The best ways to get more for your temporary event structure budget

Temporary event structures are often one of the biggest-ticket items on your event planning list, so when you’re crunching your budget, it makes sense to take a good look at what you’re getting. Taking a value-engineering approach can be a really effective way to do this, working closely with your supplier to explore alternative options and ideas. 

Budgets can be stretched for all sorts of reasons. Your ticket sales might not be as strong as you hoped, a sponsor might have pulled out or your organisation might be diverting resources elsewhere. Whatever you’ve got on your plate, value engineering is a collaborative way to get costs under control.

And it’s not just about saving money. Value engineering works just as well when you want to make the most of extra budget. In fact, it’s a hugely valuable process on any project, bringing you and your suppliers together to do the best possible job.

If you’d like a big-picture look at value engineering for events, our guide How to make your event budget go further is a great place to start. But here we’re getting more specific, with a practical look at applying value engineering to temporary event structures.

We work on all kinds of huge, complex events at GL, from the Commonwealth Games and Hay Festival to graduations and trade shows. Over the years we’ve developed a three-tier framework for value engineering that gives our customers clarity, control and – very often – creative new ideas. It’s a step-by-step approach you can apply to any event, of any size. 

Here’s how it works:

Step 1: The have-to-haves

These are the non-negotiables. The absolute minimum requirements for delivering a safe, functional event. They include:

• A structurally safe, compliant environment
• Basic capacity for your expected guests
• Essential facilities like power, lighting and access
• Health and safety requirements

As long as you’ve got these in place, your event can technically happen. From there, it’s a question of how much your budget will allow you to enhance your guests’ comfort (being warm and dry, with nice toilets and good catering) and their experience (having fun and being able to post something eye-catching on social media).

Step 2: The nice-to-haves

These are where you can start to elevate things. They’re about turning your temporary event structure into somewhere people actually want to be, and include:

• Higher quality flooring
• Improved furniture
• Better climate control
• Upgraded lighting
• Branding and signage

Step 3: The game changers

These are the extra touches that create genuinely memorable experiences. They often get counted out early on, but with careful value engineering, it’s surprising what you can bring in:

• Premium event structures, including multi-deck options
• High-end fit-out, interiors and theming
• Statement lighting and illumination
• Sophisticated branding and wayfinding

Choosing the right structure, right from the start, is a great foundation for getting the best value for money. Different events are suited to different types of structure, so making the right choice saves a lot of re-engineering to make something that’s less than ideal actually work.

At GL, we’ve got a wide range of structures, suited to all kinds of events, and we’ll always advise you on the best fit for yours, up front. For example, if you’re organizing a high-end hospitality event, and you start with a structure like one of our contemporary Clearspan marquees , it’s often much more cost effective that having to add lots of extras to a more standard marquee to get it up to the specification your guests are expecting. Structures with distinct roof profiles such as the Eclipse or Plateau, allow for further customisation to create a stylish and distinctive look. They are really strong options for high-end events, giving you those extra, unusual finishing touches as standard.

On the other hand, if you’re going for a more traditional marquee aesthetic, for something like an agricultural show, you can instantly get the look you’re after with a pole tent or Showspan marquee. 

It’s all about having a good range of structures to choose from, and a supportive supplier who’ll guide you to the right one for your event, right from the word go. Once that’s in place, there’s a whole range of other elements you can consider if you want to make savings – or extra impact. 

Let’s take a look…

Size

It’s often the first thing people think to change, but the size of your temporary event structure might not be the best place to economise. It’s generally worked out based on the number of guests you’re expecting, what they’ll be doing, and health and safety regulations.

Here at GL events, we work on 1.5 to 2m per person for dining. Any less and you’re starting to sacrifice your guests’ experience. Some suppliers go down to 1.25m, or squeeze 10 people on a 6ft round table (we never seat more than 8), but we’d advise against it.

Of course, if you know your numbers are down (or up) well in advance, it’s usually possible to change the size of your temporary event building or marquee, which could reduce costs.

You could also reorganise the way you use your temporary event structures. For example, creating one big structure to act as a multifunctional area, rather than lots of separate ones. It might be that catering, ticket sales, toilets, babysitting and wheelchair collection can sit under one roof to save money. A good supplier will be able (and willing) to explore your options.

But for the most effective value engineering, we always recommend looking at three key components of your structure’s internal finish – linings, carpets and furniture…

Linings

Temporary event structure suppliers usually offer a whole range of linings. These tend to include tack-off linings (the bespoke, high-end option) and stock linings (the more cost-effective option). Tack-off linings are often up to four times the price of stock options, so it’s worth looking at both and considering whether your guests will really see the difference.

