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Palm Springs Production and Photo Shoot Home Management
We Manage Your Desert Home for Shoots, From First Inquiry to Final Walkthrough
Desert light, mountain views, and mid-century architecture have made Palm Springs a favorite backdrop for fashion, lifestyle, and brand shoots. Open Air Homes manages the entire process for homeowners: listing your home on Peerspace and other location platforms, vetting every production, confirming the city film permit and insurance, and coordinating each shoot day so your home is protected. We work with professional productions from reputable companies and brands, and every production is insured.
Already rent your home with us? Production bookings can fill the days between stays, especially in the slower summer months. New to Open Air Homes? We can manage your home for production on its own, or alongside vacation and monthly rentals.
Open Air Homes is the only Los Angeles based company in AirDNA’s 2026 ranking of the top 100 property managers in the US, ranked #25 nationally. See how the ranking works.
Why Brands Shoot in Palm Springs Homes
Distinct Homes Book. Generic Homes Wait.
Location scouts come to the desert for a look they cannot get anywhere else: clean mid-century lines, glass walls that open to the pool, mountains behind the yard, and bold color inside. A home with a clear style photographs well in every direction.
The homes that book most often have a point of view. A saturated accent wall, an original breeze block, a pool deck at sunset, or a courtyard framed by the San Jacinto Mountains can be the reason a brand picks your home over the one down the street.
If your home has character, there is a good chance a production team is already searching for something like it.
Production Is Coming Back to California
Bigger Incentives, Steady Demand for Desert Locations
In July 2025, California raised its film and television tax credit from $330 million to $750 million a year and expanded which productions qualify. In the ten months that followed, 147 film and TV productions were approved for the credit.
The recovery is gradual, and statewide shoot days are still below where they were a year ago. Photo, editorial, and brand work in the desert continues through most of the year, and reputable brands keep asking to shoot in our homes.
We tell owners the same thing we tell ourselves: production income is a strong addition, not a guarantee. The homes that do best are listed early, presented well, and ready to say yes quickly.
What Makes a Home Work for Production
The Details Scouts Notice First
Strong natural light. Architecture with a clear style. A pool, patio, or mountain view. Rooms with color or character. Open space where a crew can move. Parking or easy load-in for equipment. A layout that lets a crew work in one area while the rest of the home stays private.
Not every home needs all of these. We will walk through your home, tell you honestly how it is likely to perform, and suggest small changes that make it easier to book.
We Manage the Entire Process
From Listing to Load-Out
Listing and photos. We build and manage your listings on Peerspace and other location platforms, with photos chosen for what scouts look for.
Vetting every request. We review the production company, crew size, equipment, hours, and how the space will be used before anything is confirmed. If a request is not right for your home or your neighbors, we decline it.
Your approval on every booking. We send you the details of each request, including the type of use, headcount, hours, and setup, and nothing is confirmed until you approve it.
Permits and insurance. The production obtains the city film permit, and we confirm it is in place. Every production must provide a certificate of insurance before the shoot.
Shoot day coordination. Our desert team handles arrival, the walkthrough, and load-out, protects floors and furniture, and resets the home afterward.
Payments and records. Bookings, payouts, and any damage claims are tracked in our operations system, with a clear record for you.
We Follow the Rules Here Too
Palm Springs Requires a Film Permit
The City of Palm Springs requires a film permit for filming on private property, including inside a home. For still photography the fee is $92 per production plus $18 per day. For motion picture, TV, and commercial work it is $184 per production plus $49 per day.
Productions are also expected to notify residents within 300 feet in writing at least 72 hours before filming. The production handles the permit and notice, and we will not confirm a shoot without them. Other desert cities have their own rules, and we check them for every booking.
Most bookings are photo shoots, commercials, and small creative productions. We also host off-site meetings and select events, approved case by case with limits on guest count, hours, and noise, and we keep crews respectful of neighbors.
Production and Rentals, Managed Together
One Calendar, One Team
Many of the desert homes we manage as vacation and monthly rentals also take production bookings. We run both on one calendar, so a shoot never conflicts with a guest stay.
Production days are short and well paid. Summer is slower for vacation rentals in Palm Springs, and a few shoot days can help fill that gap.
Homes that are lived in can work too. If you live in your home, we schedule shoots around your plans and keep private rooms off limits.
Transparent Pricing for Production Management
No Hidden Fees
Production bookings follow the same approach as the rest of our management. Before your home goes live, you will see the full breakdown in writing: what the production pays, the platform fee, our commission, and what you net.
Production, meeting, and event bookings are charged at our standard 20% commission, the same rate as your overnight rentals, unless we agree otherwise in writing. Cleaning fees, deposits, and insurance requirements can differ from overnight stays, and we tell you about them before anything is booked.
Ready to Put Your Desert Home in Front of Production Teams?
Tell Us About Your Home
Send the short form below with your address and a few photos or a listing link. We will review it, tell you how we think it will perform for production, and walk you through next steps.
Production Home Management: FAQ
1 - What does production management include?
We handle the full process: building and managing your listings on Peerspace and other location platforms, vetting every request, confirming the production’s film permit and certificate of insurance, coordinating arrival and load-out, resetting the home, and tracking payments and any damage claims.
2 - Do I need a film permit to rent my home for a shoot?
Yes. The City of Palm Springs requires a film permit for filming on both public and private property, including still photography. The production applies for and pays for the permit and notifies neighbors, and we confirm it is in place before we confirm the shoot. Other Coachella Valley cities have their own rules.
3 - Is my home a good fit for production?
Homes with a clear architectural style, good natural light, a pool or mountain view, and rooms with color or character tend to book best. Easy parking and load-in help too. Send us your address and a few photos and we will tell you honestly how we think it will perform.
4 - Can I keep renting my home as a vacation or monthly rental?
Yes. Many of the homes we manage take both. We run rentals and production bookings on one calendar so they never overlap, and shoot days can help fill the slower summer months.
5 - How is my home protected during a shoot?
Every production must provide a certificate of insurance before the shoot. Our team does a walkthrough before and after, protects floors and furniture, and documents the condition of the home. If something is damaged, we handle the claim through the platform or the production’s insurance. We also recommend confirming with your own insurance provider that production and event use is covered.
6 - Can I be home during a shoot?
Yes. If you live in the home, we schedule around your plans and agree in advance which rooms are off limits to the crew.
7 - What kinds of productions book homes?
Mostly fashion, lifestyle, and product photography, commercials, music videos, editorial shoots, and smaller film and TV work. We also host off-site meetings and select events, approved case by case.
8 - Which homes are not a fit?
Tenant-occupied homes and homes where an HOA or lease does not allow commercial use. We also pass on homes where street access, parking, or neighbors would make a crew impractical.
Cities We Manage Across the Desert
Our desert team covers the Coachella Valley and the high desert. Permit rules change from city to city here more than anywhere else we work, so start with your city.
Palm Springs and the Desert
Joshua Tree and the High Desert
Thinking about monthly stays instead? See how monthly rentals work in Palm Springs, or read the management FAQ.