. If the customer can't afford 3 days of painting, then maybe they should only do 1 or 2. Am I way off base?

I start at $75/hr and I have a chart with a sliding scale after the first 2 hours... an 8 hr day would be $390 for me and a 6 hour day $330... but I know a few people on here have found my scale slides a little too fast for their tastes. I've never found anyone around here hiring hourly for more than 3 or 4 hours though, so I haven't really run into it. I'd be ecstatic with $400 for one day's work though, so I'm pretty happy with my scale.

Exactly Perry. We are super happy when we make $650 for a 3 day PPF festival. I mean we are not constantly painting the entire time. That would make a difference.
I charge $75 an hour as well. So, for an 8 hour day, I would charge
$450. That is $75 for 3 hours and $50 every hour after that.
You can even go $40 every hour to make the 8 hours total $ 425.00
That is a huge discount.
But, like Perry said, no one hires us for more then 3-4 hours. Wish they did.

I usually discount 10% to 25% off of my rate depending on the type of event, other work I might be giving up... and so on.

Hmmm, it's so tough to price long events like this, and having two painters makes it even more difficult. I worked a 2 day event (16 hours) a couple of years ago, and negotiated it for half of my usual hourly rate (which is $100). I figure, we are willing to go half-price for restaurants because of the amount of hours we work there. Why not a super long gig? I worked a 2-day gig the next year for $80 per hour with a HUGE non-ending line, and earned every penny. I think at LEAST $50 per hour per painter is a very reasonable price for that length of time. That would be $100 per hour for the both of you. You may not be working constantly, but then again you may - especially if it's a crowded festival and the painting is free to the public.

You can present this to them in several ways so that it doesn't seem so overwhelming for them. You can offer to come for less hours each day, maybe just their "peak" hours. Or you can give them a quote for a single face painter (at a higher rate) and then a quote on the second painter (at a discount). Lay out several options so that they know you're willing to work with them, but not willing to work for nothing. If they are hiring entertainers for the festival, they probably already have an idea of what it's going to cost and are expecting it, so don't be scared to charge what you are worth. Good luck!

I agree with Angie that it's in how you present it to them.
Most times you need to break it down for them and it helps to show the amount they are saving even if it seems obvious to you.
This is the way I see it... I can work for one person all day for $400 or try and book two gigs for that day and have all the drama of getting from one place to another, cleaning kit blah blah.
I regularly work for a cinema chain that pays me $500 cash + 6 movie tix for two days 5 hours each day.
Usualy I charge $80 per hour plus travel. So dropping to $50 sound like alot, but I have booked so many jobs from that work, and I had regular work with them for two months during winter, so to me it was definately a win.
Becarefull if you want this client - don't over charge or they will just go somewhere else...
perhaps consider asking them what there budget is for this?
Make sure you factor in breaks... 8 hours your going to need them.
I think $800 a day for two painters is a great deal... it sounds like alot when you add up all the days but when you break it down and say - well at $100 per hour two painters can paint up to 30 kids an hour... that's like $3.30 a face paint. ( if my math is right..lol)
When normally it would cost minimally $5+ a face.
Also point out they are saving 50%!!! by hiring you.
I would also throw in that this is a discounted rate I offer to corporate clients that agree to hire me for all future events.
( This is what I say... it's completely upto you how you go about it)

( I must say though if you asked me to come and paint for your business I would want alot more then $50 an hour as I would lose all promotional opportunities for my own business - when I work for others I charge $100 per hour - so you may have trouble finding others that are happy to work for your bis at a reduced fee...)

when I do the festivals here I charge by the face..and give 10% of what I make back to the organization

I have a day-rate. I set my rate schedule and came up with a half-day rate and a full-day rate. The half-day rate is 4 hours for the price of 3.5. The full-day rate is 7 hours for the price of 6 (including set-up and breaks).

If they want longer that 7 hours in one-day I add an hourly surcharge on top of the day-rate.

I regularly do multi-day festivals - have one I do every August long-weekend that pays my day rate, travel expenses AND provides two-nights accommodation.

Just because they want to book you for a whole three-days is no reason to discount your rate too far... you still need to be making a reasonable income. And if you commit to a massive discount to get the three-day job and then another job comes along for your full rate for one, two or even all three days... you'll feel hard-done by for taking such a deep cut. Trust me.

It is NOT about how much the customer can afford... but what YOU can afford to lose.

I guess the most important thing to keep in mind is that you aren't the only painter in the area and of course they know that also. You have to figure out an equation where it's still plenty profitable for you but also somehow prices out the competition...and believe me, there's always competition. Also, what type of venue is this, is it a corporation where the budget would be far more flexible or is it a smaller operation where they have one eye on the budget at all times?

If it's a job you want to land and possibly keep for years to come (if it's that type of situation) I would suggest writing up a package deal proposal and not keep your typical hourly wage in the forefront quite as much as you would for say a birthday party. Be sure to make it as profitable as possible, by all means...but also know that everyone is looking for a deal. Be reasonable but firm, especially if it's a gig you could secure for years to come. Best of luck!!!!

thanks everyone for your responses. With your help we were able to decide on a day rate that worked for both me and my husband and presented it to the client with options of just 1 painter... I still think it may be too low, but I am happy with it.

I think sometimes we get caught up by the shock value of the numbers and subsequently devalue our services to fit our personal opinions. I have a four hour event that we have done for one of my clients for the past two years. The first year I was so shocked at how high the total amount was (because of the number of face painters/entertainers that they hired through us) that I discounted 10% - even though they didn't bat an eye at the full price.

When a festival is hiring you for multiple days, I bet you would be surprised at how much they budget for the entertainment. Good luck on securing the event, Miahna!

I think you need to consider what you could potentially make if you were being paid per face, and had a non-stop line for both painters for the full 8 hour day. If the event is offering the face painting as "FREE", you will no doubt have trouble getting so much as potty breaks. If you can paint 20 faces per hour (3 minute faces), and typically charged $5/face, that's $100/hour per painter, no matter how you slice it. Then decide how much less you're willing to take. If you consider that some will want full faces, some eye designs, and some just cheek art, 3 minutes per face would be a fairly reasonable average. That means $1600 per day for the 8 hour days for 2 painters. A 20% discount would be the maximum that I would go myself, simply because I do not want to devalue my talent.