Author: Amazing News Editor

Staff motivation can be one of the biggest driving forces of any business, but it can also be a weak point. Motivated employees are more productive, creative and much happier, which means that they are more likely to remain loyal and stick around.

As for how to motivate employees, an ongoing strategy is crucial. However, a key part of this is are events such as team-building and motivational weekends which show staff that you are willing to invest time and money into their development as a team.

Planning a motivational weekend for your staff that does actually boost their morale and motivation can be trickier than you may think. We’ve all been on drab, rainy staff weekends in uninspiring venues, and these are not experiences we’d want to repeat. If the announcement of your last team-building weekend was met with eye rolls and groans, it’s obvious you need to make drastic changes to how you plan your events.

It’s all about the venue

To inspire your team, start with an unusual ‘outside of the box’ venue. Around 18 months ago, the Amazing Tents Company provided national retail chain Fat Face with a DuoSpan event tent for a motivational weekend for their key staff members.

Holding talks and team-building activities in such an unusual and exciting structure, especially compared to the usual hotels and conference centres these events are usually held in, was a great way for Fat Face managers to surprise their teams. Attendees stayed in market bell tents on site in a remote and very beautiful part of Cumbria, with easy access to every activity during the weekend.

The dramatic proportions and shapes of the DuoSpan, along with the impressive lighting and design of the interiors, made this venue very special indeed – which, of course, makes employees feel special. The weekend was fun, educational, productive and inspiring, with fantastic feedback all round. If you want to shake things up and inject new enthusiasm into your way of working, this is most definitely the way to do it.

Tips for motivating your team

As well as organising amazing events to motivate your teams, there are lots of other things you can be doing to reinvigorate your key employees. Here are just a few handy tips for managers and motivators:

• Treat everyone as an individual
• Offer constructive feedback and praise good work
• Lead by example
• Give teams ownership of projects and systems
• Offer benefits that boost morale, not just bank balances
• Put excellent communication at the heart of everything you do
• Be firm, fair but flexible
• Encourage your team members to take a break
• Establish a ‘no blame’ culture within your workplace

If you’re planning a motivational or team-building weekend for your employees and you’re looking for an amazing and unique venue, The Amazing Tents Company could have the ideal SaddleSpan for you and your team. Get in to get the ball rolling and start discussing options.

Event Buyers Live, one of the most unique events of its kind, is back for 2016 with a jam-packed schedule of events and some of the UK’s most prominent event organisers and suppliers already on the books. The Amazing Tent Company is delighted to be able to join them for yet another year – will you be popping by to say hello?

It all happens on the 24^th and 25^th of February 2016 at the Heythrop Park Resort in Enstone, Oxen. If you’ve never attended before, you’ll need to know how it all works. Both event organisers and suppliers need to register for places, which are limited and the supplier list is already full. If you’re approved as a qualifying organiser, you get free entry to EBL. It’s the ideal event for making valuable new contacts and sourcing the ideal suppliers for your next events face-to-face, in a relaxed environment.

What makes Event Buyers Live so unique?

EBL isn’t like other business events or conferences. You don’t have to spend hours making small talk with contacts who aren’t very useful to you – instead, you get to choose who you meet with.

The setup at Event Buyers Live is bespoke, as each attendee has their own personal programme drawn up in advance. Before it all begins, organisers will have scheduled in face-to-face meetings with the suppliers they are most interested in. These 25-minute appointments are a unique chance to ask all of those burning questions and find the ideal suppliers to make your upcoming events truly special. This is the start of an open discussion that continues throughout the event and could end in a lucrative and rewarding partnership for both parties.

Another unique part of the experience is the informal yet professional atmosphere within the Heythrop Park Resort venue. Event Buyers Live is all about networking, but in natural circumstances such as coffee breaks, delicious lunches and even a gala dinner. Lucky attendees not only get to grow their contact book, meet personally with preferred suppliers and network with like-minded professionals – but there’s also five star hotel facilities to enjoy as a VIP.

