Equipment Hire

[womble]

I'm not sure if this is the right forum/sub-forum to place this but - If I was to consider hiring out some of my equipment to other DJ/Bands, what do I need to consider? I've already started to think about T's&C's and I assume I'd need to have separate insurance that covers hire...

Is there anything else I need to think about?

[Tom Lovick]

hi,

I have some separate T & Cs that i have written up to cover dry hires.

If you have your PLI through 'AMPDJ' then you are already covered (or DJPLI, any that use 'hencilla')

[Andy Goodtimes]

There are different types of customers that you can hire to and ones like the members of the public that wants to pay £50 for a full disco kit and save a few quid on a party in the back room of a pub don't get any hire kit off me.

Mine mostly tend to be wet hire whereby I am there at the time and if I am not controlling it I am usually there in the actual hotel, on rare jobs I have had to go and do something else elsewhere but the hotel staff are mostly known to me and they keep an eye on things as best they can. If you deal with the corp side of things the chances are that if something does go wrong they can afford to pay for it or have insurance of their own in which case the 2 insurance companies will deal with it on your behalf.

I reckon that to put out average disco set-ups is a non-viable proposition, you can't charge much and damage will be frequent, in ordr to make it pay you have to outlay on decent kit and get customers that are able to pay a decent rate. Clients aren't going to pay much more than £50 for a 2k sound system or a set of I Colours because they are very common but get something different or specialised like big screens, light up floor, architectural lighting, quality wireless links, induction loop, audio description capability for visual, decent staging and sets, high quality mics of varying types, lots of conference boxes like some 802s or ART310s and/or a 10k+ rig and decent mixer and as long as you know how to use the kit you will get your money back fairly quickly.

[TONYTIGER]

There are different types of customers that you can hire to and ones like the members of the public that wants to pay £50 for a full disco kit and save a few quid on a party in the back room of a pub don't get any hire kit off me.

Mine mostly tend to be wet hire whereby I am there at the time and if I am not controlling it I am usually there in the actual hotel, on rare jobs I have had to go and do something else elsewhere but the hotel staff are mostly known to me and they keep an eye on things as best they can. If you deal with the corp side of things the chances are that if something does go wrong they can afford to pay for it or have insurance of their own in which case the 2 insurance companies will deal with it on your behalf.

I reckon that to put out average disco set-ups is a non-viable proposition, you can't charge much and damage will be frequent, in ordr to make it pay you have to outlay on decent kit and get customers that are able to pay a decent rate. Clients aren't going to pay much more than £50 for a 2k sound system or a set of I Colours because they are very common but get something different or specialised like big screens, light up floor, architectural lighting, quality wireless links, induction loop, audio description capability for visual, decent staging and sets, high quality mics of varying types, lots of conference boxes like some 802s or ART310s and/or a 10k+ rig and decent mixer and as long as you know how to use the kit you will get your money back fairly quickly.

Andy i think in Womble,s case he is trying to get a foothold in hiring out some equipment on a small scale ,as thats were i started in the 60s and i think i am correct in saying that i am the longest running mobile and hire company in the UK. I can assure you that hiring out disco set ups is very viable proposition and is the best money earner in all the services i offer if you chose your equipment wisely i find that i have very little breakages keep it simple and bomb proof and you will reap the rewards.I had 14 full sets out for NYE all dry hire all back in safe and sound no issues at all.
With my more complex gear yes wet hire is the way to go as i do a lot of hire for local schools, public inquiries ,festivals and such like and they require the full service.
I often get asked about deposits it may surprise you i do not ask for any you pay on collection and leave two forms of id one has to be your passport never lost a single item.

[Andy Goodtimes]

Maybe its just me then, I tend to shy away from certain customers, not just for hire either...you know the Yellow Pages type who starts off by asking "how much do you charge mate"? Also, I have a local disco shop that puts out decent little systems for £50 per night.

[deltic]

going to expand the dry hire this year.

one of the reasons is, i used to do quite a few presentation nights for various clubs and associations,which used to be very well attended and quite good nights,maybe not a lot of dancing but still a nights work.these seem to have tailed off.

so i have been in touch with some of the organisers from different clubs,to find out why.

answers were the clubs can't really afford to pay for a disco,just simply don't have club funds.

i then went on to ask what the basic requirements would be for a presentation night

microphone for presentation and speaches,and a bit of background music,maybe a bit louder towards the end,lighting was well it's not important something simple may be nice.

i also asked if the equipment and mic was provided,but operated by a club member instead of a dj would you be interested ................all said yes.

all in all worth following up this year.

