A tent isn’t a backup plan for an outdoor event. It comes in handy for dividing the event into sections, housing vendors, separating personnel areas, providing shade and rain cover, and much more. Unfortunately, tents, like most other aspects of large-scale events, come with their fair share of challenges.

In the many years we have been renting tents in our event tent rentals and helping clients put up different tents for their events, we have encountered several challenges that can be frustrating and even costly. You should be wary of them to make organizing your event easier.

What are these challenges that you need to be aware of? Here they are:

Sizing

We have tents of a wide variety of styles and sizes. We can even have a tent specifically made just for your event. While the many options are a good thing, since they allow event planners you are working with to pick the best tent for your event venue, you can easily pick the wrong tent size that doesn’t fit the design of your site.

Luckily, you can alleviate this problem by working with professionals. For example, for years, we have worked with thousands of clients who come to our offices confused about the right tent size for their site.

We send out a few of our technicians to survey the area. Based on their survey, we advise you on the right size and design of the tent you should choose. You should note that we can’t do this abruptly, so please come to us at least 3 months before your event date.

This way, we have time to visit the site and even help you plan where to have your entertainment areas, vendor areas, food area, and so on.

The invisible obstacles

Even after getting the right tent, you still have to deal with fiber-optic, power, gas, sprinkler, and other utility lines. You should note that if you damage these lines during tent installation, you will be liable for the damage, and you don’t want that.

To be on the safe side, you should discuss this with the venue well before the event so they can mark the areas where you shouldn’t install the tent. It would be even better if the venue could provide someone to direct our technicians on where to set up the tents and where to avoid.

In some cases, the ground that looks flat to the eye might be sloped, making your tent appear crooked and even preventing some of the doors from opening.

From experience, anything that is over 2% grade is bound to create a visible lean and anything above 5% will compromise the structural integrity of your test especially if the tent legs aren’t properly shimmed.

A good way to go about it is to have our technicians visit your site and, based on their extensive experience, advise whether it’s wise to install the tent on the venue or if you should find flatter ground.

Working with vendors

When you are putting together an event, you have to work with numerous vendors. From lighting technicians and security officers to food sellers, and, yes, us, the tent suppliers.

One of the most difficult aspects of event planning is coordinating the vast number of vendors required to put on a large event.

One of the most important things you should do is to ensure that you work with an experienced event planner who will not only hold your hand through the planning process but also ensure everything is in place.

When you are dealing with so many moving parts, you need a way to communicate with everyone and ensure everything is done on time.

To have an easy time, just as we have been recommending that you start your tent journey early enough, you should start finding the vendors a couple of months before your event date. This way, you can analyze them and determine whether they are a right fit. Of course, you want to work with suppliers who are easy to work with and make your job easier.

Don’t work with someone who isn’t a good communicator, as they will be a bottleneck in your project.

Greenhouse effect

Summer is a great time to have an outdoor event. The only downside is that the inside of the tent can get too hot, especially if you use a clear-top tent and don’t have enough ventilation.

The last thing you want is for your guests to get drenched in sweet to the point they can’t enjoy the event.

When you are putting up the tent, this should always be at the back of your mind. We advise our clients to not only rent a tent but also an industrial air conditioning unit to keep everyone in the tent cool and comfortable.

You also should be ultra-cautious where you put up your tent. If there are trees or other shade at your event venue, set up your tent there.

We have also found that tents with PVC roofs don’t get as hot as those with clear roofs, so you are better off choosing a PVC-roofed tent.

If you are one of our many clients who love having clear tents at your events, you can have one, but ensure you place it under a shade or use it in the evening or when it’s not too hot.

Local regulations

When you are hosting an event, some jurisdictions require you to request permits to ensure that disgruntled authorities do not disrupt your event.

Other areas also require permits and licenses when you put up a tent. The last thing you want is to be on the wrong side of the law, so you should get these licenses. You should note that you can’t get these licenses at the last minute, so start finding them as early as possible.

We usually advise our clients to start the process as soon as they visit our event party rentals Rockland.