Across the UK, open days are a key part of the recruitment process for schools, colleges, and universities, allowing educational establishments to showcase their facilities, extracurricular activities and academic excellence. If you are organising an open day for a state school, private school or university, making a great first impression on potential students and their families is essential.
With visitors travelling from near and far, particularly for university open days, event equipment hire becomes an indispensable part of the preparation, ensuring smooth logistics and professional presentation.
Planning an open day requires significant attention to detail, from ensuring the venue is welcoming to managing large groups of visitors. Hiring the best event equipment can make all the difference in terms of both presentation, comfort and organisation, with these 3 elements intertwined more than you might realise.
From the point of view of cost, rather than investing in equipment that may only be used a few times a year, the rental of college open day event equipment hire items offers an affordable, flexible solution that allows educational institutions to access high-quality furniture, staging and much more, on budget, as you only need to source exactly what you need for your open day – nothing more, nothing less.
University open day equipment hire companies such as Event Hire UK can offer everything from basic furniture to catering equipment and much more, helping to create a professional, organised environment. Whether you’re hosting hundreds of visitors for a single-day event or running multiple sessions over a week, there is no doubt that temporary event equipment hire allows for an efficient, cost-effective option that ensures your open day runs smoothly. Event Hire UK is here to keep life simple, affordable and hassle-free, so allow us to take care of your event equipment hire needs, leaving you to get on with what you do best!
When it comes to event equipment hire for open days, short term furniture rental London & UK is always a priority. Affordable, durable seating and tables are crucial, as many open days are single-day events and need practical, space-efficient solutions. Folding chairs and trestle tables are ideal options when it comes to event equipment hire, as they offer flexibility and can be easily moved or stored when not in use.
They’re not only affordable but can also be hired in large numbers, making them perfect for open days, where attendance may be high. These tables for hire might be needed for laying out your latest prospectus brochures or other marketing literature that is going to be useful for your guests to pick-up and take away with them to learn more about your setting.
In regard to the chair hire, during a university open day, for instance, multiple departments may be showcasing their facilities, requiring large seating areas for presentations or meetings with prospective students. Hiring seminar benches or poseur tables with stools for informal breakout spaces offers both style and functionality. These pieces of event equipment hire are cost-effective and professional, ensuring the venue looks well-organised without breaking the budget. Event equipment hire has never been easier or more affordable!
During open days, it’s often necessary to create smaller, more intimate spaces for one-on-one chats or club and society presentations. You might also need small, temporary booths for people to speak about grants, fees, scholarship opportunities and bursaries, for example. With this in mind, pipe and drape systems for hire are a fantastic way to section off areas, offering privacy without requiring permanent structures. The width and height of our modular pipe and drape system makes it the ideal event equipment hire item for this purpose and, though it isn’t 100% soundproof as it’s a fabric curtain, it certainly does a great job.
Similarly, our freestanding space dividers (also known as acoustic screens) for rental can be used to create temporary rooms or cubicles for discussions between staff and prospective students or parents. It’s also worth nothing that the flexibility of these systems allows schools and universities to easily change the layout according to their needs throughout the day.
Catering for open day visitors often involves serving refreshments, particularly tea and coffee. For larger events, hiring catering equipment such as water boilers, insulated urns, milk and cream jugs, thermal tea and coffee pots, and cups and saucers is essential to meet the demand.
Offering a professional, well-coordinated catering set-up can make a big difference to levels of visitor satisfaction, especially if the level of hospitality is positive. It’s amazing what a big difference a cup of tea can make during the hectic proceedings of a busy open day. And, to ensure that everyone stays well hydrated, you could also consider water cooler and dispenser hire from Event Hire UK. Just plug it in, buy the large bottles of spring water from us, and you have cold, fresh drinking water, literally on tap!
These items of event equipment hire are not only affordable to rent, but are also practical for handling large numbers of attendees. Ensuring you have enough cups, saucers and hot and cold drink stations available around your venue will keep things running smoothly, minimising waiting times and enhancing the overall experience for your guests. Ultimately, you want your visitors to take away the most positive impression of your educational establishment, and so it’s the little touches when it comes to event equipment hire such as catering that make a big difference.
Open days usually feature an opening presentation, often given by the head of the institution or department heads to introduce the school, college, or university and its offerings. Temporary staging and lecterns are ideal for these presentations, ensuring that speakers are visible and heard by the entire audience. Temporary staging units for hire can be customised to the size and layout of the event, while temporary lectern hire provides a professional touch for the speaker.
If the open day involves a series of presentations across different locations, renting portable staging units makes it easy to set up and dismantle these areas as needed, saving time and effort – something to definitely look out for when it comes to event equipment hire.
First impressions count, right from the very start, and a well-organised reception area is crucial for open days. Setting up a welcoming reception desk is a great way to ensure that visitors feel greeted and directed efficiently. Short term furniture hire companies such as Event Hire UK offer a variety of counters and desks, which can be placed at the entrance for registration, handing out prospectuses and directing people to different areas.
Retractable barriers or posts and ropes can also be used to guide visitors smoothly through registration, ensuring order and minimising confusion. Sign holders can be attached to these belt barriers to display important information or directions, helping visitors find their way with ease, again contributing to the overall smooth flow of your open day. Is that the sort of temporary event equipment hire you are looking for?
Open days often involve a variety of activities, including physical demonstrations or PE course showcases. For these events, temporary locker hire is an excellent option, allowing visitors to store their belongings securely while they explore the campus or participate in activities. Did you even think about these products for your event equipment hire list?
Another useful addition is chrome wire shelving, perfect for setting up a pop-up shop to sell university or school merchandise, particularly for iconic institutions that attract a lot of attention such as Oxford University and Cambridge University, to name just a couple. Similarly, literature racks are ideal for displaying brochures and prospectuses, keeping materials neat and accessible – you can position these in the main people traffic flows around your venue, to ensure maximum visibility.
Poseur tables and stools are another versatile option, particularly for informal networking or breakout areas during open days. These space-saving solutions are not only affordable, but also create a modern, stylish setting for more casual conversations between staff and visitors. Our range of open day short term equipment hire here at Event Hire UK is unrivalled in the country, so just take your pick!
Aside from open days, educational institutions often require additional furniture for exams, lectures, and other events. Exam desk hire is one of the most popular services for schools and colleges, providing temporary seating and workspace for students during busy exam periods. These desks for hire are affordable and easy to store, making them an excellent option for institutions that need a temporary solution.
Event Hire UK has thousands of exam desks in stock nationwide, ready to service any educational setting. There is no doubt that exam desk and chair hire is always in demand, so make sure you get your order in early for exam times, as plenty of other establishments will have already done so!
In summary, therefore, hiring short term temporary event equipment hire close by offers flexibility, affordability, and convenience for educational institutions planning open days. Instead of investing in furniture or equipment that may only be used occasionally, you can rent high-quality products on a temporary basis, ensuring you have everything you need without overspending.
Hopefully this article has provided you with some ideas about the best open day furniture hire and event equipment hire available in today’s market, and what other event hire equipment for open days you might not have considered, but can’t now do without! These ideas should, ultimately, save you time, money and effort, and also contribute to a successful, affordable and well-organised open day.
