It has been a difficult year for so many businesses but, with lockdown easing and hopes of a more sociable summer, venues may well be looking to increase their useable space.
Stuart Hartley, Project Manager at Mar-Key Group, which provides temporary structures and semi-permanent buildings, says these flexible solutions can be in place in a matter of days.
“It does depend on whether someone wants to lease, hire or buy the structure, but if they are hiring it, it can sometimes be delivered the next day.”
The temporary buildings are manufactured in the UK and can be in a standard design or manufactured bespoke to meet a client’s needs.
The structures have an aluminium frame, which can then be clad to suit requirements; flooring, soundproofing, doors and access ramps can also be added.
“All sorts of different businesses may find they need extra capacity this spring and summer as they start to reopen after the lockdown and cater for pent-up demand,” Stuart observes.
“These buildings provide the space to accommodate extra customers, guests or visitors, and although we describe them as temporary some can remain in place for up to 25 years!”
Here are Stuart’s five suggestions for how temporary buildings can be used to increase useable space:
1. Weddings and celebrations
If you run a hotel, venue or other business that hosts weddings you may find demand for your services soar this year. You are already likely to have a hall or outdoor wedding venue space but adding a temporary building to your site can offer an alternative to marquee hire and will allow you to increase your capacity. You will not only be able to accommodate larger wedding receptions and celebrations, but you might even find yourself able to run events simultaneously or at least reduce turnaround time. There may also be a pent-up demand for face-to-face conference space, following a year of video meetings. Many wedding venues also host conferences and could find the additional space perfect for midweek events when weddings are not taking place. The benefit of a temporary building over a traditional marquee is its durability, stability and semi-permanency.
2. Staycations
The Great British public is champing at the bit to get away on holiday as soon as they are able to and, as a result, bookings for spring and summer 2021 have gone through the roof. Temporary buildings can be used as pop-up reception spaces on campsites and caravan parks. They can also be used to extend on-site entertainment and catering space within holiday villages, hotels and other staycation settings.
3. Historic houses and gardens
Many of our country’s stately homes and country houses have been closed for much of 2020 and early 2021 but hope to be open again soon. Temporary buildings can be used for extra exhibitions or events taking place at these locations, as well as to create additional dining or tearoom spaces or even for retail as they begin to welcome visitors again and perhaps wish to expand their offering.
4. Country and golf clubs
With so many people eager to start playing sports while also socialising together, the expectation is that country, golf and exclusive health clubs and resorts will be busier than ever from mid 2021. Temporary buildings can be used to extend member areas and offer additional dining or bar facilities, as well as for functions and events taking place within these settings.
5. Corporate entertainment and hospitality
As lockdown eases, so the world of corporate entertainment and hospitality will start to gain momentum and temporary buildings can make ideal venues. They can then be erected close to existing permanent venues to expand capacity and can be set up to offer corporate entertainment and hospitality during another event. Exclusive social calendar and sporting events, including regattas, horse-racing and county shows frequently use temporary buildings for corporate entertainment and hospitality purposes. Mar-Key has supplied its structures to Royal Ascot, Goodwood Festival of Speed, the America’s Cup World Series and NFL Wembley, among others.
For more information visit www.mar-key.com, email team@mar-key.com or call 01202 577111.