At GL, we’ve made sure our stock linings are a really strong choice. They’re cost-effective, but they don’t look like a money-saving option – so they’re a nice, stretched corporate lining, not pleated, ivory or fresh from a wedding reception. 

Of course, if you want to tick that ‘game changer’ box, we have some incredible tack-off options, but our stock linings will definitely take you into ‘nice-to-have’ territory.

Carpets

At the ‘have-to-have’ level, you don’t technically need flooring at all – but depending on the kind of event, it will make a big difference to your guests. 

If you do go for carpets (moving up into the ‘nice-to-haves’), one of the big considerations is how long your event lasts, so how well they’ll need to wear. If it’s a one or two-day event and a lot of your floor will be covered by tables and chairs, is it really worth splashing out on top-of-the-range carpeting throughout?

When we’re value engineering a temporary event structure, we often recommend using a cost-effective carpet for the bulk of the space, but something more premium in the places people will notice it – like the entrance and bar.

Furniture

If you want the best possible price for your event furniture, our biggest piece of advice is to book early. The later you leave it, the less choice you’ll have – and the more you’ll pay. Costs rise rapidly not just for furniture itself, but for delivery and set up.

Think about how you’ll use your furniture too. If you’re having tablecloths, do you need the best tables underneath? And even if a 6ft round table is your ideal, would a trestle work just as well?

Heating and cooling

With heating and cooling, there’s a range of options, but it’s important to remember how much of a difference they can make to your guests’ comfort. In the middle of winter – or summer – getting climate control wrong can make your structure quite an unpleasant place to be.

For heating, a low-budget option would be to just place a heater in the corner, but the likelihood is, it’ll only warm up the people nearby. Stepping things up, you could go for a NIKKI system[1] , overhead system or full air conditioning system that can heat, cool or vent (keep ambient air circulating). The more you pay, the better the distribution and control of the treated air.

Cooling is increasingly becoming an expectation for summer events, and is more expensive than heating because it uses much more power. Reducing costs by going for a venting-only system might be ok when it’s mild, but on a hot day you’ll just be moving the hot air around.

Another way to reduce the need for cooling is to reduce the heat getting into your temporary event structure. While transparent roofing can look really impressive, in sunny weather it works like a greenhouse, heating up your space – and guests – to an uncomfortable degree.

Lighting

With lighting, the more you spend, the cleverer things get. While it’s not unusual for event planners to stick at the ‘have-to-have’ level, it’s definitely an area where you can get more and more creative as you move through ‘nice-to-haves’ and into ‘game changers’. 

You can add wall lights, up lighters, moving head lighting, logo projectors or even some really beautifully designed lighting that coordinates with staff uniforms, carpets and chair covers.

Branding

Like lighting, branding is an area where it’s up to you how far you want to take things – although if you’ve sold sponsorship, you’ll have to deliver on what you’ve promised to those sponsors.

Printed materials can be a key area for making savings. If you can get all of your artwork approved early and booked into a printing schedule three or four weeks ahead of your event, your printer will be able to produce everything at the same time, without de-inking and re-inking their machines. As well as being far more cost effective, it’s much better for the environment.

Toilets

It’s a well-known fact in events that people will judge you on your catering and your toilets – so if your toilets are good, your event’s already off to a good start. That said, there’s still a range of options that can help control your budget.

At GL, we always recommend Moduvac vacuum toilets for premium events. They’re a really upmarket option, widely used in high-end hospitality. If that’s stretching your budget, VIP trailers are a much more cost-effective alternative at only around 20% of the cost. 

There’s a big difference in guest experience once you move away from Moduvac, but we’ve helped clients bridge that by building temporary event structures around their VIP trailers, fitting out the inside space and even building up the flooring so it’s level. For one recent client, it’s a compromise that saved around £20k.

A good supplier will be more than happy to help you value engineer your event, whether you’re looking specifically at your temporary event structure, or any other element. 

It should be a collaborative process where your decision-makers come to the table with an open mind, realistic timescales and budget transparency. In return, suppliers should give you creative ways to rework your plans, tapping into their market knowledge and wider network.

It’s not just about this year…

The gold standard here is innovation – a team who can look at your budget and find inventive ways to deliver an event that feels special, edgy or culturally valuable. 

Because the changes you make to your event won’t just impact its success this year. If your guests don’t enjoy their experience, you’ll still have their ticket money this time… but you’ll struggle to get them back the next year, or the next.

At GL events UK we’re part of a global group with a 5,000-strong team, delivering complex events, all over the world. Here in the UK, we’re part of more than 150 events every year, and we’re always happy to discuss yours. Just get in touch.