Here at Elite Tents, it is common for us to come across as expensive at a glance. We often find ourselves talking about what our prices include and advising people on their other quotes. This has led to us writing this article on why we cost more than some other companies!
We Don’t Want To Be The Cheapest
First off, and I don’t mean to be blunt, but we are very aware that we are not the lowest price solution and we are not trying to be! Our aim is to be the best at what we do. This means providing not only the best quality tents, but the highest trained crew, and the best support system in the office.
Our prices are higher because our costs are higher. We put a lot of hours into every booking. This starts back at the first enquiry. Our team spends time talking you through everything you need and making sure we are the right fit for you. We provide detailed quotes, several brochures, planning checklists and where appropriate: floor-plans, site visits and budgeting tools.
Essentially, we place value over cost. We know that this isn’t suitable for everybody and for a lot of people (especially in recent times) cost is the most important factor. In these cases we don’t push. We will help you as much as we can and then if you choose to go with a different supplier we will wish you well!
We Include Everything
At Elite Tents we don’t hide any charges. The price you see listed on the website includes everything you need from us, baked in to one figure. This means although the initial price may seem steep; it includes your delivery, collection, damage waiver, set up, take down, VAT and all operating costs.
If you stick with your package, the only things you could typically be charged extra for would be if you require extra delivery (outside of 30 miles for small bookings, 40 miles for larger bookings), and any sub contracted items. These are things that we arrange, but do not directly supply and include heating, generators and toilets. Also, every booking requires a £500 refundable damages deposit. This isn’t included in the price as it is returned once we have collected our equipment and inspected for damages. Think of this as the excess on your insurance (the rest is covered by the damage waiver).
This means that for the price listed on the website or in your quote, you get your tent/s, insurance, delivery, set up & take down by the best trained crew in the midlands, and all charges such as VAT are included.
Our Support System is Second to None
When you decide to work with Elite Tents, you’re not just hiring the tents, you’re hiring our full team. We have developed a support process that takes you from your first enquiry to the day we deliver the tents. We like to keep in touch, so if your setup is large or complicated in anyway (ie a wedding, large party or corporate event) we will touch base regularly to make sure everything is going well and you have everything you need.
Regardless of the size or cost of your setup, every client of Elite Tents has the power to contact us through a number of mediums. Our office landline is 0121 663 1133. The office mobile (for texting and WhatsApp) is 07535 958 254. Our email address is enquiries@elitetents.co.uk. This link will take you to a page where you can book a video call with us! We monitor all of these mediums during office hours and if we can’t answer immediately, we are in touch as soon as possible afterwards. Also, if an out-of-hours call is needed, we are happy to arrange this!
It’s one of the most repeated statements in our reviews. We make it as easy as possible for you to get in touch with us and we make the effort to keep in touch with you. Taking your money and saying “see you at the event!” just isn’t our style.
The Tents
We only supply the highest quality tents. Our tipis are built by Tentipi, who build incredible authentic Nordic Tipis. Their business is centred around being as respectful as possible to the Sami culture from which the tipi design originates. They also work hard to be as eco friendly as possible. The Tentipi mission is simple: to make the best tents possible. We happen to agree!
Our Sailcloth Tent was manufactured by Anchor Industries who were founded in 1892. Anchor is one of the world’s most respected producers of event, party, and wedding tents, awnings and outdoor fabric shade solutions, fabric buildings and structures, safety pool covers, fire shelters, military products, and other custom fabric and frame products. Anchor’s revolutionary, patented WeatherShield™ wall to eave sealing technology, named an IFAI Innovation Award winner, eliminates the gaps that let in wind and rain without the need for a valence or any other visual disturbance to the characteristic clean, sharp catenary eave line. The WeatherShield seal requires the use of Anchor WeatherShield walls. However, all Aurora tents include a wall rope to allow the use of standard tent walls.
We are not the only tent hire company in the UK that uses these tents. When asked who we would recommend as a tent hire company in place of ourselves, we always strongly suggest going with somebody who uses these manufacturers.
We are Members of MUTA
Here at Elite Tents we’re proud members of MUTA, the UK’s only trade association dedicated to marquees, tents and structures. Being a MUTA member isn’t as simple as paying a subscription fee. We’re bound by a code of practice, follow an industry-leading best practice guide, and are regularly inspected on-site and at our premises to make sure we meet the highest of standards. (Which we always do!)
Find out more about MUTA by clicking here.
We Take Away The Stress
When you book Elite Tents, you get our Customer Guarantee. You get to focus on the more fun aspects of event planning. Whilst you’re deciding on food and entertainment; we’ll ensure all your logistics are arranged, that you have ample time to decorate, that your toilets and generator are arranged. We will design your floorplan and make sure all your guests have a place to sit. We will be in regular contact, so you won’t need to stress about whether or not we are doing it!
“They kept us updated throughout the process, without bombarding us with phone calls. Elite tents is defiantly the company you want if you are looking for a stress-free, unique event! Looking forwards to the next event with them already !”
On the day of delivery, our team will arrive at the time agreed in a phone call the day prior. They will confirm the positioning of the tents with yourself or whomever you leave in charge before expertly erecting the tents. They will then sign over the tents to you and leave you to decorate! The only other thing we may need you for would be if you have a fire pit, the team will show you how to operate the smoke hood of the tipi. You are welcome to oversee the put up or leave them to it! The crew chief will be knowledgeable and happy to help.
On the take down day, the same will apply. Simply give our team access to the site and they will take the tents down as swiftly as possible and leave the venue the same as they found it the week before.
“The build team were superb. Accessing the property carefully and very skillfully with the trailer, unloading all the equipment and then left to there own devices to erect the tents – then WOW!!!
When they collected everything – it was as if they were never there – a thorough breakdown working like a well oiled machine.”
We are Carbon Neutral
We calculate the amount of carbon that we generate and offset it through Climate Partner. It goes without saying that caring for the environment is of upmost importance. We also take extra steps to reduce the amount of carbon we produce in the first place. You can read more about our carbon neutral status here.
When using Elite Tents, you can rest assured knowing that our part in your event is completely carbon neutral. This brings you one step closer to running carbon neutral or negative events. If you want any tips on making your events more eco-friendly – just ask!
We’ve Been Doing This For A Long Time
We were the first Tipi hire company in the Midlands, and have been leading the way ever since! We were actually the 6th Tipi company in the whole of the UK when we launched in 2010. Back then we had to cover a much larger area! Nowadays there are a lot more companies to choose from, which we think is great! It has allowed us to narrow our operating area to bring down our carbon footprint, as well as specialise our service and find exactly the right customers for us.
As we have grown, we have have acquired our own furniture as well as other add-ons and tent types. This means we own our furniture, which isn’t the case with every tent supplier. Our company isn’t going anywhere and we prove time and time again that we can be trusted with organising events years in advance. We have developed back up plans and fail-safe options that ensure you will have the event you want. We think our experience is invaluable and we draw from it every time we organise a booking.
Summary
When you book with Elite Tents, you get a lot more than a tent. We are not a dry hire company and pride ourselves on going above and beyond for every client. We include as much as we can, every package includes the bare necessities for a great event as a minimum. This way you don’t have to build your own quote and spend hours doing sums and calculations to figure out your hire cost. We take on as much of the work as we can to give you a stress free, fun planning experience!
We are not the best fit for everyone. Our enquiry and follow up processes are designed to find out if we are a fit for you, rather than pushing sales constantly. We are always happy to have a chat and find out if we are the right company for you. Whilst we may not be the cheapest, we still ensure value for money at every turn and you can rest assured knowing we will give your event 100%
Thanks for reading!
The Elite Tents Team x
