Running a 12-date van run in February, I’m juggling $250/day fuel and $35 per diems while trying to protect sleep and hot meals — what’s your go-to cut that doesn’t crush morale? I’m considering spacing hotels to every third night and bumping buyout $10; anyone pulled that off without blowing the day’s budget?
We’ve pulled off “every third night” by adding a cheap day-room every other day (11–4) for showers/naps and scheduling a group DoorDash at load-out, funded by the $10 buyout bump. Call motels directly for day rates — they’ll do $40–$60 more often than you’d think; would a day-room plus one hotel on 3s keep sleep and hot meals intact?
And @ggarci52 I’ve had better results rotating a single driver room each night — advance a $40–50 driver-room line with the buyer instead of bumping buyouts, so one person sleeps hard while the rest van-crash and everyone gets a turn every few nights. Small caveat: skip it on brutal overnights; think your buyers would budge for that add-on?
I’ve had luck advancing a “one hot meal after soundcheck” line with buyers at $8–10/head instead of bumping buyouts — keeps the $35 intact and morale up without nuking the day’s numbers. Pair it with a small cooler and a $20 grocery float for breakfast stuff so spacing hotels every third night stings less; a tray of pasta beats an extra $10 nine times out of ten. Have you tried pitching it as a swap for drink tickets or a tiny hospitality credit?