The marquee hire business has been growing rapidly in the last decade or so, with many companies competing aggressively in the online space. Competition for highly searched keywords is fierce, creating demand for companies that specialise in helping marquee hire companies to improve their marketing.
There are a plethora of reasons why an individual or business might want to hire a marquee, from weddings and other personal celebrations to corporate events, awards ceremonies, and staff parties.
Marquees can also be useful for businesses in the hospitality sector, creating extra space to hold events without the need to invest large sums into capital projects. Operators of sports facilities, which for years have hired out their space for these types of events, are making good use of marquees.
The flexibility provided by; these large tents has seen them used in a range of different ways.
Permanent Hospitality Space Used; By Sports Facilities
In the UK, a large number of racecourses that are used for horse racing have had marquees permanently installed within their grounds. These typically are a hybrid solution that combines more permanent installations with a marquee. Royal Ascot’s Marquee Club is open to anyone with a ticket to the Queen Anne Enclosure. It offers luxurious facilities for horse racing fans to relax and unwind in with their friends during events.
In addition to the usual horse racing experience which often involves dressing up smartly and placing bets with casino and sportsbook brands like Bet365, fans in the Marquee Club can relax in the open-air area and take advantage of the private bar. The Marquee Club also treats guests to live music and DJs throughout the day, a great addition to a fun day out.
Royal Ascot is not the only racecourse to offer these types of facilities. Cheltenham Racecourse also offers marquee hospitality for fans. Race goers who book a marquee hospitality package receive a range of benefits throughout the day.
This includes a drinks reception, afternoon tea, full betting facilities, a celebrity tipster, and large colour screens to watch the races from, complimentary bar, and access to the club enclosure.
At Chester Racecourse, the Final Furlong Restaurant is located within what it calls the Festival Village, a collection of marquees. Within this complex is a section it calls the Festival Chalets.
These are private suites where guests can entertain their guests, while also having convenient access to trackside viewing facilities where fans can get close to the action.
With each of these racecourses operating from spring to autumn, the use of marquees gives them the benefits of lower upfront costs and a summery vibe to their facilities. These solutions are also semi-permanent and will require little remedial work when they are removed, especially when compared to a traditional building.
The marquees all typically have a premium feel to them, allowing the racecourses to charge several hundred pounds per person. For example, the Festival Chalets at Chester Race course start at £265 + VAT per person, with a minimum of 26 people required for one chalet.
Temporary Space for Large Events
Many smaller community sports facilities, such as those run by amateur and semi-professional clubs have, for a long time, rented their space out for private events. They often do so by charging a small upfront fee and make most of the money from the sale of drinks and food.
This is great for large birthday parties, weddings, anniversaries, and other celebrations as it’s a low-cost option for those organising the event while still generating a sizeable sum for the club.
Function rooms in these sports clubs often don’t have the capacity to support several hundred people though, meaning they can only really be used for modestly sized events. While having larger spaces could bring in larger revenues, the upfront capital investment and the headaches of getting planning permission make it impractical.
This is where marquees can provide a practical and cost-effective solution. In the UK, marquees can be erected without planning permission under a few scenarios:
The first is if the construction has less than 100 square metres of floor space AND it will be
used for less than 28 days . This would tick the box for most uses of marquees since they’ll be used for a one-off event and then taken back down.
Alternatively, if it will be erected for more than 28 days, it may still not need planning permission, provided that all of the following are true:
- It is an extension of an existing building
- The construction is not as high as the original structure
- It will be used for a purpose that is directly relevant to the original structure
- The additional space does not increase the original volume by 25%
- It doesn’t come within 5 metres of the boundary to your site
- It doesn’t “significantly reduce” the amount of land for parking and maneuvering vehicles
By hiring a marquee that complies with these rules, these types of venues can use their large open spaces to host weddings, parties, and corporate events for much larger groups. It also gives them more flexibility on the style thanks to the range of marquees available, including traditional pole styles that create a “country fayre” feel and “Chinese Hat” styles that create the appearance of small pagodas..
Since marquees can be fitted with all of the same fixtures you’d expect in a traditional building, there’s also no need to compromise.
For example, power and lighting can be safely installed so that appliances and entertainment equipment can be operated inside. The ground can also be covered by a range of different materials, hard standing systems can even remove uneven levelling.
Crucially, dance floors, from traditional wooden parquet to colour-changing LED floors can also be included to provide guides with plenty of room to party into the night.
Final Thoughts
Marquees provide sports venues in the UK with a range of options for extending their hospitality facilities in a cost-effective way without compromising on quality. With electricity supplies and solid flooring solutions, modern marquees feel like real buildings, but give almost limitless amounts of flexibility.
