Marquee hire

[Mich the Tester]

Got a good friend (I rent a house to him) who has fairly recently started up a marquee hire business with one marquee.

He has not had many bookings, and wondering what he is doing wrong.

He has mailshotted, got nice looking business cards, but still not many rentals.

Any ideas that I could pass on?

I was thinking along the lines of weddings as I have been in a lot of marquees for weddings, so will suggest trying bridal fayres, and wedding caterers. I also suggested when dealing with corporate firms to speak to the people in the contract departments who care only about the bottom line, rather than depend just on letters which may or may not get read.

Any other ideas though?

Try local rugby clubs; lots of sevens tournaments in may and june and they often need marquees as drinks tents.

[OwlHoot]

Got a good friend (I rent a house to him) who has fairly recently started up a marquee hire business with one marquee.

He has not had many bookings, and wondering what he is doing wrong.

He has mailshotted, got nice looking business cards, but still not many rentals.

Any ideas that I could pass on?

I was thinking along the lines of weddings as I have been in a lot of marquees for weddings, so will suggest trying bridal fayres, and wedding caterers. I also suggested when dealing with corporate firms to speak to the people in the contract departments who care only about the bottom line, rather than depend just on letters which may or may not get read.

Any other ideas though?

Maybe the problem is you typically need more than one marquee for a wedding. I don't know, so that's just a guess

Presumably your friend would have sussed this if people had been contacting him and turning him down for that reason. Come to think of it, have they been contacting him, or doesn't he hear a squeek?

If people haven't been contacting him, I'd suggest he goes round all the local churches and synagogues etc and pays the vicar or rabbi to let him put up big adverts in the porch.

edit: Another possible reason: You said he "fairly recently" started this business. If that was in the last few months, it has been a bit nippy to spend all day hanging around in a marquee even with gas heaters. Maybe most people book wedding receptions in hotels during the winter.

[alreadypacked]

Got a good friend (I rent a house to him) who has fairly recently started up a marquee hire business with one marquee.

He has not had many bookings, and wondering what he is doing wrong.

He has mailshotted, got nice looking business cards, but still not many rentals.

Any ideas that I could pass on?

I was thinking along the lines of weddings as I have been in a lot of marquees for weddings, so will suggest trying bridal fayres, and wedding caterers. I also suggested when dealing with corporate firms to speak to the people in the contract departments who care only about the bottom line, rather than depend just on letters which may or may not get read.

Any other ideas though?

I would have thought wedding and event planners would be his best contact. Most people planning their own would look in the Yellow Pages.
Has he got a website?

[wobbegong]

Got a good friend (I rent a house to him) who has fairly recently started up a marquee hire business with one marquee.

He has not had many bookings, and wondering what he is doing wrong.

He has mailshotted, got nice looking business cards, but still not many rentals.

Any ideas that I could pass on?

I was thinking along the lines of weddings as I have been in a lot of marquees for weddings, so will suggest trying bridal fayres, and wedding caterers. I also suggested when dealing with corporate firms to speak to the people in the contract departments who care only about the bottom line, rather than depend just on letters which may or may not get read.

Any other ideas though?

The thing you've got to remember about the marquee hire business, is that it's intense.

[SimonMac]

The thing you've got to remember about the marquee hire business, is that it's intense.

[Mich the Tester]

He needs to start canvassing local party organisers.

[EternalOptimist]

The thing you've got to remember about the marquee hire business, is that it's intense.

that deserves a doublie