If you’ve ever worked on a major film production, you know that it’s a huge undertaking. A film production is part creative tribe and part business — and when you bring a cast and crew to shoot on location, it’s like setting up a small city. All of those people need comfortable housing, sometimes for months at a time. Atlanta is known for its hospitality for film projects, but even so, finding affordable lodging for so many people can be a real challenge. Here are some options to explore to find housing for your Atlanta cast and crew.
Corporate Housing
The first option is to work with a corporate lodging partner to arrange for your cast and crew to stay in temporary housing in Atlanta. This option works very well for productions because the lodging company handles the housing details and provides fully furnished apartments to house everyone on your team — at a fraction of the cost of booking hotels for everyone. Your cast and crew will feel more at home, which means they can stay comfortably for months at a time, if need be. In addition, quality standards remain consistent across the board because you are working with a single agent to provide housing for everyone.
The Hotel Route
Historically speaking, the “easiest” pathway to procuring temporary housing is to book hotel rooms for everyone — possibly saving money when possible by booking several crew members to a room. However, you’ll find three inherent challenges with this route:
- Hotels are very expensive for what they offer. Few things can deplete a film budget faster than film crew housing.
- Hotels aren’t comfortable for extended stays. Living in a hotel room isn’t like living at home — and after several weeks, this can affect the team’s overall morale.
- Hotel availability can be unpredictable. Atlanta is a busy city with hundreds of events going on at any time. If your production is fairly large, there’s a chance you won’t find enough rooms to accommodate everyone for a long period of time.
Housing Platforms (e.g. Airbnb)
Another popular trend these days is to use Airbnb and similar platforms to find extended stay housing. This is a viable option because many people and companies use the platform to rent fully furnished homes and apartments, so it’s more likely you’ll find comfortable housing, sometimes for less than a hotel. That said, you’ll still have a few potential problems to overcome, including the following:
- Using Airbnb can be more labor-intensive. Finding individual units for everyone on your team can be quite time-consuming — and housing everyone close together may be impossible.
- Quality standards are inconsistent. Many users report less-than-stellar facilities and experiences with landlords.
- The cost savings versus labor isn’t always efficient. Even if you save a few dollars over the hotels, the time involvement procuring the housing may not be worth it.
If you’re trying to find housing for your Atlanta film cast and crew, TP Corporate Lodging can help meet the need without draining your budget. To learn more, call us at 800.428.9997.