Lastly, Event Buyers Live is well-known for its rich education programme, one of the best in the business. In between your scheduled personal meetings, there are plenty of chances to grow your expertise and discover exciting new ideas, through a series of fascinating problem-solving workshops, round table discussions, seminars, key note speakers and case studies.

We’ll see you there!

Amazing Tents is delighted to be attending this year’s Event Buyers Live as one of the UK’s best event tent suppliers, and we can’t wait to meet the event organisers we’ll hopefully be working with in 2016v or beyond. If you’ve reserved your place or you’re rushing to apply, we look forward to a friendly chat over coffee or pencilling you in for a personal appointment. Everyone’s talking about EBL 2016, so get out of the office and join us there!

Most things tend to slow down at this time of year. However, if you’re hoping to hold an event in 2016 – now is absolutely not the time to rest on your laurels. The key to a successful event is early planning, getting all of those important details ironed out and nailed down well ahead of time.

No matter when your event is scheduled for – whether it’s in a few months’ time or right at the very end of 2016 – here are the essentials you need to be planning now:

The venue

Once you have your confirmed date, the very next thing you should do is confirm your venue. Never leave this until later, as it’s the single most important part of your plans. Without it, it won’t be a case of your event being a flop – there simply won’t be one. Remember that unusual or very popular venues tend to get booked up months in advance, so you’ll need to get in there early. A great thing about doing all of your planning early is that you have more time and freedom to choose your venue – you may want to do something a little different, such as finding an even plot of land and popping up an event tent.

The guests

It’s crucial to give your guests notice of the event as soon as possible, before they make other plans. You can do this with a ‘save the date’ notification, but don’t use a format that can be lost or forgotten about. Inviting guests to a Facebook event page or an event request in their email calendars are both good ways to ensure a reminder of your event sticks around.

The marketing

Getting started nice and early means you can carefully plan the marketing for your event. Come up with a schedule to maintain the energy and ‘buzz’ surrounding the event, including everything from e-blasts and social media campaigns to posters, press releases and other forms of advertising. Work out what you want to say at each stage, and you can even get ahead by writing some of the content now. Don’t wait to start getting the message out there though, as once you have a date and a venue you can start spreading the word and getting people excited about your event.

The vendors

Again, early planning gives you the freedom to handpick your caterers, bar, security and other vendors – rather than having to choose from who is available at short notice. Think carefully about what you want and use the extra time to negotiate and shop around for the best prices. You have the power in this situation, as you have a whole market to choose from – unlike last-minute bookings where vendors can charge a fortune because they know you’re desperate to find someone.

Good luck!

Follow these early bird tips and you will be paving the way for a smooth-running, well-attended event, plus you’ll cut out all those sleepless nights worrying about the details. Here’s to a successful 2016!

The Amazing Tents team are usually extremely busy during summer, installing event tents, marquees and SaddleSpan stage covers at top UK festivals such as Glastonbury and Creamfields.

However, this year, we took on a brand new challenge on top of everything else – in Baku, Azerbaijan!

Amazing Tents headed over to Baku ahead of the 2015 European Games, the very first edition of the event that has ever been held, and which launched on 12^th June 2015.  Our job was to provide weather cover for the President of Azerbaijan as he witnessed the lighting of the torch, just like in the Olympic Games. The rally torch was lit in a ceremony in the historic Temple of the Eternal Flame, which is just outside the city.

Battling the weather

Baku is one of the windiest cities in Europe, which the team experienced first-hand when trying to assemble the canopy tent chosen for the job. A S5000 SaddleSpan Canopy was judged to be the best structure to withstand the winds, which were regularly 45mph and on occasion reached gust speeds of 65mph according to the tent’s anemometer – for those not in the know, those are Gale Force 10 speeds!

In addition to the extremely windy conditions, there was another challenge to overcome. The Temple of the Eternal Flame is on a UNESCO World Heritage Site, meaning that there are serious restrictions on what you can use to install a structure. Stakes could not be used, so to keep the event tent rigid and secure – a number of one ton blocks were employed. Tiring work, but definitely worth it to keep the structure in place without damaging the site.

