- Alcohol
- Allowed, served by a licensed and insured bartender or caterer you hire — no self-service. A private gathering of 25 or fewer, where nothing is sold and nobody is charged at the door, can bring and serve its own. Selling drinks or charging admission needs our approval in writing and the right California ABC permit, delivered by the deadline in your Booking Confirmation (24 hours before your access begins, or as soon as possible if you book within 24 hours) and checked before the event. Whenever alcohol is served: food available throughout, service stops 30 minutes before the end, nobody under 21.
- Insurance
- Every outside vendor working your event sends us a certificate — $1M per occurrence, $2M aggregate, naming The Colab, LLC. You'll need your own one-day event policy if alcohol is present; if more than 40 people are coming, or more than half the posted occupant load, whichever is lower; if the event is ticketed, public or publicly promoted; if minors are the main audience, or there is physical activity or equipment; or if the booking is over $1,000. If none of those apply you don't need one, and members and day-pass visitors using the space day to day never do. We'll tell you exactly what's needed when we confirm your date.
- Ending time
- Events end at 10 PM — amplified music off at 9:30 (even if you buy a later finish), guests out by your event's finish, and vendors and cleanup out by the teardown deadline in your booking confirmation: 11 PM for a 10 PM finish, 1 AM for a midnight one. A later finish to midnight is $125 an hour, agreed in writing when you book rather than asked for on the night. There are neighbors below us and it is the one rule we don't bend after dark.
- What you pay, and when
- Venue hire is arranged with us, not booked online. Once we have confirmed your date, times, space and price, we email your Booking Confirmation with a secure link to pay the full price, which includes a $25 booking fee — part of the total, not an extra on top. Your booking is confirmed when that payment is. Cancel at least 14 days (14 periods of 24 hours) before your event's start and we refund what you paid less the $25 booking fee. Cancel later than that and we keep half the agreed rental price plus the $25 and refund the rest: on a $650 rental, that is a $625 refund early or $300 late. Your booking confirmation gives the exact cutoff in Pacific time, and moving your event to a later date does not move it. Any documents your event needs, such as insurance certificates, are due by the deadline in your booking confirmation. Standard cleaning and an hour to set up beforehand are included. There's no separate damage deposit to pay. We keep the card you pay with on file: if something is damaged or needs more than ordinary cleaning, we email you an itemized statement, and you have 14 days to pay or dispute it. If you do neither, we charge the card after a reminder, never more than the cap in the Rental Agreement.Where online booking is open, you choose your date and hours on our venue booking page, see the whole price first — every line, your setup and teardown hours, any member discount and your exact cancellation cutoff — then confirm your details and accept the Rental Agreement before paying in full by card. The price includes a $25 booking fee, part of the total, not an extra on top. Your booking is confirmed when that payment is, and we then confirm any documents your event needs. Cancel at least 14 days (14 periods of 24 hours) before your event's start and we refund what you paid less the $25 booking fee. Cancel later than that and we keep half the agreed rental price plus the $25 and refund the rest: on a $650 rental, that is a $625 refund early or $300 late. Moving your event follows the rescheduling rules in the agreement, and moving it to a later date does not move the cutoff. Standard cleaning, an hour to set up beforehand and an hour for teardown afterwards are included. There's no separate damage deposit to pay. We keep the card you pay with on file: if something is damaged or needs more than ordinary cleaning, we email you an itemized statement, and you have 14 days to pay or dispute it. If you do neither, we charge the card after a reminder, never more than the cap in the Rental Agreement.