Business Events in Tents: The On-Trend Way to Entertain

Make your next business event a success

Corporate events in tents are bang on trend. It may seem a little far-fetched, but using a marquee to put on a business event is growing in popularity. Why? Quite simply, it is part of a successful formula for putting on an event that breaks from the stuffy hotel norm.

Finding a venue that ticks all the boxes these days is actually more difficult than you might think. There’s a growing demand for event experiences with daytime activities flowing into an evening reception. With a lot of standard venues, getting the balance right for this kind of event journey is quite tricky.

The corporate event in a tent solves almost all of the ‘not quite right’ problems that come with many venues. Location, parking, timings, décor and catering are totally in your control with a tent event. With set venues, there’s almost always one thing that falls short.

Business events in tents are an interesting and successful concept. Read on to find out more about them and why you should be embracing the new on-trend way to entertain.

How to make your event different

Make it memorable: The most important and powerful way to ensure you put on a successful event that stands out from the crowd is to evoke the emotions of your attendees. Trending in events is the demand for an event experience, whether it’s a seminar with dinner, a conference with break-out activities, a product launch or a corporate appreciation day.

It’s easy to organise extra activities with a corporate marquee. Simply add additional space with another tent! If you really want to push the boundaries, make it a secret location with a mini-bus pick-up point and offer overnight glamping too! Choosing an unusual location will definitely make it a unique event to remember.

Embrace corporate well-being: Event organiser and founder of the Arabian Tent Company, Katharine Hudson, is seeing a growing trend for business events to incorporate an element of corporate well-being. More frequently, Katharine is being asked to provide additional private massage tents and relaxation areas for event add-ons such as mindfulness taster courses, juicing bars and healthy eating workshops.

Corporates are wising up to the link between well-being at work and productivity. Corporate clients love this approach to events too. Boozy hotel lunches are very much a thing of the past.

A bespoke approach: Going bespoke is the only true way to make your event stand out from the crowd. A Marquee is essentially a blank canvas. You have complete control over its décor, the furniture, the location, the catering and any entertainment. Hire props and themed furniture to make your event pop. How about a bespoke pop-up bar to round off the evening event with some live music?

Choose a stunning location: One of the great advantages of having a business event in a marquee is in the flexibility it brings in terms of location. Choose a stunning location your invitees will want to see and the turn out rate will sky-rocket.

Business event in a tent: the advantages

Business events in tents come with many advantages over traditional event venues, including:

• Cost – hiring a tent and grounds saves quite considerably on the cost of hiring a luxury venue.
• Catering – you have complete control over caterers and aren’t tied to a venue catering team.
• Event organising – you have complete control over event management with a tent event. Either take the whole job in hand yourself, or hand over to your chosen event management team. Some luxury marquee-hire companies offer a full event management service and have experience of dealing with any potential snags.
• Weather – outdoor events are great when the sun is shining, but can easily flop in terrible weather. Corporate events in tents provide cover from potential breaks in the weather, so are a must for any outdoor event.
• Décor – white tent structures provide a blank canvas for you to work with. For a unique branding opportunity, add props, furniture and décor to suit your business.
• Luxury – high-end marquees are as luxurious and atmospheric as any other venue, with an added quirkiness.
• Location – you get to choose a location to suit your business needs and your guests.

Choosing a marquee company to work with

When you are looking for a marquee company to work with always ensure you:

• Get a full breakdown of all the costs.
• Get a no-obligations site visit.
• Check the quality of the marquee – are the marquees well-maintained?
• Ensure tents are available for your dates.
• Find out if the tent-hire company can kit out the entire interior or if they just hire out the marquee.
• Find out what previous customers say.
• Find out about technology, power for lighting, and toilets.
• Find out how long it takes to erect the tent.

Do your research and narrow down your choices to 2 or 3 providers, then it’s up to you to choose who you think you’d most like to work with.

Take the leap, make your next event inspiring in a space that encourages fresh thinking and big ideas. A business event in a tent is the on-trend way to create a memorable event experience.

Written by: Mike James, BOSS Contributor