One of the first questions tipi hire customers want to know when they call our company is: How much does It Cost To Hire A Tipi?
Although this is a very difficult question to answer, I will try to do my best here to explain some general pricing guidelines.
The hire of a tipi is much like choosing a flight for a holiday. With so many options available, price ranges can vary drastically.
Just as a flight can start at around £49 with just the basic flight, it can increase in cost to even as much as £400 once a traveler adds such items as meals, luggage, priority boarding and other upgrades and that is without even comparing a budget airline to schedules luxury business class flights where the same trips could cost 10 as much again!
Considering that the average British holidaymaker goes on a flight every year, why do so many people elect to get so many upgrades? The answer is because most people understand the importance of getting what they want the first time so as to not have any regrets down the road. Because most British people want their holiday to start as soon as they arrive at the airport, not worrying about delays, they want their flight to provide them with comfort, quality, and zero stress.
These same principles typically apply to most tipi hire customers.
You are most likely thinking about hiring your tipi for a special occasion, an important birthday or anniversary or even a wedding. You’re going to look back at the day both through photos and in your mind as long as you live, so picking the right tent with the right options the first time is critical to ensure maximum enjoyment and wonderful memories with minimum stress. Because of this, most customers elect to get the tent that will make them happiest in the long-run.
Unfortunately, some people only focus on the initial price of the tipi with the goal of finding the cheapest contractor, therefore sacrificing quality, guarantee, and aesthetics, which inevitably leads to regret—especially considering that unlike a holiday, an event tent cannot be changed once the big day has arrived.
Some of the most common “add-ons” found in the hire of a tipi:
- Lighting (especially fairy lights)
- Fire pit
- Soft furnishings – sofas, cushions, chairs
- Bars
- Poseur tables and barrels
- Decorative pieces like chandeliers and hanging ladders
- Sliding boards
- Reindeer hides
- Festoon lights for outside
- Nimbus little hat for welcome drinks
- Catering Annexe
- Ceremony area
- Walkways
As you can see, there are many options available. When someone receives a quote from our company, we will have talked through these options and their theme for the event in order to ensure they have those additions that will most benefit and suit their event.
How much does a tipi cost to hire?
The average price of a tipi (including furnishings) is £5000 – £9000. For comparison, standard clear span marquees cost £2500-£7000 and sailcloth (or Sperry™) tents come in at £4000-£8000. But with the latter two you will most likely spend more on decor as the tipis need the least decorating with their natural coloured canvas and solid wooden poles.
How Tipi hire costs compare to other tent types?
As you can probably see, the price ranges vary quite a bit, just as they should. Everyone has different tastes, goals, and budgets when it comes to hiring a tent for an event. So here’s some details about the other key event tent types:
Clearspan Marquees
For obvious reasons, a clear span marquee will cost £2500 – £7000 initially. This is because it is not built to be aesthetically pleasing – more it is built to be serviceable. To add additional space at events where more space is needed – like sporting venues, hospitals, outdoor exhibitions etc.
Simply stated, a clear span marquee is a basic solution to a specific purpose of creating extra covered space. So if used for an event, although its initial hire is normally less than a tipi or a sailcloth marquee, its actual cost is often much more. With the need for lots of extra decoration, flowers, drapes and the like, you can easily make up the price difference by the time the clear span marquee is fit for your event.
Sailcloth Tent (Pole marquee/Sperry™ Tent)
Sailcloth Tent typically cost between £4000-£8000 to hire. That’s not that much more different from a tipi tent. And that is largely because the Sailcloth tent is also an attractive event space, with wooden poles and high peaks.
The main difference for this tent rather than the extras you will need though is the fact it is most definitely a summer tent, so sadly unless you are wanting a summer wedding this tent is not an option- created for the Californian weather this tent does not like storing wind.
Elite Tents offer two out of these three options, and you can see more specifically the pricing for your guest numbers for the tent of your preference by visiting our PRICING PAGE
