3 Ways Guests Accidentally Steal Your Rented Event Decor

Did you know there are three completely preventable ways that your guests might think it's alright to keep (OK, steal) hired decor from your special event that's not actually theirs to take home, forcing you to lose your hire bond fees?

Whether they're drunk, being naughty or just plain rude, it can cost you money if things go missing that you've hired from event decor rental companies.

Bad and/or ambiguous labelling
Guests tend to assume that certain event decor hire items are guest favours if they have their names on them, or their name tags are at least connected or attached to them in some way.

So if you hire napkin rings, and you have tied name tags to the napkin rings, your guests may think your hired napkin ring is a take-home gift.

You will lose your bond and may pay more as well for the cost of replacement.

Solution: write or attach your guest's name on an item you WANT them to have as a guest favour.

Whether it's their individual name piped in icing on a cookie, their name tied to a single posy vase, personalised calligraphied perspex place card or a hand-written name sticker on a guest favour, this will make it obvious that THIS item is theirs to take home.

Multiples of the item
If you've grouped several of the same products together on the table, such as small lanterns, the sheer quantity can look like a guest favour because it looks like there's enough for your fellow table guests to select one as a take-home gift.

Solution: Make sure any multiple decor items are far less than the number of guests at the table. Don't place 20 hired tealight candle holders on a table of 10 guests, for example, or your guests will think they're decor to be taken home.

End of night clearing-up
Your venue staff can accidentally cause you to lose things by clearing up the wrong items and placing them together.

They may think they're being helpful, for example gathering up all the rented table numbers on the table with the floral centrepieces - but guests often think this is the take-home gift table!

Solution: Brief your venue staff and event team on what can be taken home, what is being rented, and what needs to be taken to the kitchen etc for safe-keeping for the decor hire company. Check that the rented items have a "this is the property of" type stickers underneath.

Enjoyed this? Find out 5 ways to get your bond back on your rented lanterns.