Fuel, lodging, and per-diem inputs
The three biggest line items on any tour budget — how Mintoor calculates them and how to tune for your reality.
When you'd use this
The Router's cost projection looks off. You want to know what numbers it's using and fix the ones that don't match your actual expenses.
Fuel
Formula: distance × (1 / MPG) × fuel price
Inputs:
- Distance — from Google Maps between stops. Accurate.
- MPG — your value from Profile → Settings → Tour defaults. Default 22 (typical van).
- Fuel price — national average from EIA + state offset. Updated weekly.
How to tune:
- Premium gas vehicle? Set MPG lower (premium is more expensive per mile).
- Towing a trailer? MPG drops 15–25%. Update your profile accordingly.
- California tour? Fuel price is ~20% over national avg. Let the auto-offset handle it.
- Electric van (rare but increasing)? Set "Fuel type: Electric" — we'll use kWh × regional electricity rate.
Lodging
Formula: rooms × nights × per-room rate
Inputs:
- Rooms — crew size / 2, rounded up. (5 people = 3 rooms default; override if you double-up differently.)
- Nights — travel-day nights + show-day nights that require a hotel (Mintoor infers based on drive time + load-out timing).
- Per-room rate — your lodging cap from Profile. Default $120.
How to tune:
- Floor-surfing tour (no hotels): set lodging cap to $0. Mintoor zeros out lodging.
- Corporate-rate deal: set cap to your negotiated rate.
- Market-specific: NYC, SF, Miami will blow past $120/night. Set a higher cap or use per-market overrides.
Some markets don't require an overnight if the next leg's short — Mintoor infers "drive-through" vs. "sleep here" based on your constraints.
Per diem
Formula: crew × days × per-diem rate
Inputs:
- Crew — from band profile
- Days — length of tour
- Per-diem rate — default $40/person/day
What it covers: food, coffee, incidental tolls. Not shown separately — it's a simplified catch-all.
How to tune:
- Expensive market run (NYC, LA weeks): bump to $60.
- Fed by venues (buyouts, hospitality): drop to $20.
- Crew member with special dietary needs (gluten-free, allergies): factor that in personally; Mintoor doesn't per-person-vary.
Merch costs (optional)
- Merch-per-head revenue × expected attendance — if you include merch in your P&L model, Mintoor adds this to projected revenue.
- Actual merch expenses (cost-of-goods, shipping, damaged inventory) are tracked separately in the budget tab, not the Router's projection.
Overriding per-tour
Each tour can override the defaults:
- Tour detail → Economics tab → Overrides.
- Change per-tour: fuel price (if you know a specific market), lodging cap, per diem.
Overrides are tour-specific; don't affect other tours.
Still stuck?
- My actual fuel bill was way higher than projected. Check your MPG — diesel vs. gas, loaded vehicle, idling long stretches. Update for future tours.
- Projection ignores a major cost (e.g., trailer rental, crew flights). Add those as custom budget entries — the Router doesn't know about non-standard expenses.