Choosing A Marquee Hire Company

How to Choose a Hampshire Marquee Hire Company
 
Whether you look in Search engines, the local Hampshire papers or the Yellow Pages for a marquee hire company, the fact is that there are a lot of marquee hire companies in the Hampshire area, and this is both good and bad news to a prospective hirer. On the plus side, it is fantastic because it should mean that as a result of all this competition, prices should be lower. It means that you will have a wide choice of Hampshire marquees, hire options, plans, accessories and equipment to choose from. It means that you are more likely to find a local company from Hampshire, and it should mean that it’s not necessary to put up with dealing with companies who are not as professional as you would like because there is no alternative. The downside of all this competition is that it will entail a lot more work from you to asses the capability, experience and reliability of all these suppliers, to determine which one(s) could be trusted with your event, and whether you will be charged a fair price for it. To help reduce the list of marquee hire companies in Hampshire you might want to invite for a quote, we provide below some criteria that you ought to take into consideration:
 
- Is the company fully insured, and do their marquees conform to British Standards specifications ?
 
- Has the company been in the marquee hire business for very long, or does it employ staff (especially site managers) who have adequate experience for you to feel comfortable with ?
 
- How local is this Hampshire marquee hire company ? Although they might be happy to travel a fair way to erect and dismantle your marquee hire, the logistics involved are usually quite challenging, and there is a greater chance of something going wrong as the distance between their base and the site of your marquee increases.
 
- Is the company large enough to cope with a key man suddenly being unavailable at the time of your event ? What contingencies do they have in place to provide you with the reassurance that your event will be unaffected if somebody is off sick ?
- What testimonials can they show you from previous marquee hires in your area ? Can you phone some of these so-called testimonials for verification ? Do they have, or will they have shortly, any marquees set up in the Hampshire area that you could view ?
- How extensive is their range of marquees ? Is it big enough to ensure that you are provided with a marquee hire in Hampshire that is perfect for your event and satisfies your preferences ?
- Can they advise on the right size of marquee and the internal layout of the marquee for your event? It is important you get the size of your marquee right. If it is too small, guests will feel too crowded, too big and it will too empty, and lack atmosphere.

- If you don’t want to have the marquee on your own property, you will need a marquee venue in Hampshire or the surrounding area. Any marquee hire company worth its salt should be able to recommend suitable locations, perhaps even some unusual, or little known ones. Can they ?

- Can they arrange a free site survey?

- Are their Hampshire marquees fairly new ? If their prices are lower than others, it might be because of the age and condition of their equipment. It may not matter too much if it is for a beer tent, but will matter a great deal if it is for a wedding. Just take the age and condition of their equipment into consideration.

- Are they a big enough company to be able to supply you (either directly, or through their contacts) with all the other things your Hampshire marquee hire might entail (eg. furniture hire, marquee linings, flooring, catering, mobile bar, portable toilets, lighting, staging, fencing, generator, skip hire etc, or would you like to source and manage all these other services yourself ?

- How many days before your event would the marquee hire company need to start constructing your marquee ? How soon afterwards could they remove it ? Is this convenient for you ? How flexible are they prepared be ? How flexible do you want them to be ?

- Is their telephone manner professional and does it inspire confidence ? Why not telephone them before submitting your details by email, just to try and get a feel for the sort of company you are dealing with, and might be working quite closely with between now and the event itself ? A few minutes on the telephone can sometimes tell you more than a time-consuming and ultimately futile exchange of emails.

- How much could your event benefit from their ideas and experience ? A marquee hire in Hampshire will cost you money, but a good idea or a wise bit of advice doesn’t, and can make or break your event, or at the very least, improve it. Which company is more experienced, creative, eager to help, and is more likely to provide ingredient X ?

- Are their responses timely, positive and helpful ? Do they contact or visit you when they say they will ? Do you feel you can trust them, and that they are reliable, likeable and professional ?

- Will they have their site manager on site, or on call during the event?

- Can they offer a discount if you booked well in advance ? If you are prepared to be a bit flexible by moving the date of your event, you could perhaps benefit by a lower seasonal rate. Do they have seasonal variations in rates, or reduced ones on certain days of the week and what are they ?

- Obviously the price will be a crucial consideration when making your decision as to which company you’re going to appoint, but a marquee hire in Hampshire can involve many different elements, so it is essential that you get a detailed quote in writing, of what is included in the price, and what isn’t (eg. travelling expenses, VAT etc, marquee lining & flooring), in order that you can make fair comparisons with other quotes you may get.

- How much deposit is required for the marquee hire? If there is an honest reason for cancellation, is the deposit refundable ? When does the balance become due ?

Hopefully, you will now have enough information to help you start to appraise and approach promising Hampshire marquee hire companies. We look forward to being put to the test, and hope to hear from you very soon.

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