Vendor FAQ & Policies

Vendor FAQ and Policies

General

Best Picnic Spots is an event marketplace that connects communities directly with their local luxury picnic providers. Whether you’re a company looking to expand your business or someone trying to plan a romantic proposal picnic setup, we’re here to make your next event memorable! 

Vendor Timeline

(1) Create a Picnic Listing:
Create your picnic listings by clicking “Add New Listing” and follow the guided steps. Once submitted, our Support Team will approve within 24 hours. Please make sure to include as much detail as possible. For more information, review our Step by step guide on how to create a picnic listing and Creating an effective picnic listing description.

(2) Guest Finds Your Listing:
Guests use search filters to browse through different locations, themes offered, services, availability, pricing, etc. If a guest is interested in your picnic service, they will send you a message to discuss details such as exact service location (beach, park, or private residence). Make sure to respond as soon as possible for a higher success rate in booking.

(3) Guest Books by Paying Initial Deposit:
After discussing details, guests will reserve their date and time by paying an initial deposit. The initial deposit is a % of the total picnic price and will be credited toward the total amount. The % amount is set by you when creating your listing. We recommend 20 to 25%. 

(4) Finalize Plans with Guest

Continue discussing the picnic event with your guest to confirm all details. During this time, you can adjust guest amount, add-ons, customizations, and potential reschedules all through our vendor portal. These changes will automatically be reflected in the final invoice and when the guest pays the remaining balance. For more details about adjusting guest reservations see Managing Reservations.
 
Please note: No changes can be made after remaining balance has been paid; it’s imperative that details are finalized beforehand!
 
(5) Guest Pays Remaining Balance
For parties of 2-10, guests are required to pay the remaining balance 48 hours before their picnic event and will receive automatic text and email reminders from Best Picnic Spots beforehand. This ensures you, our vendors, have enough time to prepare your luxury picnics. We also encourage you to follow up with your guests if the 48 hour deadline is approaching and the payment has not been completed. 
 
Guests are aware that failure to pay the remaining balance 48 hours before their event may result in the forfeit of the event and their initial deposit, per your (vendor’s) discretion. Best Picnic Spots does allow late payments of the remaining balance to be processed with no additional fees if you agree to continue with the picnic event. 
 
For parties of 11 or more, please instate your own deadline for when the remaining balance is due. This can be done in the “additional rules” section when creating your listing.
 
Both vendor and guest will receive each other’s phone number via email 24 hours before the picnic start time and after the full payment has been confirmed. This is to discuss logistics of where the picnic will be located and to send a pin location, if requested. 
 
(6) Provide Picnic Service
Do what you do best and provide your guests with a stunning luxury picnic. Continue communicating with your guest throughout the process to address day of picnic details.
 
(7) Mark Picnic Complete
When a luxury picnic event has concluded, you are required to “Mark Picnic Complete” within 48 hours of picnic end time. You can choose to return either full, partial, or zero amount of the incidental hold (pending on damages incurred, if any). See Mark Picnic Complete for exact details.
 
(8) Request Payout
Vendors are able to conveniently track their total earnings through Best Picnic Spots’ vendor portal and request a payout in the Wallet section. See Getting Paid for picnics for details.
 
 

Nope! Signing up for Best Picnic Spots is completely free!

Best Picnic Spots will only receive a 12.5% commission on booked reservations, while vendors receive 87.5% of profits. For more details, review Financials.

We are excited to see your business grow through Best Picnic Spots! Our team of experts specialize in marketing for the luxury picnic business industry and our platform provides a seamless booking experience for users so vendors can focus on what they do best.

In order to take full advantage of our platform, we highly recommend vendors to review all FAQ and policies. By doing so, you will discover useful tips to create an effective and successful listing!

Guests are encouraged to message vendors before placing a reservation to discuss questions and details about the picnic service. To improve your booking success rate, we recommend responding to messages as soon as possible. Guests who receive responses within an hour are more likely to book. 

If you receive a new message, you will see a red dot next to your profile icon as well as a red dot on the Messages tab. You will also be notified via text and email. 

Respond to your guests through: Dashboard > Messages

In order to protect our community and business, all communication, bookings, and payments must be done on Best Picnic Spots. Any links, hyperlinks, personal information (email, phone numbers, etc.), or embedded buttons that take guests off Best Picnic Spots to another website is prohibited. Failure to adhere to the policy may result in immediate account suspension.

By listing your services on Best Picnic Spots, you agree to abide by our off-platform policy, which we reserve the right to enforce at our sole discretion. In the event of repeated violations, we may suspend or permanently deactivate a host’s account. 

