Dj charges $300 as commute fee???

I would find a closer DJ...

I would but most of them are booked and other ones are not as good.

Tolls I can understand. Car rental is ridiculous.

I've received quotes from vendors who aren't based in NYC who charges more. Lol, obviously, we didn't hire them.

That's ridiculous for 29 miles. I can see the tolls but definetly not the car!

I would keep looking for sure. I am paying $500 for my DJ; that includes travel, 6 hours, ceremony & reception location, and uplighting and emcee. Just keep looking! You'll find someone. I literally just booked a videographer because I changed my mind at the last minute and my wedding is next week. Nothing is impossible.

Shouldn't DJ have their own car?? My DJ has cool deck out Van with Disco lighting inside! It's a party wherever he parks!

But seriously, I will be very wary of DJ that doesn't have a car.

Why tf do they need to rent a car to drive 29 miles? Hard pass.

I went further out for my vendors and was only charged between $25-45 for travel expenses, including tolls and gas. Not for a car rental, but gas I could understand. That doesn't make any sense though, he should have his own car. So if you were still under 5 miles from him he'd walk his equipment over?

Rental car seems extreme! I'd pass!

You either pay it or you don't..... If he's good, then you pay it; or you hire someone you don't really like. Considering that the DJ makes the reception, I'd pay it...

We have a 150.00 surcharge to go to NYC. The toll across any given bridge is 15.00, the parking is going to be 60.00 and we have to double the time to get there.

My photographer is traveling a hour 1 way to my wedding and same for my E pics so in total that's four hours of travel. She only charged me 45 in traveling fee

I'd say look up the car rental prices (most likely a big truck because of his equipment), find out how much he'd probably spend on gas and tolls, and then compare that to his price. If it's completely off, ask him about the discrepancy.

I was bored and curious, so I looked up some prices. He can rent a cargo van from uhaul for two days for about $40, it's $0.69 a mile, so let's just round that up to a dollar for ease, times 60 miles round trip, that's about $60. So about $100 max for the truck rental, if he even needs it for two days so he can load it the night before. Oh and $20 for insurance.

So that's leaves a little under $200 for gas and tolls. At 20 mpg and a 26 gal tank, he'll have to get gas...once maybe? Then there's tolls. I don't know gas prices or tolls in your area so you'll have to figure out if everything sounds like it adds up

ETA: Personally, I think a professional DJ should have some kind of car to transport his equipment. Charging you for the car rental seems a bit weird.

Wow! That's crazy! Your DJ shouldn't have to rent a car to provide his services especially when it's only 29 miles away. Tolls and .75 cents a mile should be $35 tops! I see it as my responsibility as a professional DJ to ensure that my means of transportation is adequate to transport my equipment. For bigger events I bring along my utility trailer and I don't even charge extra for that. Most companies only charge travel fees after about 50 miles. unless you're getting a dance floor, stage, up-lighting, trussing, and a huge light show that would require a U-haul or Ryder truck PASS!

My guess is the price was quoted low and the travel fee is the equalizer. Some do this with a gratuity being added, one tried to charge a couple for the event insurance he needed, and others are just what they say they are.

On the other hand, all my fees are based on real time. By this I mean the window of time blocked off on my calendar with a couple's name. You mention tolls. For me Manhattan can be an hour & 20 minutes to get into or it has taken 3 hours on a Friday night. This means I schedule ALL NYC weddings as if it will be 3 hrs needed to get there. So you could be paying for the window of time needed to ensure that nothing prevents them from being on time.

Needing to rent a truck leads me to believe that you should look into a more established, more professional company. Email me if you know what kind of service you are looking for. I may have some recommendations.

Car rental is ridiculous

As a part time DJ...

how does he NOT have a car/van????

That's weird.

No way!! Negotiate for sure.

Find another DJ. That is ridiculous

Wow. My DJ is about 29 miles from our venue and they charged like 50 for a travel fee. 300 is outrageous!