Event Hire FAQs
— Nairobi
Absolute transparency. Everything you need to know about our operations, policies, and how we guarantee flawless event execution.
Booking & Quotes
13 Questions
For peak seasons (August and December), we require bookings at least 4-6 weeks in advance due to high demand. For standard weekends, 1-2 weeks is usually sufficient. Note that we do not "hold" inventory without a 50% deposit.
Yes, subject to inventory availability and crew capacity. Last-minute bookings (within 48 hours of the event) attract a 15% expedited logistics surcharge and require 100% upfront payment via MPESA.
Site visits within Nairobi are free for events quoted above KSh 50,000. For smaller events or events outside Nairobi (e.g., Naivasha, Machakos), a site visit fee applies, which is later deducted from your final invoice if you proceed with the booking.
Absolutely. We encourage clients to visit our Waiyaki Way, Uthiru warehouse by appointment (Monday – Friday). You can view the quality of our tents, test the chairs, and see the decor setups in person.
Every quotation carries its own expiry date printed on it, normally 7 days from issue, and we hold the price until then. After that we may need to reconfirm availability and pricing. Remember that a quotation does not reserve stock or hold your date - only the deposit does.
Yes, and the earlier the better - please give us at least 48 hours where you can. Additions depend on what is in stock and are invoiced separately. Reductions are trickier: once we have committed stock, crew and transport to your date, cutting more than 10% of the value may not reduce the price proportionally, and customised items already made cannot normally be cancelled.
Yes, our pre-built packages (found on the Packages page) are already discounted by 10-15% compared to hiring the items individually. We also offer corporate discounts for recurring monthly events.
Tell us as soon as you know, ideally at least 48 hours out. If the count goes up we adjust the inventory subject to availability and invoice the difference. If it goes down, a reduction of more than 10% may not reduce the price proportionally once stock, crew and transport are already committed to your event.
For kids parties, we are the planner — theme, decor, entertainment, equipment, setup and crew are all ours, end to end. For weddings, ruracios and corporate events, we design and deliver the full physical setup — tents, seating, styling, decor, lighting and sound — with our own inventory and crew. If you are working with a wedding planner we integrate with them; if you are not, we can still handle everything on the ground. We do not manage guest lists or run-of-show timing.
Yes, all our items (chairs, tables, decor) are available for individual hire with no minimum order. Simply add items to your Event List and request a quote.
No. There is no minimum order value. Whether you need one chair or a full setup, we can accommodate your request. Contact our team on WhatsApp to arrange pickup or delivery.
A booking is confirmed, and inventory locked out for your date, once we receive and verify a 50% deposit. Until then a quotation, a WhatsApp conversation or a provisional date holds nothing - items stay available to other customers. Once stock and crew are committed to you the deposit is not redeemable for cash, but more than 7 days out we will move it once to a new date.
For complex, high-value corporate events and large weddings, we provide basic 3D floor plan renders to ensure the layout fits the venue perfectly. This is included for orders over KSh 250,000.
Payments & Legal
13 Questions
A 50% deposit confirms your booking and reserves the date, the equipment and the crew. The remaining 50% is cleared before delivery, unloading or setup begins, unless your quotation says otherwise in writing. We do not work on post-event credit terms.
We accept MPESA (Till Number), RTGS/EFT Bank Transfers, and Corporate Cheques (must clear 3 days before the event). We do not accept cash payments at the venue.
On some items, yes - high-value, delicate or specialist equipment such as Dior chairs, PA systems and premium linens. It typically runs from KSh 10,000 to KSh 50,000 depending on scale and fragility, and the exact figure is always shown on your quotation rather than sprung on you later. We hold it briefly while the equipment is inspected after collection, then return the refundable portion once inspection is complete, normally within a few working days.
More than 7 days before your event, we move your deposit once to a new date within 60 days, subject to availability - we would rather keep your business than keep your money. Within 7 days the deposit is normally non-refundable and non-transferable, because equipment, decor, staff and transport have already been committed to your date. Any statutory cancellation or refund rights you have under Kenyan law are unaffected.
