Wednesday, 10 September 2014

A leading event hire company has become one of the first businesses to successfully secure the new .London domain name.





Press Release: GLASGOW, Scotland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--  Casablanca Marquees, which is based in NW9 London and supplies marquees, furniture and catering equipment for major corporate and private hospitality events around the capital, has become a Dot London pioneer, one of the industry-leading businesses to use the new domain. It has just launched its new website using the new .London url www.casablancahire.london

As well as using .London for the main company website, Casablanca Hire has also secured a total of five different .London domains including chairhire.london and eventhire.london to cover a variety of search terms that could be used by potential customers looking for the hospitality services the business provides. More than 45% of Casablanca Hire’s new business comes through visits to its website.

Heath Meek, owner of Casablanca Hire, said: “Many of our existing customers found us by putting terms like ‘chair hire London’ into Google. Having a .london domain name will therefore give us a real competitive advantage as we believe .London could end up outranking .com and .co.uk on search. As well as using it for our main company website we’ll also be using the other .London domains we’ve secured to build websites to target specific products within our markets.”

Gordon Innes, Chief Executive of London & Partners, the Mayor’s promotional company for London which runs the Dot London domain, said: “We want Dot London to become the domain of choice for the city’s business community so I’m delighted that Casablanca Hire has chosen Dot London for its new website. Anyone searching for event hire in the capital will clearly see Casablanca’s London credentials. I hope it’s a badge the company will wear with pride.”

Heath Meek adds, “As a proud London-based company serving Londoners we really wanted to be one of the first companies to buy a .London domain.

The .London domain names have now been released for general availability so London companies that haven’t already done so should secure their domain names.

Wednesday, 30 July 2014

A Marquee for the Modern Era

A Marquee for the Modern Era When I think of the word ‘marquee’, I, like many others around me, immediately get an image in my head of a church fete and the ‘best sponge cake’ competition being held in a dusty, stained, heavy canvas walled tent, laced together with an elaborate interweaving of coarse rope that would look better placed in a dominatrix’s basement, than around the Women’s Institute stall.



Usually, this is topped off by an equally grimy circus-style roof, supported by a heavily painted and worryingly cracked and weathered piece of timber.

However, after recently being asked to look into marquee hiring for a friend’s company summer ball, it would appear that I am both wrong, and also possibly living in the 1930’s.

It seems that majority of today’s marquees are pristine, made with modern, lightweight fabrics and supported by computer designed aluminium structures that expand from something that will fit into the back of an average family hatchback to a vast canopy, capable of covering an entire football stadium.

Ok, maybe I have exaggerated slightly, but you get the idea. They are much more compact than you’d imagine, yet, when fully assembled, create a large indoor space for your party or corporate event; ideal for creating areas where people may require shade, for a large indoor dance floor, a garden banquet or an end of season sporting party.

Did I also say that some of the models available are modular? That’s right; you can connect a number of marquee sections together to create even more space for your family, guests or clients. You can choose to have windows in the walls; wide entrances on all four sides, the permutations are almost limitless. However, if you’re just after a couple of gazebos to place over the food and drinks stations, these are readily available too.

Of course, if you’re looking for something palatial, you’re still going to need to go down the heavier, more traditional route, with the timber poles, the heavy canvas walls and guy lines running out to pegs embedded into the ground. But even here, it seems, the musty, dusty old style has long been abandoned for plastic coated fabrics, eyelets and hooks in place of the frayed ropes and even, with some models, telescopic aluminium or steel uprights that ensure the roof is kept solidly over your head for the duration of your event and, because they are padded, to match the surrounding walls, they both protect you and blend in with their surroundings.

And like with any good service supplier, a team of experts come, erect and secure your marquee and, at the end of your special event, disassemble and remove the coverings in a quick and unobtrusive way, leaving you to enjoy that nice bottle of 10 year old Scotch that you hid, from the guests, down the back of the food station…

Although those memories of sleepy summer church fetes or the scenes from 70s TV shows may still be furnishing our thoughts and opinions about what makes a marquee, the truth of the matter is that they are lighter, more portable and more cost effective than may have realised.

Those dirty church fete marquees have come a long way.

