Startin a bouncy castle hire business need info!

wharty

Hi all i am considering setting up a bouncy castle business soon, but i don't have a clue what size castles i should buy or even if they are as popular as they use to be.
Have any of you had any experience with this type of small business?
Any kind of info would be great thanks.

borders_dude

By the sounds of your vacant post you need to do a shed load of research! You need to invetigate your market, that will determine what sizes of bouncy castle you need to buy.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

you should also factor in, that i should imagine that it would be very quiet during the winter months.

how many other bouncy castle firms are there in your area?

how much would be, and how much maintenance is there?

have they got to be inspected by the local authority before you can hire them out?

do you need a license for your local council?

how much is the insurance? etc

are peolpe hiring htem in the recession?

would you really get a full time wage ( after all expenses) by going into this type of business?

just a few things for you to think about...

Lorian

In winter, in a recession?

Have you looked at the cost of insurance?

Next idea....

wornoutmumoftwo

We had a problem hiring a bouncy castle last summer at the school fete as our council wanted a £10 million insurance level and they only had £5 million.

The charge was £45 for two hours, smallish size.

gingerdad

Insurance, Insurance, Insurance. it is next to impossible for a school pta, or other charity to use a bouncy castle unless you staff it. this makes it expensive and inpractial. one example is our local park wanted to hire a bouncy castle, the company wouldn't or couldn't man it... the insurance quote £140.00, you add the hire charge, it just doesn't pay.

not sure what the issues are at home or birthday parties though

Torby

Insurance is going to be one of your biggest problems, nearly all council owned properties now look for £10 million cover, as another poster said , it used to be £5 million....quite a few people have been caught out...the councils didn't make this public...

jess_the_cat

do not worry to much about insurance i was paying less than £100 for 2m public liability. I would be looking at real problems like were to keep the units and help.

wharty

Hi guys and girls thanks for the replys so far. I don't plan at the moment to go to fetes and schools for the moment as i plan to only do this as a bit of extra income so only want to do house parties for Tots and up to 12 years old.
I don't even mind if i don't get a great deal of business at the start as me and my wife both work full time and can easily live of what we earn at the moment.
From what i have seen 1m public insurance is enough for homes and such as long as you get the party organisers to sign a disclaimer against any slips, trips or falls whilst they are supervising the children. My only real concern is if people still like bouncy castles. I do plan on having lots of different inflatables like slides, football pitches, and gladiator puigal sticks which i think would be a lot cooler for the older kids who think they are to cool for the typical castle.
Any more info would be grately appreciated. Thanks.

Ex_Gas_Guzzler

Ran a bouncy castle business for a few years.

Stick to childrens only up to age 12-13 max, and no matter how tempted you may get when you get calls asking if you do adult castles SAY NO! Booze, cigs, high heel shoes and Inflatables don't mix (You get the idea)!

Hirers need to agree to supervise at all times, and to sign agreement to that effect, the company you buy your castles from will supply these. You must not let anyone else set up the castles other than yourself to be sure it is safe. We also had signs by the side of the casltles to remind users and parents/carers.

Kids parties are the best market, indoor venues (like scout huts/ village halls) mean you can hire out in the winter ad most don't charge much to the hirer.
You can add on helium balloons and goody bags for extra revenue.
A lot of the fetes ask for special prices or free hire. You can very very occassionaly get some bookings from it though but not many. I would say charge everyone same price, you need to cover all your costs.

Our castles were 12x12, 15x16, 15x12 with a slide on the side, all these fit into most gardens and they don't break your back getting them in and out of the car/van, although they are still heavy. Before you buy make sure you can lift the castle, bear in mind they sometimes get wet, and you have to get on your hands and knees to get the air out when rolling it up.

Insurance isn't a problem a few companies do it, see if you can get hold of Inflatable News Magazine, get it through the post, insurers and castle manufaturers advertise in there and its a good read.

There may be competition around but with a good reputation you can do well, and repeat business is quite high.

Good luck hope it was some help to you.:beer:

Valli

well if it were me I'd ring round locally and see what they charge and what the availability is...