Compensation for a star party?

[MrShorty]

I've come up against a new scenario, and I'm not sure how to best proceed? A good friend (who manages a small, rural resort) has asked if I would be interested in bringing my telescopes for a night this summer and, together, we'll host a star party for their guests. They have offered compensation, and I'm not sure what to make of that. I am happy to share my hobby as an amateur, but I'm not sure what seems fair for compensation. Have any of you ever done something like this for a resort or other private/commercial entity? What seems fair for compensation? Is it enough to simply ask for a bed to sleep in, some food to eat, and cover my transportation cost? Do you feel like your time is worth something?

I'd love to do this, so it's mostly just a matter of making sure that money doesn't get in the way. Any experiences or thoughts?

[Gordon]

I have done a few 'solar parties' and 'star parties' but they were very informal. I have never charged nor received payment, so I'm not quite sure how to answer.
If your friend is willing to put you up for a couple days at the resort that might be payment enough.

[messier 111]

I agree with Gordon, this has already happened to me.

[gregl]

An alternative would be to suggest instead of compensating you, to make a donation to some organization that promotes or engages in science education.

[jrkirkham]

I have been asked to host a number of informal star parties and give lectures at colleges, libraries, scouting events, school field trips, church groups, etc. I've never charged. I just figured that was part of the hobby . . .

with one exception. . .

For several years my college alma mater invited me to come and visit their astronomy classes each semester (spring, summer, fall). The schedule was similar each time. I gave a guest lecture to the astronomy classes on Thursday. Then I helped with a telescope lab on Thursday night. I spent most of Friday cleaning the observatory and working on the telescopes. On Friday night we hosted a public star party and on Saturday morning the observatory was open to the public. During the weekend I parked my camper next to the observatory and stayed out there. The professor's teaching assistants would come and help. The first time I was invited I came for free. I offered to keep coming for free, but the college usually sent me a stipend to help with the cost of gas and such.

Last week a fourth grade class asked if they could come to visit my observatory with their parents and siblings. I was happy to invite them. I'll have a little astronomy lab planned out and place them in teams of three. It is sort of like an astronomy treasure hunt. I never charge for something like that.

[helicon]

In kind compensation like paying for room and board seems fine. I haven't really heard of any other fee based arrangements but there's always a first time. Maybe free agency is coming in the future?

[AstroBee]

Well, I may have a slightly different view on the subject. As a member of my local astronomy club and one time president of the club, we have done many outreach programs in Death Valley. We usually have two events each year, one in the fall and one in the winter. We also do star parties each month around the Vegas valley. We have never charged any fees for these events as we see them as part of the community outreach that is in our clubs charter.
But... I have also done many paid events where I know they are charging people to attend the event. If they are making money off the service you are providing then you should definitely be compensated. And if they are promoting the "star party" as an incentive to get people to the resort, that's the same as charging people as far as I'm concerned. Death Valley promotes itself as a dark sky site and there is one tour company that I work directly with to put on star parties. They promote the event to entice people to take their tours so I don't hesitate to charge them.
I will not discuss publicly the exact dollar amount I charge but will give you an idea of how I came up with the number. I have a fixed amount I charge for up to 20 people and then it goes up from there because with more than 20 people I will generally bring a friend along with another telescope.
First, I live in Las Vegas (Technically, Henderson, a suburb.) and it is 130 miles each way for me to travel. That's 260 round trip and I get about 300 miles per tank of gas. Right there, that's $60 out of my pocket.
Second, most of these events are weekdays and requires me to take a day off work because I have to leave mid afternoon (In the winter) to get to the location during daylight and get set up.
Third, I provide chairs for the entire group (Up to 25 people.) They are the simple folding camp chairs but there is a cost to owning 25 of them. I also usually provide a cooler full of bottled water for the group if it is during the warmer months. I don't do events in Death Valley from mid June till early Sept. because of the temps!
My events usually last 3 hours. Here's a pic of my setup

[pakarinen]

During my (too) many years in post-secondary academia, we normally paid travel expenses, paid for the speaker's hotel room, and paid for meals plus an honorarium. These were professional researchers and university faculty though like Bart Bok.

Personally, I'd settle for room, meals, and some gas money.

[gregl]

I’d be careful about setting a fee beyond expenses as that could lead to issues with running a business and all the regulations and legal issues that involves. Now you could set your “expenses” to include compensation beyond the actual expenses, but stating that something is a “fee" could cause a headache if something should go wrong. Calling it an “honorarium” might be wise.

I’m in a club in a different hobby and the club cannot charge the public because if they do a whole new world of problems opens up. They do ask for donations and do well with that.