Open Air Business September/October 2016

FUNCTION VENUES
“The primary advantage of hiring
is that the responsibility for the
structure is with the contractor so
if there are any issues, for example,
leakages, lighting problems, floor
levels, etc, this is quickly resolved
and therefore less stressful. It is
definitely a cheaper option if hire
periods are minimal or storage is
short term. There is also the option
of insurance being taken out with
the contractor, which can cover a lot
of potential problems.”
Jon Parr, managing director
of Tentipi (UK and Ireland) Ltd
and President of MUTA (the trade
body for marquee businesses in
the UK), suggests that there are
two questions people need to
ask themselves before deciding
whether to hire a marquee
continuously or to buy outright.
“Venue owners need to ask
themselves, ‘Am I prepared to
be responsible for the safety and
maintenance of the structure?’
If someone owns a structure
they’ll be responsible for erecting
and dismantling it safely, and
maintaining it while it is built. That
means trained crew, tools, keeping
an eye on the weather forecast
and taking preventive action if
necessary. Venues can establish
a relationship with a local rental
company who are expert in the type
of structure they select or have their
own crew trained.
“The second question to be
considered is, ‘How many events do
they expect to hold?’ There’s a rule
of thumb in the tent rental industry
that if you earn 10% of the cost of
a tent when you hire it out for a
weekend then you should be able
to make a decent business. So, for
an outdoor venue operator, the cost
of hiring in 10 times could be similar
to the cost of buying outright.
Assuming a tent will give you five
ABOVE: A giant
Nordic tent from
Tentipi
PHOTO BY DINE.CO.UK
years’ service, if you hold more than
a couple of events per year it starts
to become worth thinking about
buying.”
Other costs
If you decide to go with a hire
company as your TDS provider,
you could gain benefits that would
not be available with an outright
purchase. For example, if you buy
a marquee you then have to think
about buying or hiring flooring,
arranging an electrical supply,
and possibly WCs too. However, a
good marquee hire business will be
able to bundle all of these facilities
into a single package, which could
benefit from a significant discount
compared to sourcing them all from
a range of contractors.
That is not to say that hiring a
tent is without potential pitfalls.
“It’s easy to focus just on the tent
itself and its interior (flooring,
stage, dance floor, lighting, tables,
benches, chairs, bar etc) when you
first decide to hire a structure, but
there are other things to consider,”
explains Parr. “How much power
do you need and where is it going
to come from? What about loos?
Do you need a catering tent? What
about a water supply? Where will
guests park? Good hirers of tents
and good manufacturers of tents
will understand all these things and
be able to advise accordingly.
“Also, take safety seriously. Ask to
see structural calculations and wind
loading figures for the particular
tent/tent configuration you are
interested in. Ask to see ‘pull out
forces’ for each stake position in the
structure, and ask how the business
will ensure these forces are
achieved. Make sure the structure
is flame retardant, that there
are sufficient exits and that the
interior is laid out to comply with
fire regulations. Again, good hirers
and manufacturers will know this
stuff inside out, know the various
standards that apply, and be able to
advise accordingly.”
If you have made the decision to
buy a marquee, the costs you have
to consider do not stop with the
initial purchase price. As mentioned
previously, there are a great many
other overheads that have to be
factored into the purchase price. Do
you have the necessary manpower
and skills to be able to safely erect
and dismantle the marquee each
time it is needed, or will you need to
buy in these services each time?
When the marquee is not being
used, where do you keep it? Do
you have adequate storage space
on-site or will you need to hire
storage? If the latter is the case then
transport to and from the storage
venue also has to be considered.
What happens to the marquee
after use? Who will take care of the
cleaning and any necessary repairs?
Insurance etc
The additional costs do not stop
there either. You will need to
contact your insurer to confirm
that your public liability insurance
covers the use of your own
marquee. Similarly, do you have
insurance coverage for your staff
if they are responsible for erecting
the marquee, carrying out any
necessary maintenance, and so on?
Talking about costs that people
may fail to consider when buying a
marquee for the first time, Gill has
this to say, “People can be unaware
of the costs involved in purchasing
a marquee. It is important to make
provisions for power; you will
need at least a 60kVA generator
with a backup of the same size.
Generators are very expensive to
maintain because they need regular
servicing, to be super silenced and
kept in a secure location. Then
there’s heating options, toilet
facilities and flooring, which are
RIVIERA WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY
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