No. Transport is explicitly calculated and shown as a line item on your quotation based on the mileage from our warehouse to your venue, and the size of the truck required.
All our listed prices and quotations are VAT-inclusive. Sherehe Events is not VAT-registered, so no VAT is separately charged or added to your invoice.
No. The balance is cleared before delivery, unloading or setup begins - that is what lets the crew load and dispatch on schedule. We do not operate on post-event credit terms.
Any overpayments are immediately reconciled by our finance team and refunded to the originating MPESA number within 24 working hours.
Yes, we accept international wire transfers via Swift, as well as payments via Sendwave/WorldRemit directly to our corporate MPESA Till. Bank transfers must clear before dispatch.
Site visit fees for out-of-town locations are credited back to your account and deducted from your final invoice if you proceed to book with us. If you do not book, the fee is retained to cover our logistical costs.
No, we do not offer installment plans beyond the standard 50% deposit and 50% final balance structure.
Bounced cheques immediately halt the dispatch of inventory. A penalty fee of KSh 5,000 applies, and the total invoice must then be cleared via RTGS or MPESA before operations resume.
Yes. Every payment is fully receipted. Sherehe Events is not VAT-registered, so receipts reflect the total paid without a separate VAT line.
Logistics & Setup
14 Questions
We offer full-service delivery, assembly layout, and collection across Nairobi, Kiambu, and surrounding metropolitan areas. Our active serving areas include: Karen, Muthaiga, Lavington, Runda, Kilimani, Kileleshwa, Gigiri, Pangani, Roysambu, Utawala, Imara Daima, Kasarani, Donholm, Nyayo Estate, Ruaka, Syokimau, Thindigua, South B, South C, Clay City, Mwiki, Njiru, Ruai, Kitisuru, Parklands/Highridge, Mountain View, Karura, Thika, Kiambu Town, Limuru, Ruiru, Kikuyu, Karuri, Ndenderu, and Juja. We also handle out-of-county deliveries (e.g. Naivasha, Nakuru, Machakos, Nanyuki) for larger setups, subject to logistics fees.
Yes. We frequently service events in Naivasha, Nakuru, Machakos, and Nanyuki. Out-of-county logistics attract overnight crew stipends and higher mileage fees.
A simple picnic setup takes 1 hour. A standard 100-seater tent takes 2-3 hours. A massive A-Frame structure with flooring and draping requires 1 to 2 full days of setup prior to the event.
You must declare this during booking. Venues requiring manual lifting over 30 meters from the truck, or involving stairs without freight elevators, incur a mandatory porterage surcharge to hire extra labor.
Our heavy-duty canvas tents are 100% waterproof. However, if severe flooding or gale-force winds occur, the crew supervisor has the authority to halt setup for safety reasons.
Yes. Providing a floor plan to our logistics manager ensures the crew arranges all furniture exactly to your specifications before leaving the site.
For standard 1-day events, we collect the equipment immediately after the event ends, or early the following morning. Night collections past 10 PM attract a late-night logistics fee.
Yes, for large setups, we prefer to deliver and setup the day before. There is no extra hire charge for early setup days, provided it aligns with our dispatch schedule.
Our logistics team uses advanced routing to avoid traffic. If a delay occurs due to extreme circumstances, you will be notified immediately via our Emergency Operations line with a revised ETA.
Yes, the client is responsible for ensuring there is adequate and legal parking for 3 to 10-ton lorries near the setup site. Any parking fees or city council fines incurred due to lack of parking will be billed to the client.
Yes. Since we cannot peg into concrete, we use heavy concrete or water weights to secure the tent. Please specify the surface type during booking so we load the correct weights.
The client or their planner is responsible for securing venue permissions, gate passes, and paying venue fees. Our team will provide the truck registration numbers required for gate entry.
