Hospitality rider: what to ask for, with an example
A hospitality rider is the part of your rider that isn't about sound: where the band waits and changes, what you eat and drink, who's on the guest list and where you park. The technical rider goes to the sound engineer; the hospitality rider goes to whoever runs the venue or the promoter.
For a band starting out it's usually half a page. What matters is that it's clear and reasonable: the venue reads it to plan, not to haggle.
And it depends on your band's level and the circuits you play. In some areas and circuits all of this is taken for granted; in others it isn't on offer and it's understood to be part of your fee. Use your head, and know where your band is right now and the circuit it plays.
This guide was written by musicians and sound engineers.
What it usually includes
- Dressing room. A room you can lock (or somewhere to leave your things safely), with chairs, a mirror, a couple of sockets and enough room for the whole band.
- Water on stage and in the dressing room. Bottles for every musician, also during soundcheck.
- Food. A hot meal or something to eat for X people, and at what time (before soundcheck, after, or a meal allowance if there's no kitchen). Mention allergies and vegetarians.
- Drinks. If the venue offers them, how many and of what. Better a specific number than «drinks for the band».
- Towels. Two or three small ones for the stage; the drummer will thank you.
- Guest list. How many guests the band can bring, and by when you send their names.
- Load-in and parking. Where to unload, from what time, and whether there's a place for the van during the gig.
- Merch. Whether there's a table and someone to staff it, and if the venue takes a cut.
- Accommodation and travel, only if the gig includes them. For local gigs, leave it out.
Example: four-piece band, small venue
This is all most clubs need to read:
- Dressing room for 4 people, lockable, with a mirror and 2 sockets.
- Still water: 6 bottles on stage and 6 in the dressing room, from soundcheck.
- Dinner for 5 (4 musicians + 1 technician) after soundcheck, around 19:30. One vegetarian.
- 2 drinks per person during the gig.
- 3 small stage towels.
- Guest list: 6 people; names by 17:00 on the day.
- Load-in through the side door from 17:00; parking for one van until 01:00.
- Merch table near the bar; we bring our own person.
What to keep out (or ask nicely)
- Brand names and fussy lists. «Still water» gets you water; «12 bottles of a specific brand» gets you a phone call.
- Copied riders from big tours. A small venue reads «fresh flowers and a sofa» and assumes the rest of your rider is just as negotiable.
- Money. The fee, the split and who pays what go in the contract or the booking email, not in the rider.
- Things the venue can't promise. If you're not sure there's a kitchen, ask for «food or a meal allowance».
Where it goes
Put it at the end of your technical rider, under its own heading, so it travels with the rest but doesn't get in the engineer's way. If you're making the rider for the first time, here's a complete technical rider example.
And if you're into a particular wine or the rarest drink on the planet, suggest alternatives or bring it yourself. Don't do to the people running the gig what you wouldn't want done to you.
Add it to your rider with Riderize
Riderize is a free technical rider maker. Besides the input list, monitors and stage plot, it has a box for «Dressing rooms and catering»: whatever you write there goes on your rider's link, in the PDF and in the Word file, under its own heading. Free, no card; at the end it asks for an email to save it.