[womble]

The reason I'm thinking of doing it is that I've found I have built up a collection of kit and I have a few of people that I know that often borrow bits and bobs from me, one guy is a club dj and has his own kit apart from speakers as he generally uses in house systems, he sometimes does house parties and borrows some speakers from me in exchange for a couple of pints, I also know a lot of bands who borrow a few lights or sometimes a full PA if they're not doing a venue that has an in-house system. So at the moment all the people who borrow my stuff are known to me and I've told them I plan to charge some day to take account of wear and tear, replacement bulbs, leads, etc.

I just need to start thinking about, if I start dry-hiring, then what do I do in terms of contracts, deposits, insurance, etc. There's been some decent replies already thank you.

Chris.

[ppentertainments]

answers were the clubs can't really afford to pay for a disco,just simply don't have club funds.

Something I have been looking at a lot at the moment. It is not just restricted to pubs and clubs though. A lot of charities and clubs such as kids football clubs are no longer receiving the money they used to.

[Pe7e]

I just need to start thinking about, if I start dry-hiring, then what do I do in terms of contracts, deposits, insurance, etc.


One of the first things you need to think about and resolve, is: What will you do, when you're just about to launch into the first dance at your booking, when the guy who's hired a PA and lights from you for his wedding, party, or function, ect. rings you on your mobile, and informs you he can't get it to work, or it's broken down? If you are serious about dry hire, you really need an answer to this scenerio, as sooner or later, a similar occurance will happen, despite your best efforts to avoid it.

[TONYTIGER]

You have a point and i think i said this on a previous post re hire,but on the other hand dry hire is what it says.Client collects gear which is shown fully working i always include spare lamps or fuses and of course my mobile no for advice never had a problem .
T&C says return to base for replacement its a bit like Tool Hire they wont send out someone to fix but you can take it back for another one.
In most cases when they have a problem its just a matter of telling them were the on switch is.;)
But you have to have someone at base to issue a replacement(in my case her indoors).

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

One of the first things you need to think about and resolve, is: What will you do, when you're just about to launch into the first dance at your booking, when the guy who's hired a PA and lights from you for his wedding, party, or function, ect. rings you on your mobile, and informs you he can't get it to work, or it's broken down? If you are serious about dry hire, you really need an answer to this scenerio, as sooner or later, a similar occurance will happen, despite your best efforts to avoid it.

What do you do if that happens?

[Pe7e]

I'm hire only these days, so that scenario would not happen to me, but it was a factor in going down that road. IMO, unless you have someone available who can sort such situations out, your reputation will suffer, it's very difficult, if not impossible to sort it yourself while performing.
On a practical level there are steps you can take to minimise problems occuring, like Tony, I supply spare leads, fuses, bulbs, copies of user manuals and/or links to them ect. There is also telephone support, and if all else fails, I have spare kit available to go and swap out if needed. I have even modified certain items of equipment to enable a easy fix to be made by the hirer in certain situations. Finally only hire out bullet proof, well maintained, flight cased, simple to connect up and use kit, to Joe public.

[TONYTIGER]

I'm hire only these days, so that scenario would not happen to me, but it was a factor in going down that road. IMO, unless you have someone available who can sort such situations out, your reputation will suffer, it's very difficult, if not impossible to sort it yourself while performing.
On a practical level there are steps you can take to minimise problems occuring, like Tony, I supply spare leads, fuses, bulbs, copies of user manuals and/or links to them ect. There is also telephone support, and if all else fails, I have spare kit available to go and swap out if needed. I have even modified certain items of equipment to enable a easy fix to be made by the hirer in certain situations. Finally only hire out bullet proof, well maintained, flight cased, simple to connect up and use kit, to Joe public.

You say it much better than me :) but its not rocket science i try and give them led effects now and powered speakers bit less to go wrong.

[deltic]

i will agree keep it simple

led effects and powered speakers.

[Pe7e]

I try and give them led effects now and powered speakers, bit less to go wrong.

So do I, in fact I only have active speakers now, I push the LED lights and I'm replacing halogen fixtures with long life discharge ones for the better hires. I also ensure the sound system they hire will hurt their ears, before it hurts my speakers :D (on certain hires)

[ppentertainments]

i will agree keep it simple

led effects and powered speakers.
Agree with the LED effects but I have always went for passive speakers. Mainly because the setups I use, you can turn amp and mixer right up without any damage to speakers. I find active can easily be tampered with unless you solder up the controls.
(Plus I have loads of passives lying around :) )