Administrative and Service Fees in Weddings: What they are and why it's actually a good thing
While hunting for a Hudson Valley Wedding Venue or caterer, you may have noticed something in the package info. It reads “administrative fee” or “service charge”. We are answering some common questions about these fees for you.
What are these charges for?
Is it the same as a gratuity or does it cover gratuity?
How is this a good thing?
As a wedding venue that also provides in-house catering, we have decided to use this type of fee with our wedding and event clients and we’ll explain why, but first, allow us a quick introduction!
We are the Preston Barn at Old Drovers Inn, a Hudson Valley wedding venue that provides ample indoor and outdoor event space, cozy accommodations, and modern amenities. We specialize in weekend weddings as we host only one per weekend and can host all of your pre and post-wedding events. We would love to connect with you about your wedding day so contact us here if you’d like to visit for a private tour and see if we are the best venue for you. You can also read more about our wedding packages here.
What are administrative fees or service charges?
Generally speaking, these fees are used to cover the cost of operating on and around your event. This usually implies paying staff and additional labor needed. However, each venue or caterer may use these fees differently.
Does the administrative fee or service charge include gratuity?
It usually does NOT include gratuity and this fee is not distributed to employees or staff. It covers their fair wage. We can’t speak for all venues, but in our case, we pay our staff competitive wages in which they would not rely on tips to make a livable wage.
Check with your venue/caterer if they do not state clearly in their contract what this fee includes. To show an example, here is the excerpt from OUR client agreement about this fee:
“Administrative Fees charged and agreed to include the cost (s) related to the employ of any additional staff, who are not regularly employed by ODIM, for purposes of your Event. The Administrative Fee Charge and agreed to in your Contract is used toward any and all operating cost for ODIM surrounding your event. This includes labor costs of staff and enables us to pay our entire staff a wage that is competitive and commensurate for their job worked during your event. All employees are paid a flat hourly wage and a gratuity is neither expected nor required. No part to the Administrative Fee is intended to be a gratuity for any staff member or employee, who provides services to guests, and no part of such Fee will be distributed as a gratuity to any staff member or employee. These Administrative Fees do not include any Service Fees referenced elsewhere and are not in lieu of any Services Fees to be paid by you.”
What’s the plus side to this? Why not just include gratuity?
Gratuity in this case is not required nor expected. Of course, it is appreciated for staff and vendors that exceed your expectations and you feel it is well-deserved (and affordable). If you feel anyone has gone above and beyond, it will be YOUR CHOICE on whether or not to add gratuity AND how much that will be. We feel this benefits our staff as they get the pay they deserve, our business as it covers the additional cost to pay them well, and you aren’t forced to pay a tip (just in case you feel it is NOT deserved, although we have not had that issue here because our staff is incredible…the proof is in the testimonials!).
Some venues/caterers will require one or the other, some require both! Again, make sure to check with your venue and/or caterer about these fees AND check the contract so that there are no surprises for you later and you can accurately budget for your wedding day.
We hope that this clarifies things for you but if you have any other questions about administrative fees or tipping, drop your questions in the comments! You can also learn more about tipping in our blog/tipping guide: Top 5 Questions About Tipping Your Wedding Vendors (with a chart that includes tip suggestions for all vendors!)
Looking for a Wedding Venue with an incredible staff you’ll WANT to tip and food that you’ll dream about for years after your big day? We have a beautiful one for you. Contact us for pricing and to book your private tour!