Pitching your pub as a venue for functions opens your space up to whole new markets. Your space can cater for weddings, birthdays, wakes, work dos, christenings and more. The possibilities are endless!
For customers, pubs that offer a space for hire are a popular choice as they also usually offer food and drink - all under one roof. The room may even be offered for free if there are a certain number of guests coming to the event; knowing that a large amount will be spent behind the bar.
So, what do pubs need to have in place before they diversify into a venue to hire?
Find a caterer
If the kitchen is overrun or you don’t have the facilities to provide food, there are still options available: you could operate a ‘bring your own food’ policy or find a reputable caterer in the area. You may need to have a relationship with a few different caterers so that you can open the choice of food provider out to the bookers.
Staff
If you are reluctant to hire out the whole venue or if the function room is in a separate area of the pub, extra staff will be needed to cope with the volume of people. Should the party receive poor service, your reputation could be affected. To prevent this, members of your team could be solely designated to serving the party.
Extra seating
It’s likely that a party, whether they take up half of your venue or the whole area, will bring a large amount of people.
Of course, there are times when your pub has busy periods and your pub will already have furniture in place to cope with these busy periods. But with plenty of people arriving, and having paid to use the space, it will be expected that there will be enough seating available for all. It’s advised to have extra seating that can easily be stored away should more seating be needed. Stacking chairs are an ideal option for this.
Foldable tables
Along with extra chairs, you may need some temporary tables. These will not only act as extra space for guests, they will also be useful for the buffets and food spreads that will be provided. Again, these tables should be storable so that they can be brought out as and when there is a function.
There are folding and stacking tables available in a range of sizes, so there is something suitable for every pub.
Trent Furniture’s extensive banquet furniture range is perfect for function events. But it’s not just furniture for functions that we provide. We also have furniture for pubs that can be used all year round.