Monday, 31 March 2014

Casablanca Hire - The Honourable Artillery Company

Casablanca Hire marquee and event hire is a famous catering equipment hire company in UK, where in we specialize in outdoor events since marquees are always included in our beautiful setup. We are known to transform a simple open field into a very unique, majestic, and splendid place but of course it always depends on the customer’s request and theme.




This time we were hired to setup for a wonderful event that was held at the Honorable Artillery Company on the 6th of March 2014. As expected, we beautifully transformed this place into an elegant, sophisticated, and stylish place with a very friendly and relaxing atmosphere, which made the guests feel very comfortable.

We used white cloths and curtains for decorations to achieve a simple but sophisticated look. We surrounded the marquees with stunning lights and put grass like carpet that was perfect for an evening event. This setup without a doubt was planned very carefully and our staff has absolutely experts! From the marquees up to the smallest details, this setup was truly perfect and totally made the event the best!

Marquees are indeed beautiful and very useful for different kinds of outdoor events. They protect a certain event from any kind of unexpected weather condition. And with the wonderful designs and decorations that we add in a simple Marquee, it can absolutely look exceptional. However, setting up a Marquee is not that easy than it looks like, a person needs to take extra precaution in setting up one to ensure the guest’s safety. Some larger Marquees even require experts to setup correctly.

Here are some tips on how to correctly set up one:

1. Connect the four tubes securely into the four elbows.
2. Attach two steel wires on each corner.
3. Carefully put the top and spread it out.
4. Insert two legs in the elbow first, then put the highest pole inside and top it with a flag.
5. Insert the remaining two legs and put leg pads into the poles.
6. Finally, make sure that all parts are intact and all ropes are securely fixed.

 Those are some very useful tips on how to set up a simple Marquee. However, there are different types we at Casablanca hire marquee and event hire use the best and modern Marquee since it is our specialty.

Friday, 21 March 2014

Casablanca Hire at The Event Production Show #eventprofs



 Casablanca Hire showroom in London NW9 is a great place for you to view their products and speak to one of their friendly team for advice on the best hire options for your planned event. Alternatively you can contact them directly for professional advice on the planning of your event; tailoring the right hire options for particular needs.

Wednesday, 5 March 2014

Managing your event Budget!

If you want to impress your guests and customers and have last minute expenses, the budget for your event can get out of hand quicker than you might have thought. So get the first things done first: If you have done a similar event previously, catch the budget sheet from the last event and start comparing. See where the changes could be made. Mentioned below are six tips that will help you to stay on track and not over spend on your event budget.

a. Learn about your event - 
Is it a huge event or a small event? Your budget will be determined by this, and you will also know what you should do and what you shouldn't. Just for an example, there is no point calling a band of 5 people for a event where only 20 people will be attending. This will make your event go over budget very fast.

b. Learn about your event - 
I know you will think that I am repeating the same point but its for a different reason. The location for the event must be chosen very smartly, and it all depends on the kind of event being held. Research event sites before hand to keep location costs low. Also, consult equipment hire companies before hand to get the best deals as hiring marquees at the last minute can turn out to be expensive.

 c. Every expense must be tracked -
I cannot stress much on how the small things can matter so much and add up to a big budget. Whether you rented a new screen or just ordered pens for the 200 guests, in the end it will all add up in your budget. Prepare an excel spreadsheet and make use of an budgeting tool so that you can have a proper view where each penny is being used. You have miscellaneous expenses too, so don't forget about that, as they will all appear on your final bill out of nowhere. Take for example, taxes, service fees, etc.

d. Your income should be tracked -
Keep track of any income that is coming in. If you are charging any vendors to attend the event, make sure they pay on time and give them a deadline, and make a note of who's paying and who's not. So, when you pay your events bills this will help you a lot. Do not forget to use a budgeting tool for this too.

e. Take charge of everything -
There's an old saying * Too many cooks spoil the broth*. Make sure you are the only one in charge of spending, because if someone else is also making the decisions it can throw the budget off road very easily.

f. Being Flexible.
Although the budget is created by you, and you want to stick to it, being flexible is of utmost importance. If something is important you have to add it to the event, and you cant deny it just because its making the event go beyond the budget. When you create your budget, make sure that you make it flexible enough.