Casona de Monterrey, by Ariana Ochoa.
Whoever has a house of a certain size and attractiveness may have something better than a treasure.
After suffering the global bolt due to the confinements, the economy registers the highest peak in consumption of audiovisual content.
Managers and professionals begin to sign up for a business with which to obtain a not inconsiderable bonus;
they are encouraged to rent their homes, given the proliferation of new platforms dumped in the filming of innumerable series and movies.
A market that is also joined by advertisements and, above all, video clips that call for summer rhythms.
The production companies are looking for all types of homes, from classic urban, minimalist or retro air to beach, colonial or stale case-style houses.
The possibilities increase if they have a terrace or garden.
They are also in charge of subscribing insurance and all filming permits.
“It all depends on the story that is going to be told.
But we want everything to look very real to avoid building or manufacturing, ”says Kike Gutiérrez del Álamo, an outdoor locator in productions such as 45 revolutions or 30 coins.
"It is very important that the house has a spacious room and good access for equipment and logistics," he adds.
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Very valued condition in the home of Ariana Ochoa, responsible for brands at Mediapost and owner of the Casona de Monterrey, near Madrid's Plaza de Castilla. “It is our habitual residence and it has been three months since we uploaded it to the VenuesPlace platform to rent. It involves an inflow of money of around 1,500 euros per day, which helps us in its rehabilitation and maintenance ”. A practice that has also been used by a manager in the health sector who prefers to remain anonymous. These days he shows his summer residence, near Segovia, "for a possible series." He points out that "in summer productions increase and it is a way to take advantage of your home."
But there are more incentives. Maribel Neiras, director of a Marco Aldany franchise, indicates that "in addition to getting an economic profit, you enjoy watching your house, even your dog, on television." In your case you have registered your home in the
marketplace
of Kuarere locations where producers and individuals connect and agree to
the terms of the contracts. "We negotiate to live here while it is being recorded and we demand a bond for any damage," he says. He confesses that "there have never been problems" and that they resort to this extra from spring to summer. "We accept three shootings a month, which means an income of 5,000 euros."
Exploiting the home as a business begins to spread not only for the benefits. There are other factors, in the opinion of Eduardo Irastorza, professor at OBS Business School. “That your house appears in such a series or movie supposes having something to tell in your environment and in social networks. In addition, there are fewer objections to them entering the house if the reason is a filming. The feeling of invasion of privacy decreases because there is a change in attitude and the emotional bond with the house is no longer so strong ”. A flight attendant who prefers not to give her name acknowledges that "whoever rents their house does so for money", but also "you generate expectation by commenting that your house and terrace appear in the Apaches series." He relates the anecdote that returning from a trip, when the film crew left to eat, he found one of the actors in his bed.
Middlemen boom
Not only individuals make their fortune in this new market that is collaterally favored by the Draft General Law on Audiovisual Communication, which incorporates as a novelty that platforms such as Netflix, Disney +, Amazon Prime Video or HBO will have to finance European content, which translates into more productions in Spain.
In its heat, location intermediaries arise, who facilitate these agreements from their platforms under a commission that ranges between 10% and 20%.
"A business niche that was previously practiced in a reserved way by people with contacts and that now these intermediaries take advantage of to offer their services through the collaborative economy," says Irastorza.
Minimalist home offered in Kuarere.
This is the case of VenuesPlace, a platform that has more than 4,000 spaces for rent and 60,000 users. Its spokeswoman, Blanca Orbe, acknowledges that the business "plummeted during confinement." But then it has come back and the request of individuals has skyrocketed. "We only choose the houses that we think really have a way out," he says. Orbe details the admission process: a collaboration agreement is signed with the individual. This generates access to a private area of the platform in which he creates his showcase himself, within a period of five days, which will be the presentation card of his space. Once published, you will begin to receive requests that you must attend to within 24 hours, being the negotiator himself.
In the same way, the architect Bethlehem Sosa launched its
market-place
, Kuarere locations in the confinement "because filming resumed fairly quickly (under the anticovid-19 protocols) and because audiovisual production has soared." In just a year and a half, it has 2,000 rental references and more than 11,000 monthly visits. "We charge a 15% commission to the individual and a 4% to the producer on the property rate." And he points out that you can earn from 25,000 euros for a five-week shoot or choose more jobs but of shorter duration, of 4-5 hours, and get to receive 6,000 euros in a month.
In Four Rooms Locations move 7,500 references.
According to his partner, Maribel Leyva, "we receive requests for houses every day," but "it is not a business for everyone," he warns, "whoever gets into it must be clear that a large team of people (about 50) will to invade your house for a few days.
Marta is a photographer and rents her home in the San Juan reservoir, in Madrid, where part of the series La que se avecina or the film The Rhythm Section has been shot.
"I prefer publicity, because on the set there is a lot of equipment and movement," he says, although he confesses that it is "fun to see the actress Blake Lively or the basketball player Sterling Brown in your living room."
A catchy intelligence center
Singular buildings, universities, palaces, social clubs or libraries are also the object of desire of many production companies to place their series. Arturo de las Heras, president of the CEF-Udima Group, says that in his case, even “there is a person on the team who works as manager of our buildings in view of the demand they are generating”. In his opinion, the rental for filming is a "very interesting" income, especially for areas that are not used regularly and rent for days or weekends. Sometimes they even give them surprises: “We received a visit from a delegation from a Chinese university and when they took our family photo they did not leave their amazement because our logo was covered and instead they read: National Intelligence Center. Let's see how you explain it! ”.