I used to book everything through Peerspace. Why wouldn't you? It's tidy. The payments flow through their system, the host gets vetted reviews, and you don't have to remember who runs which studio in which postcode. Convenient. Also — and this is the part people skip over — the service fee is baked into the quoted hourly rate, and you pay it on every booking.

Let me tell you how I think about platform bookings now, after too many shoots where the platform added cost I didn't need.

The actual cost of a platform booking

Peerspace, Giggster, Splacer (may it rest), all work broadly the same way. There's a service fee taken from the guest and a commission taken from the host. The host then prices their space to absorb their side of the fee, which means the hourly rate you see on the platform is already higher than the studio would quote you directly.

I can't put exact percentages on record because they've shifted over the years and the figures shown publicly vary. What I can tell you is what the actual pricing difference looks like from my own bookings. A studio in East London I've used four times. On Peerspace: £120/hour. Direct, same studio, same host, same room: £95/hour. That's roughly a 20% premium for booking through the platform. Four-hour minimum, that's £100 more per booking.

Another example. A harbourside studio in Bristol. Platform: £95/hour. Direct: £75/hour. Same gap, same reason.

Book direct every week for a year and you're looking at thousands back in your pocket.

When platforms are worth every penny

I'm not anti-platform. There are situations where Peerspace earns its fee many times over.

First time in a new city. I was in Los Angeles last October with two days to shoot and no contacts. Peerspace saved me. The reviews let me filter for studios that had done commercial work, the messaging flow was fast, payment was sorted in advance. I paid maybe 15% more than I would have direct. Fine. The alternative was Googling for hours and cold-calling studios, which is not a good use of your time when you're about to shoot.

Dealing with an unknown host. Platform dispute resolution is real. If a studio doesn't match what was advertised, or there's a cancellation, or there's damage disputes — having the platform in the middle is worth the fee. I've had Peerspace refund a booking where the cyc was nothing like the photos. That wouldn't have happened with a bank transfer to a host I'd never met.

Last-minute bookings. Platform messaging is faster than email. I've booked studios for next-day shoots at 9pm and had confirmation by 10pm. That speed costs you something, and if the shoot has to happen, it's cheap at the price.

Corporate compliance. Some of my clients will only pay via proper business invoices with VAT breakdowns. Platforms handle that automatically. Some individual studio owners below the VAT threshold can't invoice with VAT, which creates accounting headaches for finance departments. Book through the platform, problem solved.

When direct booking wins, every time

Repeat bookings with the same studio. If you've shot there twice and you know the host, the kit, the parking situation and the coffee machine — you don't need a platform between you. I message one East London studio on WhatsApp now. "20th of May, 8 to 6, same as last time." Confirmed in two replies. Paid by bank transfer. Done.

Long-form bookings. A week-long shoot at £800/day on a platform is adding what could be £1000+ in fees across the booking. Book direct and the host will usually give you a multi-day discount that the platform can't match because the platform's own cut is fixed.

When you need a custom arrangement. Bringing in specific gear? Wanting to move furniture? Needing early load-in or late wrap? Platforms try to automate all of this and fail. A direct phone call with a studio owner solves it in five minutes.

Low-budget personal work. Testing ideas, shooting portfolio, building a book? Don't pay platform fees on that. Find the space direct. A lot of studios will cut a day rate by 30-40% for clearly non-commercial work if you ask nicely and book midweek.

How to find a studio's direct contact

This is where it gets interesting. Peerspace doesn't list studios' direct websites or phone numbers in their listings (unsurprisingly — that would undercut their own business). But most studios have a website somewhere. Search the studio name plus "studio London" on Google. Look for Instagram accounts. Studios love Instagram. The bio usually has a real email address.

If the studio name on Peerspace is generic — "Creative Space in Hackney" — it's harder. Those are often owner-operated spaces that exist purely as Peerspace listings and don't have independent websites. In that case, book through the platform once, then find a way to build a relationship with the host for future bookings. Message them post-shoot. Ask if they take direct bookings for repeat clients. Most will say yes.

The thing hosts will tell you off-platform

I've asked maybe a dozen studio owners about this, and the honest answer varies. Some love Peerspace — it fills their calendar with zero marketing effort, and they price their platform rate with the fee already factored in. They'd rather take the lower net and not have to do marketing. Fair.

Others resent it. They feel locked in, pressured by the platform's cancellation policies, stung by sudden fee changes, and frustrated that half their bookings come from clients who negotiate aggressively on the base rate without understanding the platform margin. These hosts will take direct bookings gladly, sometimes for 20-25% less, because they keep more of the money even at the lower rate.

If a studio has its own website with a "book direct" link, that's a strong signal they prefer direct bookings. Use that. If they only have a Peerspace listing, they've chosen the platform-only route. Respect that.

Specific scenarios, specific advice

You're a photographer shooting regularly for one client in one city. Direct. Build the relationship with two or three studios. Skip the platform.

You're a production company with multiple concurrent shoots across cities. Platforms, mostly, because the admin overhead of managing twenty direct studio relationships isn't worth it. The platform is basically your scheduling tool.

You're a content creator doing personal projects once or twice a month. Direct, always. Ask for the non-commercial rate.

You're shooting overseas. Platforms for the first booking, direct if you return.

You're a studio owner reading this wondering if you should encourage direct bookings. Depends on your marketing appetite. If you can fill your calendar directly, you keep more margin. If you can't, Peerspace is doing real work for you.

The "no fee" middle ground

There are directories now that don't take commission at all — they just list studios and let bookings happen between the studio and the photographer directly. No platform fee, no middleman markup. The rate you see is the rate you pay. The studio owner keeps 100% of what you pay them.

That's a real alternative to both "pay the platform fee" and "Google for hours hoping to find the studio". You get the discoverability of a platform without the commission tax.

My current booking flow

Known studio, repeat booking: WhatsApp, bank transfer, done.

New studio in a familiar city: find the studio via a no-fee directory, check their Instagram for recent shoots, message them direct, book direct.

New studio in a new city, tight timeline: Peerspace for the first one, build the relationship for future.

Complex multi-day commercial shoot with corporate invoicing: platform if the client's finance team requires it, otherwise direct with a proper invoice.

What this adds up to

I'm probably saving £3-4k a year by booking direct for my regular studios. That's not life-changing money, but it's a new lens every year, or a nicer holiday, or the difference between a tight year and a comfortable one.

For studio owners, the flip side is real too. If you can move 20-30% of your bookings direct, you're materially better off without losing much discoverability — especially if you list on free directories that don't charge commission.

If you want a directory that doesn't take a cut — studios list for free, photographers search for free, bookings happen directly — have a look at Creative Studio Hire. It's my main search tool now for anywhere that isn't a last-minute or unknown-city booking.