Lodging & short-term rentals
Books and taxes for event venues with on-site lodging.
A wedding that books the barn for the ceremony and every guest house on the property for the weekend, a catering deposit paid months ahead, a room block priced differently than a single stay, and a calendar built entirely around Saturdays. Gus sorts all of it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
September came in at $23,600. Three Saturday weddings booked full room blocks, and I kept venue rental fees separate from lodging revenue so you can see which side of the business is actually carrying the month.
- Venue rental fee, Sept 6 weddingVenue rental revenue
- Room block paymentLodging revenue
- Catering deposit, October eventDeposits held
- Event staffing crewEvent staffing
- Cottage turnover cleaningLodging supplies
Why your books are different
An event venue with lodging's books go wrong in the same few places.
You are running two different businesses that happen to share a property: renting a venue for a few hours and renting guest houses for a weekend. A generalist sees one big wedding payment. Your business needs venue and lodging revenue split apart, or you cannot tell which one is actually paying the bills.
-
1
Venue rental and room blocks are two different sales
A couple paying for the barn and paying to fill eight cottages for the weekend are really buying two different things with different costs behind them, and treating it as one wedding payment hides which side of the business earns its keep.
What we doBooks venue rental fees and room block lodging revenue on separate lines so each side of the property shows its real contribution. -
2
Deposits paid months ahead are not this month's income
A couple often pays a deposit six months to a year before their wedding date, and booking that deposit as revenue the day it arrives makes a quiet booking month look busy and a packed wedding month look empty.
What we doHolds event and lodging deposits separately until the actual event weekend, so revenue lands in the month the work happens. -
3
The calendar runs on Saturdays, not on the month
A venue that books almost entirely on Saturdays can have a month with four bookings and a month with five look wildly different, even though nothing about the business actually changed.
What we doTracks bookings against the number of available weekend dates, not just the calendar month, so the comparison that matters is the one you get. -
4
Event staffing scales up and down hard
A venue might run with a skeleton crew most weekdays and a full team of coordinators, setup crew, and cleaners on a wedding Saturday, and that swing can look like a payroll problem if nobody accounts for the pattern.
What we doTracks event staffing costs against the number of events booked, so a heavy staffing week reads as expected for a full calendar, not a concern.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for an event venue with lodging.
Set up once for how you get paid and what you spend. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Venue rental revenueThe fee for the ceremony and reception space itself.
- Lodging revenueRoom blocks and guest house stays for the wedding weekend.
- Catering and bar revenueFood and beverage service, when run in-house rather than by an outside caterer.
- Add-on rentalsTables, linens, and decor rented directly from the venue.
Money out
- Event staffingCoordinators, setup and breakdown crews, and day-of staff.
- Lodging suppliesLinens, cleaning supplies, and guest house turnover costs.
- Grounds and venue upkeepLandscaping, barn maintenance, and general property care.
- Food and beverage costCatering supplies and bar inventory, when run in-house.
- InsuranceEvent liability and property insurance together.
- Marketing and booking softwareYour website, wedding directories, and booking or contract tools.
What we watch for you
- Bookings per available Saturday
Weddings booked against the actual number of weekend dates available, the real read on how full the calendar is.
- Venue versus lodging split
How much of each event's total price came from the venue fee versus the room block, tracked separately.
- Event staffing cost per event
What a typical wedding weekend costs in staffing, tracked against the venue and lodging fees it brought in.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things event venue owners ask Gus.
Text him like you would text anybody. He answers in plain English, and when a question is above his pay grade, an accountant looks and gets back to you.
I hold it as a deposit, not revenue, until the wedding weekend actually happens next August. That keeps this month's number honest and puts the income where it belongs.
Right now the venue fee is the bigger piece, with room blocks adding a solid amount on top. I keep them on separate lines so you can watch that balance over time.
Exactly. I track bookings against the actual number of available Saturdays, not just the calendar month, so a five-Saturday month reads as the strong month it actually was.
The tax side
The tax side of running an event venue with lodging.
Most of what goes wrong here is treating two businesses, a venue and a lodging operation, as one, and counting deposits before the work happens. Both get cleaner once they are tracked apart all year.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Deposits are recognized when the event happensA deposit paid well ahead of a wedding date is usually recognized as income when the event occurs, not when the deposit is received. Gus holds deposits separately so the timing lines up correctly.
