A $450 an hour venue looks like less than half the price of a $3,800 flat rate. For a normal four hour holiday party with a bar, it usually is not. The hourly number is only the rent. The flat number is usually the rent plus the people, and holiday parties need people.
The short answer: never compare the rates. Turn every quote into one total for the hours your doors are actually open, setup and pack up included, with staff, cleaning, fees and the cost of running late. Compare totals. Here is how, with a worked example.
Step 1: Count Door Hours, Not Party Hours
Your party runs 6pm to 10pm. Your venue time does not. The caterer sets up, someone hangs decor, somebody packs it all out. Write down your door hours, first vendor in to last box out, and price both quotes on those. A simple holiday party usually needs an hour or two before and about an hour after.
Step 2: Ask What the Hourly Rate Leaves Out
- Minimum hours and how they bill partial hours (does 6.5 hours bill as 7?)
- Bartenders: hourly rate, how many, and their minimum shift
- Security: required or not, and how many guards
- Cleaning fee
- Service or admin charge, and what it is a percentage of
- Food and beverage minimum
- Overtime: the rate if the party runs one hour long on the night
- Equipment: tables, chairs, sound, screen, included or rented
Ask the flat rate venue the mirror question: what exactly is inside the number, how many hours, and what does one more hour cost?
Step 3: The Worked Example
Both venues below are made up. The numbers are round examples to show the math, not quotes from any real Seattle venue.
The party: 100 guests, a Thursday in December, 6pm to 10pm, with a bar. The caterer needs 90 minutes to set up and an hour to pack up. Door hours: 4:30pm to 11pm, 6.5 hours.
Example Venue A (hourly): $450 an hour billed in full hours, bartenders $50 an hour each (two needed, five hours), a guard at $60 an hour for the four party hours, a $350 cleaning fee and a 10% admin fee on the rent.
Example Venue B (flat): $3,800 for six hours with bartenders, security and cleaning inside. A seventh hour booked ahead is $400. Running over on the night is $600.
| Line item | Example A, hourly | Example B, flat |
|---|---|---|
| Venue time (6.5 door hours) | 7 billed hours x $450 = $3,150 | $3,800 for 6 hours |
| Extra hour to cover 6.5 | Included above | $400 |
| Bartenders | 2 x 5 hours x $50 = $500 | Included |
| Security | 4 hours x $60 = $240 | Included |
| Cleaning | $350 | Included |
| Admin fee | 10% of rent = $315 | None |
| Planned total | $4,555 | $4,200 |
| Party runs one hour long | Rent at 1.5x ($675) plus staff ($160) = $835 | $600 |
| Total if it runs late | $5,390 | $4,800 |
The "cheap" hourly venue lost by $355 on paper and $590 once the party went well. Now flip it: a two hour dry lunch and learn on a Tuesday. Venue A is its four hour minimum ($1,800) plus $350 cleaning and $180 admin, $2,330. Venue B is still $3,800. Hourly wins by a mile.
The Rule of Thumb
- Hourly usually wins when the event is short, daytime, dry and light on setup: meetings, workshops, lunch and learns.
- Flat usually wins when there is a bar, a caterer, decor and a crowd that might want one more hour. That is most holiday parties.
- Break even check: add up the hourly venue's real cost per hour (rent plus staff). In the example that is $450 + $100 + $60 = $610. Divide the flat rate by it: $3,800 / $610 = about 6.2 hours. If your door hours are above that, the flat rate is cheaper before you even count fees.
One thing this math leaves out on purpose: the bar itself. Paying by the drink versus bringing your own bottles can swing a holiday budget by thousands, and we ran those numbers in our Seattle holiday party venue roundup. Do both checks before you sign.
Where Ballrooms Fit
The classic hotel ballroom or banquet hall uses a third model: a rental, plus a food and beverage minimum on their menu, plus a service charge. One team handles everything, which is genuinely easier. It also means three numbers that move with your headcount, and paying for their kitchen whether or not you wanted their menu. If you would rather pick your own caterer and know the number on day one, go flat. Either way, ask for one all in total. If they cannot give you one number, that tells you something.
How 1712 Studios Prices It (Both Ways)
We sell both models, so we have no reason to push you toward one.
Packages, flat, any night with a bar. Any bar at all is a package, and Friday, Saturday and Sunday are always packages. Every package is six hours with licensed bartenders, a security guard in every space you open, tables and 80 chairs, the sound system and DJ booth, the 110 inch screen, a manager on site and the cleaning. No service charge.
| Six hour package | Sun to Thu | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main Hall, up to 120 (1 bartender, 1 guard) | $1,750 | $1,950 | $2,950 |
| Main Hall plus the Speakeasy or the Back Venue, your pick, up to 250 (2 bartenders, 2 guards) | $2,650 | $2,950 | $3,950 |
| The whole building, up to 300 (2 bartenders, 3 guards) | $3,550 | $3,950 | $4,950 |
Extra hours with guests in the building, booked ahead, are $350 for the Main Hall, $550 for two spaces and $700 for the whole building, staff included. Setup hours are $250 flat at any size. Setup hours are only for time with no guests in the building. Any hour with guests is a staffed hour. Run over on the night and it is one and a half times the staffed hour, so book the hour ahead if you think you will want it.
Hourly, no bar, Monday to Thursday only. Two hour minimum. The Main Hall is $250 an hour plus $200 cleaning, two spaces $350 an hour plus $300, the whole building $450 an hour plus $400. A security guard is $55 an hour per space, and only required if you run past 10pm.
The same Thursday holiday party here, real numbers: 100 guests fit the Main Hall, and a bar means a package. Book one setup hour from 4pm to 5pm for the caterer with no guests in the building ($250), then the six hour package from 5pm to 11pm ($1,750). Total: $2,000, plus your caterer and your bottles. At private, invitation only events you bring your own bottles and our licensed bartenders pour them. You also bring a Washington banquet permit and a one day liability policy (required for events with alcohol, 75 or more guests, or running past 10pm). We walk you through both.
The lunch and learn here: two hours in the Main Hall on a Tuesday is $500 plus $200 cleaning, $700.
Something that does not fit the grid? A daytime meeting that turns into an evening party, a longer day, an unusual setup: we quote custom packages on any day of the week. Tell us the plan and we will price it. More on our company meeting and party venue page.
"This place is a hidden gem. Kind, curious staff with prompt communication. They worked with us to make our unique little event work in their space and they were very reasonable with their rates."
Rik S., Google review, October 2026
Not the right fit if you want the venue to cook (no kitchen here), you have more than 300 guests, or you need 250 people seated at one banquet in one space. A ballroom is built for that.
See open December nights and build your exact price | Full rates
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I compare a venue that charges hourly with one that charges a flat rate?
Convert both into one all in total for your door hours, setup and pack up included. Add bartenders, security, cleaning, admin or service charges, minimums and the overtime rate to the hourly quote, then compare that total to the flat rate.
Is hourly or flat rate cheaper for a corporate holiday party?
Usually flat. A bar, a caterer and setup time add up fast on an hourly bill. Hourly tends to win for short, dry, daytime events.
Does 1712 Studios charge hourly or a flat rate?
Both. Any event with a bar, and every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, is a flat six hour package from $1,750. Dry events Monday to Thursday can book by the hour from $250 an hour with a two hour minimum. Anything outside the grid gets a custom quote on any day.
The hourly and flat venues in the worked example are fictional. 1712 Studios prices are current as of November 6, 2026. Written by the team at 1712 Studios.