To better protect our community of users and business, the following actions are prohibited:

  • Include links, hyperlinks, personal information, or embedded buttons that take guests off the Best Picnic Spots platform to another website, including Instagram (descriptions, headers, messages, etc.)
  • Contacting potential guests prior to booking on Best Picnic Spots to move the booking off-platform (offering discounts to book outside of Best Picnic Spots)
  • Cancelling existing reservations and having guests rebook outside of Best Picnic Spots
  • Encouraging guests to book outside of Best Picnic Spots for repeat or future bookings
  • Asking guests for contact information for booking; all communication must remain on Best Picnic Spots
  • Providing guests with your contact information regarding booking; all communication must remain on Best Picnic Spots
  • Soliciting guests for their emails, mailing address, or other communication channels using the Best Picnic Spots messaging system
  • Asking guests to settle payments outside of Best Picnic Spots’ platform; all payments related to a guest’s reservation must go through Best Picnic Spots

Create / Edit Picnic Listing

Click HERE to view our detailed step by step guide.

Providing as much details as possible makes for an effective listing. Guests want to know all the information pertaining to your services, and you’ll have a higher booking rate if it’s provided. Some crucial details include are: servicing locations (name of beaches and parks you service), picnic themes, package options, what’s included in the base price, maximum guest count, add-ons, high quality photos, etc.

Here is a sample description:

We’re here to make your next event amazing!

We provide stunning luxury picnics at beaches, parks, and private residences at the following locations in Los Angeles:

  • Santa Monica Beach, Venice Beach, Hermosa Beach
  • Griffith Park, Echo Park, Palisades Park
  • Any beach or park in Malibu
  • Have another location in mind? Click “Message Vendor” to check in with us!

We have 4 amazing themes to choose from and offer personal customizations:

  • Boho
  • Moroccan
  • Pink
  • Rose Gold
  • Customized theme (message us to discuss)

We setup for romantic dates, celebrations, proposals, and more! The base price includes the following services and items:

  • setup/cleanup 
  • charcuterie board (artisanal selection of meats, cheese, fruits, veggies, and other assorted snacks) 
  • drink of choice (regular water, sparkling water, juice, soda) 
  • teepee 
  • personalized chalkboard message
  • customized decor (boho pillows, rugs, throw blankets, floral arrangements, candles, lighting)  
  • bluetooth speaker

Be sure to check out our extra add-ons to elevate your luxury picnic experience! Please reach out to us for any questions regarding your event using the “Message Vendor” button.

We strongly recommend including all your servicing locations and names of beaches or parks in the description section for a better chance of a successful booking.

Here is a sample description:

We provide stunning luxury picnics at beaches, parks, and private residences at the following locations in Los Angeles:

  • Santa Monica Beach, Venice Beach, Hermosa Beach
  • Griffith Park, Echo Park, Palisades Park
  • Any beach or park in Malibu
  • Have another location in mind? Click “Message Vendor” to check in with us!

For more details about how to setup an effective listing, please review the “Creating an effective picnic listing description” section.

If your city is currently not listed, please select “Other” and continue through the create listing process. You can also contact our Support Team through the Contact Us page.

Every live listing on Best Picnic Spots has been reviewed and approved by our Support Team. In order to provide a good experience for all users, we make sure each picnic listing provides quality information, and language or image usage is compliant with our policies. 

If you submitted a picnic listing for approval, you should hear back within 24 hours. A confirmation email will be sent to you once the listing has been approved, and your listing will be live!

To edit your picnic, click the following:

Dashboard > My Listings > Edit (pencil icon)

Please note: updated listings will also need to be re-approved by our Support Team. Make sure all changes are made before clicking update, as listings cannot be updated again until it has been re-approved by Support Team. 

You may create multiple listings if you service different cities and/or picnic locations (beach, park, etc.) However, keep in mind customers are able to leave reviews for the specific picnic listing they booked so it would be beneficial to rack up more reviews on a single listing than have them spread out across multiple.

Sometimes guests will want to book a specific time slot but there is an already existing picnic reservation. It may be best to communicate with the guest directly through our messaging system to let them book for a separate time, but inform them that you’re still able to provide service for their desired time slot. As of now, our calendar system only allows 1 booking per time slot (ex. if a party books for 12:00-2:00pm, that time slot will be marked “Reserved” and other parties will not be able to book for that time).

Best Picnic Spots has a default system of 2 hours minimum for an event. If your services are less, please include this in your description section when making a listing so that guests are fully aware of your picnic service duration.

