Let’s face it: people don’t like to leave things to chance when it comes to planning events. From the lighting to the music, all the way down to the tent rental. Especially if that event is outside.
Imagine this: A beautiful summer wedding. Under a wide canopied tent, lush arrangements of flowers adorn every table, giving off the fresh scents of spring. The venue is beside a pond; the breeze is warm and inviting and the sunset is one for the ages.
The bride and groom enter, both of them looking radiant and very much in love. Everyone stands with a look of anticipation and celebration on their faces. Speeches are read, the wine flows, and the dancing continues until the wee hours of the morning.
And if instead, after sunset, dark clouds come rolling in off the pond and it starts to rain, they are prepared.
No matter what Mother Nature may have in store for your special day, you can have peace of mind knowing that you took the steps ahead of time by preparing for the elements.
Imagine if you didn’t?
A simple thing, right? One of those million little details that can get lost in the shuffle; but sometimes it’s the little things that make events the most successful.
So what goes into picking a tent rental supplier?
It all boils down to five keys that seem to come up time and time again, namely, the supplier’s service area, their experience, their budget plan, safety, and their reviews. Feel free to steal this info (we saw nothing!)
1. Confirm that your tent rental supplier provides service in your area
Ugh….collecting quotes is, let’s be honest, not the way anyone likes to spend their free time. So let’s give you some tips to take more of your free time back, and get you started on the right track.
Case in point: A quick Google of “tent rentals near me” or something like “Vancouver tent rental”, or “tent rentals Vancouver” (or whatever area you are in) will pull up a list of outdoor tent rentals in your local area. Now you have a rough idea of what’s near you and you can start to whittle it down.
Not all tents are for weddings and fancy soirees, there is a whole other side of tent rentals. We call it “utilitarian.” Whether it’s a film studio tent for AV or holding to a full-on construction site that needs covered space for crew breaks or team meetings. Knowing the industries and areas your tent supplier services will give you a head start on who to connect with.
You have to know a company can make it to where you need to be, with no problems.
A forward-thinking supplier will qualify their customers before the request for a quote comes in, specifically by mentioning the area they service.
Nine times out of ten it will be on their website. This is going to save your time as well as theirs.
Once you have qualified the area, that should narrow down your list of potential suppliers to something more manageable.
Let’s chisel down that list and let the quotes fly!
2. Make sure your tent rental service has years of experience
Hmmm…to use a rookie company…or not?
While it is not necessarily true that a company being around longer means they’re better, we’d personally want to know that a company has experience with a few different kinds of shindigs (well, maybe more than a few.)
Have they done only tiny venues for a couple of years? Or have they worked on premier events for decades? Have they had people coming back to use their services?
Whether they have a lot of repeat business shows whether clients love working with them. Or not.
They likely will have serviced many different industries and different types of events. They should know how various procedures at venues work, how to manage access, et cetera.
You can’t go wrong with a strong track record, though we suggest that you look out for any supplier that immediately says “yes!” to all requirements sight unseen. That could be the first sign of trouble.
3. Know that your tent rental supplier is trustworthy and has a good plan in place – for everything
“Hmmm…is this company being straight up with me?”
We guarantee you this will cross your mind at some point (as well it should!)
If they are taking the time to explain any fees and the fine print and seem to know their product (tents) backwards and forwards, you might have yourself a straight shooter.
A good tent supplier should also have the knowledge and know-how to perform site inspections and be able to produce visual drawings.
So ask for them to show them to you or run through an inspection. That’s going to show them that you aren’t your average run-of-the-mill client and know how to do your “homework.”
4. Safety is key
Before an event, nerves can be the worst. What will the weather be like on that day? Will it rain? Will it be windy?
Since tents are set up outside, the tent rental company will have guidelines to abide by what each venue requires for outdoors.
Event rental company standards and rules direct staff members to make sure the tent has been installed correctly, accounting for different surfaces and providing a sheltered area for the event.
And if the unforeseen does happen, it’s nice to know that a good tent rental supplier will have multiple avenues of communication to support any of their clients.
Your tent supplier should have a tried and true procedure for walking you through key things to look for after your tent has been set up to ensure everything runs perfectly.
5. Reviews
And…finally, make sure to do your due diligence. It couldn’t hurt to see what others think about the company, right?
Every company has a track record, and nowadays, it is all online.
We pride ourselves on our Google reviews. It is a great place to start and read what others are saying. How many reviews do they have, and does the tent company respond?
Think about the last commercial tent you were in. Let it be a wedding, dinner soiree, or construction site meeting.
We love a good word-of-mouth referral. So ask the organizer what their feedback is on their experience with the tent as well as the supplier.
Final thoughts
Make sure to get to know who you are working with, and take the unknown out of the questions.
Just for a quick little recap, the five keys to choosing a reliable event tent supplier are: confirming the supplier’s service area, their experience, trustworthiness, safety, as well as verifying their reputation through word of mouth. These steps have saved countless hours of frustration and we hope they will do the same for you!
The basic takeaway from this is one simple piece of advice for anyone planning a tent rental: make sure to get to know who you are working with, and take the unknown out of the questions.
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