Vennu opening up under-utilised halls to a new demographic

However, ultimately that was where the clip for Is It Me or Is It Love was filmed, after songwriter and producer Nathan Hawes hired the space through South Coast developed online platform Vennu.

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"I was looking for a studio to hire but they were all uninspiring with plain backdrops, and they're all quite expensive," Mr Hawes said.

After hunting around, Mr Hawes found the Wesley Auditorium.

"We needed somewhere that was going to look great straightaway, and then having the grand piano, dark wood floors, cream curtains and everything, it just worked."

Office administrator Rachael McGarry is still blown away by the set up the band brought with them.

"They had a lot of props," she said. "They had a lot of big, bulky kit. They were here for a full day!"

The Wollongong Uniting Church is one of hundreds thousands of sites of sites throughout Australia that have found new temporary hirers through Vennu.

Best understood as the Airbnb for community halls, Vennu launched in 2018 and now lists over 100,000 surf clubs, scout halls and school auditoriums around Australia.

Founder Suzanne Campbell said the platform's goal is to help community organisations in regional areas better utilise their existing spaces.

"We're lifting the administrative load for staff and volunteers and making it easier for them to connect with the community," she said.

At Wollongong Uniting Church, the venue has hosted music performances, meetings and wet-weather affected weddings after inquiries through vennu.

As community organisations struggle to attract volunteers after COVID and with cost of living pressures stretching volunteers' time, community organisations are increasingly stretched. Community services were also increasingly being called on to provide assistance, particularly those in the housing and homelessness sector.

Reverend Geoff Flynn said by attracting more bookings for the spaces the church occupies, the Church could in turn give back to the community.

"We have an asset here which is probably worth $14 million, if it was a commercial asset, you would probably want a five per cent return on that," he said.

"Any income that we get goes towards funding our ministry and our mission."

Mr Flynn said the revenue from hiring the church, auditorium and meeting rooms supported services such as the community meals program.

"If we're able to have hall rental as a social enterprise for us, we can use that income to keep this space as a public space," he said.

Off the back of hiring the auditorium, Mr Hawes said he would be looking at more unconventional spaces.

"I'm inspired to use more and using that site to find other venues to shoot in," he said. "In coastal towns, there can be such good halls and little spaces, super vibe-y."

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