Managing Reservations

Guests are required to message vendors if they would like to make adjustments to their reservation. Once confirmed, you can modify the number of guests or add/remove add-ons to an existing picnic reservation. For adding expenses or discounts, see next question.

To edit your picnic, click the following:
Dashboard > My Bookings > Edit  

Please note: you can only make modifications before guest pays the remaining balance. All modifications made will automatically update the invoice and remaining balance due. 

Sometimes guests request special customizations that are not part of your standard picnic service. After a picnic has been booked, you can add an expense or discount by clicking the following:

Dashboard > My Bookings > Details > Extra Expenses/Discount

Please note: you can only make modifications before guest pays the remaining balance. All modifications made will automatically update the invoice and remaining balance due. 

Unfortunately guests will need to reserve the picnic before you add custom expenses or discounts. Please communicate this with your guest and let them know that expenses/discounts will appear in the invoice and be reflected in the remaining balance due.

Each listing will have a calendar section. If you’re seeing a red block labeled “Reserved”, that specific time frame has been booked by your guest. All other time slots will be available to place a reservation.

You can view all your picnics and their statuses by clicking on Dashboard > My Bookings.

Each picnic will have one of the following labels:

1. Deposit (Orange) – This indicates the guest has paid the initial deposit to reserve the date and time. 
2. Booked (Green) – This indicates that the guest has fully paid the remaining balance due. 
3. Completed (Blue) – This indicates that the picnic has been completed and you, the vendor, has marked it as complete. See Mark Picnic Complete section for more details. 
4. Canceled (Grey) – This indicates that the picnic has been canceled. 

We highly encourage you to reach out to guests with the “Deposit” label as their picnic date approaches to ensure they pay the remaining balance 48 hours before their event.

Contacting guests the day of their picnic regarding exact location of their setup is as simple as sending them a pin location through our messaging system. 

For safety and privacy purposes, guests and vendors only receive each other’s phone numbers via email 24 hours before the picnic start time and after the full payment has been confirmed. Learn more about why it’s good to keep communication on Best Picnic Spots in the “Guest has a complaint about the picnic” section. 

When a luxury picnic event has concluded, you are required to “Mark Picnic Complete” within 48 hours of picnic end time. You can choose to return either full, partial, or zero amount of the incidental hold (pending on damages incurred, if any).

To mark picnic complete, click the following:
Dashboard > My Bookings > Mark Picnic Complete

Please note: vendors must mark a picnic complete in order to receive the payout for that event. To learn more about payouts, please review Getting paid for picnics under Financials. 

 

Incidental Hold

We understand the time and dedication needed to provide a successful luxury picnic event. In order to better protect our picnic vendors, Best Picnic Spots sets an incidental hold to guests on all reservations. The incidental hold is a temporary charge to the guest to ensure no damages are made to your equipment. Just like there are incidental holds when reserving a hotel room, this charge will be returned back to the guest within 3 business days after completion of the picnic.

Best Picnic Spots sets incidental hold amounts for picnics of different number of guests (2-10 guests, 11-15 guests, 16-20 guests, 21+ guests). This incidental hold will cover any damages that were made to your equipment, if any, by the guests during the event.

If damages were made during the picnic event, you will have the option to deduct the amount incurred. If damages are less than total incidental hold amount, you can return a partial refund.

When a luxury picnic event has concluded, you are required to “Mark Picnic Complete” within 48 hours of picnic end time. Please ensure you do this in a timely manner, as Best Picnic Spots’ policy states guests will receive the incidental hold back within 3 business days. 

You can choose to return either full, partial, or zero amount (pending on damages incurred, if any). If partial or zero amount is chosen, please make sure to enter the damages/reason for reference, as it will show in the guest invoice. 

If damage incurred is more than what you put as the incidental hold amount, we advise you to contact the guest directly to discuss the proper compensation before marking picnic complete. We can only provide vendors max. what was entered as their incidental hold.

Please note: vendors must mark a picnic complete in order to receive the payout for that event. To learn more about how to get paid, please review Getting paid for picnics under Financials. 
 

Please maintain all communication on the Best Picnic Spots messaging system to ensure our Support Team can help if any issues arise. Communication made outside of our platform is not protected by Best Picnic Spots’ policies.

Reschedule, Cancellations, and Refunds

Guests are very excited about their picnic experience. However, plans sometimes change unexpectedly, and they may need to reschedule or cancel the event. In the unfortunate event a cancellation will need to happen, we have implemented a fair cancellation policy for both vendor and guests. 

