[Elektra]

Yeah, we have had that difficulty. We live in a one bedroom apartment, we can't really put people up in our home either to help costs. So then we have to add in hotels, etc. Of which there are none in our area, of course. So whoever comes won't likely be staying exceptionally close by. Thankfully Chicago is commuter friendly, so with buses, trains, cabs, etc there are many ways to get around! So that isn't as bad as it could be.
Some people have said they would stay with my parents (they live down the street from our shop), but that isn't always a great fit for everyone.

We did Groupon and AmazonLocal (while it was still a thing). The perk is that you get your money regardless of them redeeming. And typically, half redeeming is standard. So you get paid to do nothing, essentially for half.

Now, the two downsides we found were this: 200 is your minimum, you can't offer less. So you have to be ready to possibly accommodate 200 people over the length of time your voucher lasts. So depending on your studio, or schedule, that can be a challenge.
And obviously the second, you get a quarter of your asking price. So if your class offering is normally $200, it's only gonna get you $50/person. So you have to really weigh your options cost wise. Look at your possible numbers, and determine if you can afford to do it for the cost. Or, develop a class at a price point that means you can take the quarter and be fine with it, and either never offer it again normally or offer it cheaper once your deal is sold. If you go that route, just make sure the price you set it at is still higher than what the Groupon person paid for. Does that makes sense?

We typically do at least one outdoor show a month, this year we amped it up a bit and have added some more. We bring a torch when allowed, our class info, and our inventory with us. I'm doing our local neighborhood farmers market once a month all season to help remind people we are here too.

Trust me, we don't care if someone is local or not. Our current special class IS a local teacher this time, so that is good that we can at least easily run it again if we have more people interested, or if the date ends up not working for a lot of people. Easy to try again.