The sturdy S5000 performed magnificently, being rock solid throughout and providing the President with protection from the weather as he witnessed the ceremony.

It really does show the versatility of the award-winning SaddleSpan structure, especially the canopy. From providing a stage cover with excellent acoustics, weather protection and aesthetic appeal for some of the biggest rock bands in the world to sheltering the President of Azerbaijan as he launches a brand new international event in an UNESCO World Heritage site – is there anything this sturdy little event tent can’t do?

About the 1^st European Games

Amazing Tents were really excited to be chosen to help out at this event, as it is the inaugural edition of a brand new international Games competition. What makes the European Games different from other European competitions is that it is a multi-sport event, created and managed by the National Olympic Committees of Europe. Around 6000 athletes competed in 20 sports, from gymnastics and athletics to aquatics, badminton, judo and wrestling.

Azerbaijan and Baku city leaders were understandably delighted to be chosen to host the very first edition of the Games, and Amazing Tents were honoured to be even a small part of making it all happen.

It’s the event organisers worst nightmare – the one question that makes them wake up in a cold sweat in the days leading up to the event. What if nobody turns up?

There’s not much you can do about last-minute illness and childcare problems, but luckily, there are lots of things you can do to boost attendance at your next amazing event. So, if you’ve got an incredible event tent and you need people to fill it, follow these 10 handy tips:

1. Make sure your event has a unique ‘hook’. You need something that will pique guests’ curiosity so much that they will turn up just to satisfy it. This could be a weird and wonderful venue, such as a giant outdoor marquee in an unusual site, or a secret mystery guest (drop loads of hints though so they can start to speculate who it is).

2. Lay on transport. It may put a bit of strain on the budget, but making it easy and indeed fun (how about organising a double-decker London bus for your guests?) to get to the venue makes it more likely they’ll come along.

3. Keep interest levels high. Post regular updates through your social media channels to keep energy and excitement levels high, and nudge guests into reaffirming their RSVP – this will remind them that they’ve agreed to go.

4. Give away freebies. It may be a cheap trick, but you’ll be amazed how many people will turn up just to sip some free champagne or take home a goody bag.

5. Focus your attention on influential, high profile guests. If an industry leader, celebrity or other high-profile guests is 100% definitely confirmed, everyone else will follow.

6. Consider charging for tickets. You might think that a free event will attract the most guests, but more people may actually come to an event where they’ve paid for a ticket in advance. This is because there is nothing to lose by backing out of an invite for a free event, and people can simply change their mind on the day. Consider a small ticket fee and make sure you’re offering as much value as possible to guests attending the event.

7. Collaborate. Working with another high-profile partner can work wonders at boosting numbers on your guest list, helping you look beyond your own customers and natural audience to bring in new markets.

8. Invite far more people than you can fit in your venue. Unless you’ve got a vast event tent with loads of room, you might think this is a risky strategy, because what if everyone turns up and you’re over capacity? This is very unlikely to happen – in fact, you’ll actually find that you’ll lose around 50% of your guest list as the event approaches.

9. Sell the event as a crucial networking opportunity. Make the event appear unmissable, selling it as a once in a lifetime chance to meet and mingle with all the movers and shakers in a particular industry.

It’s that time of year again – the UK Festival Awards, and Amazing Tents is super excited to be heading to the ceremony in London on 26^th November. There isn’t a ‘best stage cover’ or ‘best event tent’ prize at the UK Festival Awards 2015 (although we’re quietly confident of success if there was) – so why are we going?

The answer is simple – our world-renowned SaddleSpan tents have been spotted at pretty much all of the UK’s major festivals and music events, including many of those featured in this year’s shortlist.

For example, our SaddleSpan S5000 Concert tent, the ideal stage cover due to its precision-designed shape and structure, was a central feature at Leopallooza in Cornwall, which scooped the Grass Roots Festival prize in 2014’s awards. Amazing Tents also popped up tents at Latitude, which had the best line-up in 2013 and is up for Best Medium Sized Festival in 2015.