- Cost segregation on venue and lodging buildingsA property with a barn or event space and separate guest cottages often has components that can be identified separately and written off faster, including bonus depreciation at 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099s for event staffA coordinator, setup crew member, or musician not on payroll paid $2,000 or more in 2026 gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps the list all year.
- The pass-through deductionMost profitable venue owners can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income, with limits above $201,750 taxable income single or $403,500 joint. It comes out right when venue and lodging revenue are tracked cleanly all year.
Deductions event venues with on-site lodging miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Linens and lodging supplies
- Landscaping and grounds crews
- Barn and venue maintenance
- Event liability insurance
- Tables, chairs, and decor
- Wedding directory listing fees
- Booking and contract software
- Sound and lighting equipment
- Cottage turnover cleaning
- Parking and shuttle costs
- Fire and safety inspections
- Marketing photography
General information about 2026 federal rules, not advice for your business. Your accountant looks at your actual numbers before anything gets filed.
All year, not just April
An event venue year, kept every month.
Wedding season fills the calendar hard for part of the year and leaves it quiet the rest. Your taxes come on a schedule. Your team keeps you ahead of both. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Plan the year
Last year's return gets started, event staff 1099s are ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether this year's wedding season is booking ahead of last year's pace.
- October
Before booking season for next year
As next year's wedding inquiries pick up, Gus looks at venue or cottage upgrades worth doing before December.
What you get
What you pay depends on what your business needs, and it does not move after that, busy season or slow. No hourly bills, no surprise invoices, no setup fee.
Book a call- Monthly bookkeeping
Every transaction sorted into categories set up for event venues with on-site lodging. You never categorize a thing.
- An accountant checks every transaction
Real review, every month, before your books close. Not a spot check.
- Your business tax return, filed
Prepared, reviewed, and signed by that same accountant every year.
- The monthly number
What you made, what you spent, what to set aside for taxes.
- Your own bookkeeper
A real person assigned to your business, in the app whenever you need them. No hold music.
- On your books all year
Every month, not just in April. Your team speaks up whenever something is worth your attention.
- Cancel any time
No contract. No cancellation call. Your books are yours.
Straight answers
Questions event venue owners ask first.
Can Gus separate our venue fee from our room block revenue?
Yes. Venue rental and lodging revenue are booked on separate lines from the start, so you can see which side of the property is actually earning its keep.
We collect a deposit up to a year before the wedding. Does that distort our monthly numbers?
No. Gus holds deposits separately until the event weekend actually happens, so revenue shows up in the month the work is done, not the month the deposit arrived.
Our bookings are almost all on Saturdays. Does that make some months look worse than they are?
It can, if you compare against a flat calendar month. Gus tracks bookings against the actual number of available Saturdays, so a five-Saturday month and a four-Saturday month are both read fairly.
We hire a different staffing crew for every wedding. How does that get tracked?
Event staffing costs are tracked against the number of events booked, so a heavy staffing week during a full calendar reads as expected rather than a payroll concern.
Our books currently lump venue fees, room blocks, and catering into one number per wedding. Can that be fixed?
Yes. Send the statements you have. Gus splits each wedding's payment into its real parts going forward, the accountant checks it, and most owners know where they stand inside a week.
Is a real accountant checking my books?
Yes. You get your own bookkeeper, Gus does the first pass on every transaction, and an accountant checks every one before your month closes. That same accountant prepares, signs, and files your business return. Goatkeeper is not a CPA firm, and we never pretend a person looked when they did not.
What does it cost, and can I cancel?
It starts at $197 a month, depending on what your business needs. No setup fee, no hourly bills, no contract. Cancel any time from the app, and your books go with you.
More in lodging & short-term rentals
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Bed & breakfasts
- Country inns & lodges
- Farm stays
- Hostels
- Independent motels
- Mid-term rental operators (travel nurses)
- Wellness & retreat centers
- Airbnb co-hosting businesses
- Boutique hotels
- Extended stay & corporate housing
- Luxury villa rentals
- Short-term rental hosts (Airbnb / VRBO)
- Short-term rental property managers
- Vacation rental management (beach / mountain)
What makes a bookkeeper worth paying for Every business we keep books for
Book a call
Pick a time. That's the whole signup.
Fifteen minutes with a real person on our team. They look at where your books are, tell you straight what it takes to get caught up, and get you set up on the spot if it fits.
- $197 a month to start
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever