What to Have Ready Before You Call
A tent is a temporary building, and fire marshals, building departments and site owners treat it that way. The questions to ask an event rental company cover tables, linens and general rentals; this list goes deeper on tents for festivals, markets and outdoor events, where the tent sits on a real site with vendors, power and crowds around it.
- Sizes and uses: rough tent sizes from the event tent size calculator, and what happens in each tent
- The site: surface (grass, asphalt, gravel), slope, buried utilities and where trucks can reach
- A site map: tents, stages, vendor rows, fire lanes and exits drawn to scale in your event floor plan software
- Heat: a first estimate from the tent heater calculator for cold-weather dates
- Power: total load for lights, heaters and vendors from the event power calculator
- Dates: when the site is available for install, the event hours and when it must be clear
Permit and Fire Code Questions
- Do our tents need a permit here, and will you prepare and submit the application?
- What drawings does the fire marshal need from you, and do you need our site map?
- Will you be on site for the fire inspection, and what happens if we fail it?
- Can you give us the flame-resistance certificate for every tent top and sidewall?
- How many exits will each tent have, and will you supply exit signs and emergency lighting where required?
- What clearance do you need between tents, vendor canopies, generators and cooking?
- Do any of our tents need an engineer's stamp or structural calculations?
Anchoring and Wind Questions
- Will you stake or ballast each tent on our surface, and why?
- How much ballast per leg or pole do you use, and do you supply it?
- Who calls for a utility locate before staking, and how far ahead?
- Will you repair the surface after strike, such as stake holes in asphalt or turf?
- What is the manufacturer's wind rating for this exact tent with sidewalls on?
- At what wind speed must we evacuate the tent, and when do you take it down?
- Do you monitor the forecast during the event, or do we, and who makes the call?
- How quickly can your crew get to our site if a tent is damaged in a storm?
| Method | Where it fits | Questions it raises |
|---|---|---|
| Stakes | Grass and soil where the site owner allows it | Utility locate, turf repair, soft ground after rain |
| Concrete blocks | Asphalt, concrete and sites that ban staking | Weight per leg, forklift access, trip hazards |
| Water barrels | Pavement where heavy blocks can't be delivered | Weight per barrel, how many per leg, freezing in winter |
| Mixed | Sites with grass and pavement areas | A written plan for each tent and who checks it |
Sidewalls, Heat, Flooring and Power Questions
- Which sidewalls do you offer: solid, clear, window or mesh, and what do they cost per side?
- Can sidewalls go up or down during the event, and who does it?
- What heaters do you rent, how many do you recommend for our tent and dates, and what fuel do they use?
- Where must heaters and fuel tanks sit in relation to the tent walls and exits?
- Do you offer fans or cooling for hot-weather dates?
- Do you recommend flooring or subflooring for our ground, and what does it cost per square foot?
- How do you handle rain runoff and puddling inside the tent?
- What lighting is included, and can you add perimeter and path lighting?
- How much power do your lights and heater blowers draw, and do you supply generators?
- Who refuels and monitors generators and heaters during the event?
Compare your heater count with the tent heater calculator and your total power load with the event power calculator. If the rental company's numbers are far off yours, ask how it got them before you sign.
Install Timing, Insurance and Contract Questions
- How many days before the event do you need to install, and how long does strike take?
- What access do your trucks need, and can they drive on our ground?
- Will install finish in time for the fire inspection and vendor load-in?
- What do you charge if install or strike runs outside normal hours?
- What insurance do you carry, and can you name us and the site owner as additional insured?
- Are your installers employees or subcontractors?
- Which festivals or markets have you tented recently, and can we call one of them?
- Will the contract list every tent, sidewall, heater, light and delivery time?
Put the install window into your vendor load-in plan. Vendors can't set up under a tent that isn't finished, and the vendor load-in schedule should start after the rental crew and inspection are done.
Compare Quotes and Spot Red Flags
| Line item | Company A | Company B | Company C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tent sizes and styles | |||
| Permit and inspection handled by | |||
| Anchoring plan (stakes or ballast) | |||
| Wind rating and evacuation threshold | |||
| Sidewalls, heaters, flooring, lighting | |||
| Install and strike dates | |||
| Insurance and certificate | |||
| Total with delivery and fees |
- No written answer on who applies for the permit
- No flame certificate for the tent tops or sidewalls
- An anchoring plan that is "we'll see on the day"
- No wind rating or evacuation threshold for the tent you are renting
- An install date too late for the fire inspection
- No certificate of insurance before the event
When tents, stages and vendor spaces share one site, festival management software keeps the site map, vendor spaces and payments together, so the layout you send the tent company is the same one vendors book from.