We’re deeply and passionately involved in the UK festival scene, and the 12^th annual UK Festival Awards are a great way to celebrate the achievements of all involved in putting together our country’s very best events.

Congrats to Creamfields and Download for a huge 9 nominations between them

Some festivals are heavily featured in the shortlists every year, and two that consistently perform well are Download and Creamfields. While radically different, both are nominated for Best Major Festival, Best Toilets and Best Hospitality in this year’s award, with an impressive 9 nominations between them.

Rock festival Download, which Amazing Tents has worked closely with in the past, has a massive nominations in total, after enjoying success back in 2013 when it was named Best Major Festival. Forward-thinking Download is also up for Best Use of New Technology, due to its use of RFID Cashless Dog Tags.

Our work with previous winners Creamfields

Meanwhile, dance festival Creamfields has its category – Best Dance Festival – pretty much cornered, winning this prestigious award in both 2013 and 2014. The Cheshire event is nominated in this category yet again, along with nominations in 3 other categories including Best Major Festival and Best Toilets.

The Amazing Tents team is quite familiar with this long-running and hugely popular festival, after transforming the hospitality field in August 2014 with our S5000 TriSpan, S5000 Enclosed and S5000 Concert tents to the delight of VIP guests. That’s why we’re chuffed to hear that Creamfields is shortlisted for a brand new award – Best Hospitality, sponsored by Snoozebox. After having worked wonders in the hospitality area of this particular festival before, we can confidently state that Creamfields excels in this area and has a very good chance of scooping the prize.

Best of luck to all of the fabulous UK festivals shortlisted for this year’s event. We’re sure to see lots of familiar faces at the official ceremony at London’s Roundhouse on November 26^th, and we absolutely can’t wait to celebrate the continuing success of the incredible UK festival scene with you all!

SaddleSpans are used up and down the country for a variety of big events, from weddings to festivals and everything in between. They are commonly used in the daytime, but they can be truly spectacular when hosting night-time events. When properly lit and decorated, these event tents can provide the perfect venue for atmospheric, exciting celebrations.

So, if you’re planning a party, exclusive corporate event or even a wedding reception at night and you have your heart set on holding it in a SaddleSpan tent – here’s the vital info you need to prepare for your event…

Consult a professional lighting designer

SaddleSpan tents tend to be easy to light, as lighting (as well as sound equipment) can be easily installed on the structure. However, they are very large venues, so can be a challenge to light evenly and with the right amount of texture and atmosphere. Common mistakes people make when lighting these tents is to overdo it with industrial-standard floodlights, or to underestimate the lighting requirements of the space – leaving it dim, underlit and actually a bit dangerous in places.

For maximum impact for a night-time event, consult a professional lighting designer to create the right atmosphere inside and to show the tent off against the contrast of the night sky on the outside.

Take extra precautions in the dark

In the daytime, potential hazards such as wires, cables and other tripping hazards can be easily highlighted so that there are no accidents. This becomes a lot trickier during night-time events, as even cable tidies can become tripping hazards in the dark. The key, as mentioned above, is proper lighting – but this time from a safety perspective. You want everyone to have fun at your event, not to end up hurting themselves, so make sure you consider lighting from a safety as well as an aesthetic point of view.

Consider heating, both indoors and out

The British weather can be very unpredictable, so even events held at the height of summer can be a little chilly at night. Look into the best ways you can heat your event tent inside, and you might also want to consider outdoor heat lamps for outdoor elements of your event.

Be security-conscious

If you’re holding a large event at night, where there is likely to be a bar and late night revelry, you may want to consider employing a security guard or bouncer. You’re likely to never need their services, but the combination of alcohol, lots of people and late night fun can sometimes turn a bit rowdy – so taking these precautions gives you peace of mind just in case something should happen.

Consider your neighbours

SaddleSpans at night can be fantastic party venues, especially if you’re planning on installing a bar and a massive dancefloor. However, if your tent has been erected in a built-up area or one with a few residents nearby, be considerate and let them know about your event in advance – and perhaps put a finishing time on the event so that it doesn’t go on all night.