When you think of barrier hire, you might be thinking metal barriers, a bit like the security barriers you might find around construction sites, or even the waist-height metal retractable barriers you find on marathon routes to keep the public off the street, which is being used for the race in the city centre.
When WE talk about barrier hire, though, we’re talking barriers that – in reality – would not stop anyone from crossing them, or indeed, moving them. Our ‘barriers’ are more queue management tools which come into their own for this purpose, to guide people on what you want them to do, rather than actually physically preventing them from doing something. It’s important to realise this difference in event barrier rental, right from the very start, to understand the purpose of this blog article.
What type of event barriers do we offer? Well, the most popular barriers for hire are our retractable barriers and our posts and ropes, and we’re going to have a look at the both right here, so you can see the difference. Once you gain a knowledge of this, then you’ll be able to make the judgement as to what is going to work best for you and your event moving forwards.
Think of an airport, and the places you need to queue – at the check-in desk, and at security and passport control, where queues of people snake around, waiting for their turn. Airports, therefore, are a prime example of where retractable barriers are used.
A retractable barrier is a freestanding post, with a circular base. In the head of the post is a coiled tape which, when pulled, extends out to a length of around 2 metres. On the end of the tape, or ‘webbing’, is a vertical clip which simply slides into the adjacent barrier, situated around 2 metres away – the length of the tape.
There are a range of different names in the industry for retractable barriers. Whilst we call them retractable barriers, others call it Tensabarrier hire or Tensator hire, both of which are brand names for these types of retractable barrier post.
In reality, airports will have their own retractable barriers and won’t need to hire them. We’re talking events, however, and so where might you find retractable barrier hire in our sector?
Well, anywhere you find queues. Think of an exhibition registration foyer, an arena Christmas party event where lots of guests are arriving within a short space of time and need to be guided to where you want them to go, or outside an Apple technology shop, where you have lots of shoppers eager to get their hands on the latest iPhone. These are just 3 examples of where retractable barriers will do a job for you, at an affordable price.
Here at Event Hire UK, retractable barriers are available in different coloured posts with different coloured webbing tape, and available in large quantities, and so have a think about what you need and how many you need, and place your secure order online.
Again, when we talk about post and rope hire here at Event Hire UK, you might also hear it referred to as pole and rope hire, rope and post hire, and other permutations of the same thing. Quite literally, post and rope hire is a type of ‘barrier’ which is very much used in welcome areas to provide a VIP look – it might be in the hospitality pavilion of an international air show, at an exhibition to section off certain areas, or at an international sports event outside the players entrance, for instance.
The posts are metal, and available here at Event Hire UK in either polished chrome or gold, and the ropes are available in a variety of different colours, with the clip at each end available in either gold or chrome to correspond with the type of post you are hiring at the same time.
Again, Event Hire UK is the foremost supplier of all types of barrier hire for events in the country, and posts and ropes are no exception. We have hundreds of these available at any one time, which allows us to service multiple events, nationwide.
Put simply, therefore, whilst both types of ‘barriers’ are not designed to actively prevent people from doing something, they are both there to guide people to where you want them to be and what you want them to do.
So, in terms of purpose, they are similar, but in terms of style, they are not.
When you need retractable barriers for events, and other barrier hire, you can count on the team here at Event Hire UK to provide you with both the range and quantities to be able to service your requirements. Browse and place your secure order online 24/7 – we very much look forward to hearing from you soon.