When creating a listing, you as the vendor have the option to select one of the following cancellation policies:

2-10 Guests:
1. Full refund of deposit and/or remaining balance if canceled 2 days before the event
2. Full refund of deposit and/or remaining balance if canceled 4 days before the event
3. No refund of deposit and/or remaining balance

11-20 Guests:
1. Full refund of deposit and/or remaining balance if canceled 2 days before the event
2. Full refund of deposit and/or remaining balance if canceled 4 days before the event
3. 
Full refund of deposit and/or remaining balance if canceled 7 days before the event
3. No refund of deposit and/or remaining balance

21+ Guests:
1. Full refund of deposit and/or remaining balance if canceled 2 days before the event
2. Full refund of deposit and/or remaining balance if canceled 4 days before the event
3. 
Full refund of deposit and/or remaining balance if canceled 7 days before the event
3. No refund of deposit and/or remaining balance

The selected cancellation policy will be shown on your listing under the “Terms & rules” section.

If a guest cancels their picnic before your refundable deadline:
Guest will receive a refund (minus a 4% processing fee) from Best Picnic Spots’ Support Team. Refunds will be processed directly by Best Picnic Spots’ Support Team and your wallet will be adjusted. 

If a guest cancels their picnic after your refundable deadline:
If a guest cancels after your refundable deadline, their refund will be forfeited and you (vendor) will still receive a payout. It is highly encouraged to communicate with guests to discuss if you can provide potential rescheduling options (please see general reschedule policy below), as this will help your listing’s reputation in the luxury picnic community and earn trust by guests.

If you (vendor) cancel the picnic:
Guests will receive a full refund (you will be responsible for a 4% processing fee) and your wallet and payout will be adjusted. Refunds will be processed directly by Best Picnic Spots’ Support Team.

Please maintain all communication on the Best Picnic Spots messaging system to ensure our Support Team can help if any issues arise. Communication made outside of our platform is not protected by Best Picnic Spots’ policies.

Best Picnic Spots requires all vendors to provide 1 free reschedule, contingent if request is made by guest at least 48 hours before their picnic start time (applicable for parties of 10 guests or less; for parties of 11 or more, vendor has the right to enforce their own reschedule policy). Reschedule dates are subject to vendor’s availability.

Reschedules requested before your refundable deadline:
The cancellation policy will adhere to the new rescheduled picnic date. 

Reschedules requested after your refundable deadline:
If reschedule is requested after the refundable deadline (either 48 hours or 4 days before event), no refunds will be given if the rescheduled picnic is then canceled by guest. 

Our reschedule policy protects vendors to make sure they have enough time to prepare for an event. If guests request to reschedule after the 48 hour mark, we encourage guests to message vendor directly to see if they are willing to reschedule the picnic. 

Reschedules made due to inclement weather will not count towards the 1 free reschedule. See inclement weather policy for more details.

Please maintain all communication on the Best Picnic Spots messaging system to ensure our Support Team can help if any issues arise. Communication made outside of our platform is not protected by Best Picnic Spots’ policies.

Best Picnic Spots always encourages guests to reach out to vendors directly and discuss rescheduling options before deciding to cancel an event. Guests are required to message vendors directly if they would like to reschedule their picnic. 

Vendors are able to modify the date or start/end time only when the remaining balance hasn’t been paid by guest. Once the remaining balance has been paid, vendors can no longer make modifications and requests will need to be submitted to our Support Team.

Assuming the remaining balance hasn’t been paid by guests:

If the newly requested date or time works, you can make modifications to your booking by clicking: Dashboard > My Bookings > Edit.

If the newly requested date or time does not work, please let the guests know as soon as possible through our messaging system and see if you’re able to work out a solution.

Please maintain all communication on the Best Picnic Spots messaging system to ensure our Support Team can help if any issues arise. Communication made outside of our platform is not protected by Best Picnic Spots’ policies.

Unfortunately, poor weather such as heavy rain, snow, high tides, etc. may result in either vendor or guests needing to reschedule or cancel the event. If you notice that poor weather is in the forecast, please message your guest immediately to discuss rescheduling.

Inclement weather prediction before picnic:
Vendors are required to provide a free guaranteed reschedule due to inclement weather if requested before an event. Any reschedules made for this reason does not count towards the one free reschedule discussed in the general reschedule policy. 

