Getting a reliable quote starts with the right information. A guide to checking availability and comparing hire suppliers.
Getting a reliable quote starts with the right information. A guide to checking availability and comparing hire suppliers.
A good hire quote depends on having the right information ready. This guide covers how to check availability, what to prepare before contacting a hire company and what to look at beyond price when comparing suppliers.
The Expo Hire website shows live availability by event date. Enter your date and browse the furniture range. Items that show as available are genuinely in stock for your date, not subject to a further availability check. This saves a phone call and gives you an accurate picture of what is available before you build your order.
Have these details ready before you contact a hire company: your event date, the venue name and full postcode, a delivery time window such as 8am–10am, a collection time, and your full item list with quantities. A quote built on complete information comes back faster and is less likely to need revision. Missing information, especially the venue postcode, means the delivery charge cannot be calculated and the quote will be provisional.
Popular items book out. Gold chiavari chairs, white trestle tables and specific linen colours are in high demand from spring through to autumn. An enquiry three months before your event gives you a much wider choice of stock, colour options and delivery slots than an enquiry three weeks out. Late bookings also limit flexibility on delivery timing, as popular windows fill early. If you have a firm date, enquire as soon as you have venue confirmation.
Comparing quotes from two or three suppliers is reasonable for larger orders. Compare like for like: confirm that each quote includes delivery and collection, that quantities are identical and that stock condition standards are equivalent. A quote that looks cheaper may exclude delivery or may be priced on stock that has not been inspected between hires.
Delivery and collection charges are sometimes excluded from headline quotes and added separately. Check this before comparing totals. Stock condition matters: ask whether items are inspected and cleaned between hires. The damage policy matters: a hire company that holds a deposit and invoices for any damage at the end of the event carries a different financial risk for you than one that includes a damage waiver as standard. Also ask about minimum order values and whether same-day substitutions are possible if an item breaks in transit on the day of your event.
Choose from our vast range of catering hire, furniture hire and exhibition hire products. Select from the categories listed below or use our great search function above.