Inclement weather during picnic:
We highly advise both vendor and guests to be aware of weather conditions the day of the picnic. In the unfortunate event guests start the picnic and it has to be cut short due to inclement weather, vendor should message their guests directly to discuss possible solutions for either rescheduling or potential partial refunds. We encourage vendor and guests to make an agreement, as both parties have spent a significant amount of time preparing for the picnic. 

Full or partial refunds agreed upon vendor and guest due to inclement weather will be processed by our Support Team. A 4% processing fee will be split amongst both vendor and guest (2% each). See Processing Fees for more details.

Please maintain all communication on the Best Picnic Spots messaging system to ensure our Support Team can help if any issues arise. Communication made outside of our platform is not protected by Best Picnic Spots’ policies.

Best Picnic Spots promotes open and respectful communication between vendors and guests. Please keep in mind that just as you prepare and arrange your luxury picnic setup, your guests plan their picnic, organize scheduling with attendees, and look forward to a memorable experience. If a guest has complaints about their picnic reservation, it is important you talk with them, recognize their worries, and strive to find a solution.

Please maintain all communication on the Best Picnic Spots messaging system to ensure our Support Team can help if any issues arise. Communication made outside of our platform is not protected by Best Picnic Spots’ policies.

If you did not include items that were paid for by guest (ex. forgot an add-on item), or agree to issue a partial refund due to poor service, please message your guest immediately to let them know and discuss how much should be refunded. Any refunds agreed between you and the guest should be notified to our Support Team immediately with relevant screen shots of agreed amounts. The refunds will be processed accordingly by Best Picnic Spots and invoices and wallet will be updated.

If you are not able to reach an agreement with your guest, our Support Team will be happy to look further into the situation. Please send us the reservation information and other relevant details including photographic evidence of the situation, if needed. 

Please maintain all communication on the Best Picnic Spots messaging system to ensure our Support Team can help if any issues arise. Communication made outside of our platform is not protected by Best Picnic Spots’ policies

Best Picnic Spots strives to provide the best value for both guests and vendors. Currently there is no service fee for guests interested in booking a luxury picnic through our platform, and Best Picnic Spots covers all credit card processing fees during payment. In the event of any partial or full refunds however, processing fees will need to be deducted from guest or vendor, pending on the situation. This is simply to cover the cost that has already been paid by Best Picnic Spots. 

Guest cancels:
A 4% processing fee will be deducted from the amount refunded. Note: please check our general cancellation policy to confirm if your picnic is applicable for a refund.

Vendor cancels:
A 4% processing fee will be deducted from vendor. Guest will receive a full refund. 

Mutually agreed refund due to inclement weather:
A 4% processing fee will be split amongst both vendor and guest (2% each). 2% will be deducted from the amount refunded. 

Partial refunds to guest due to forgotten items/poor service by vendor: 
The agreed refunded amount will be returned to guest, and vendor will cover the processing fees. 

Please note: processing fees only apply towards the amount being refunded. 

Account Management

Dashboard > My Listings > Delete (bin icon)

Dashboard > My Listings > Disable Listing (pause icon)

Dashboard > Profile > Password

Dashboard > Profile > Browse

Financials

Using Best Picnic Spots is free and helps vendors focus on creating the best luxury picnic experience for guests. We specialize in marketing in the luxury picnic business industry, helping vendors and guests connect in their local community. In order for our team of experts to operate, Best Picnic Spots receives 12.5% commission on each reservation, while vendors receive 87.5% of the profit.

Wallet
Vendors are able to conveniently track their total earnings and request a payout in the Wallet section by clicking:
Dashboard > Wallet

Your total earnings reflects all profits from picnics ever made (minus listing fee). Your available balance will show how much credit you have in your wallet that can transfer to your bank via our payment methods.

Payment Method
In order to receive a payout, vendors are required to complete the Payment Method page and select their preferred method of payment. We currently make payouts using Zelle, CashApp, or Venmo.

Dashboard > Profile > Payment Method


Request a Payout
Upon completion of a picnic, you may request a payout by entering an amount in the payout section. Our Support Team will receive your request and will send the payment via your preferred payout method.

Please note: vendors must mark a picnic complete in order to receive the payout for that event. To learn more about how to mark a picnic complete, please review Mark Picnic Complete under Managing Reservations. 


If you have not received your payment after 5 business days, please reach out to our Support Team by using the Contact Us page.

Please note: a payout may be delayed if there is an open complaint about an existing picnic reservation. For the fastest solution, please communicate directly with your guest regarding the matter.

In order to receive a payout, vendors are required to complete the Payment Method page and select their preferred method of payment. We currently make payouts using Zelle, CashApp, or Venmo.

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