If access is denied due to lack of clearance by the client, the waiting time is billed at KSh 3,000 per hour. If delivery fails completely, the client remains liable for the full invoice.
Typically, the crew leaves after setup and returns for teardown. For complex events (e.g., involving generators or active lighting management), standby technicians can be hired for a daily rate.
Inventory & Care
13 Questions
No, standard laundry is included in the hire fee. However, linens returned with permanent stains (candle wax, deep wine stains, burns) will be billed at full replacement cost.
The client assumes total responsibility for the inventory from the moment of delivery until collection. Any missing chairs, glasses, or decor items will be charged directly to the client.
Yes, our entire catalogue is available a la carte with no minimum order value. For smaller orders, contact our team on WhatsApp to arrange pickup or delivery depending on your location.
This is our strict guarantee. All Sherehe Events tents are pressure-washed at the warehouse prior to dispatch. We do not deliver stained, moldy, or damaged canopies.
Do not attempt to fix it or hide it. Report it to the operations team immediately. The replacement cost will be deducted from your damage deposit.
No. The use of staples, nails, superglue, or permanent tape on our tents and chairs is strictly prohibited. If you need to hang decor, please consult our team for safe, non-damaging solutions like zip ties.
Yes, our modern PA systems feature Bluetooth connectivity, USB ports, and standard aux inputs for easy connection to laptops and phones.
Generators are delivered with a full tank of fuel, which typically lasts 6-8 hours depending on the load. If your event runs longer, you must purchase additional fuel.
Absolutely not. For safety and structural integrity, once our crew has erected and secured a tent, it cannot be moved by anyone other than Sherehe Events staff.
If linens get wet (e.g., from rain or spills), they must not be bundled tightly in plastic bags for days, as they will grow mold. Moldy linens are considered completely destroyed and will be billed at replacement cost.
Our Chiavari and Dior chairs come with standard white or black cushions included in the price. Specialty colored cushions are available at an extra cost.
Yes, all catering equipment undergoes a strict commercial dishwashing and sterilization process before being shrink-wrapped for delivery.
Yes, for small orders (dry hire) picked up by the client, you are responsible for returning the items to the warehouse on the agreed date. Late returns attract a daily penalty fee equal to 50% of the hire rate.
Booking Policy
18 Questions
You are, from the moment it is delivered or handed over until we collect it — including anything taken or damaged by guests. The equipment stays our property throughout. Please take reasonable care of it, and do not sell, sub-hire, lend, move to another venue, alter, paint, cut, staple, nail or permanently tape anything without our written approval.
Everything that would surprise a driver with a loaded lorry. Tell us in advance about stairs, lifts, narrow access, long carrying distances, restricted parking, security procedures, loading restrictions, difficult terrain, muddy or unstable ground, limited setup hours and any venue-specific rules. We need hard-standing access for a 3–10 ton lorry to within about 30 metres of the setup point; where that is not possible a porterage charge from KSh 5,000 per hour applies for the extra manual labour. The setup area should be cleared and safe at the agreed time — waiting beyond 60 minutes is charged from KSh 3,000 per hour. None of this is designed to catch you out; it is all avoidable with one message before the day.
You do, unless your quotation says otherwise. That covers venue permission, estate access, parking approval, county or event permits, noise permission, power supply, generator requirements, water supply and security arrangements. Do check that the venue actually permits the tents, décor, entertainment or equipment you have ordered — it is worth a phone call, and we have seen bookings fall over on estate rules nobody checked. Any charges the venue, estate, parking facility or authority imposes directly are yours unless we included them in the quote. We will give you truck registration numbers for gate entry.
Our canvas is heavy-duty and waterproof, and an ordinary Nairobi downpour is not a problem. What we will not pretend is that a tent is a guarantee against flooding, severe wind, storms or genuinely hazardous conditions. Where conditions become unsafe we may delay installation, change how we install, recommend an alternative location, suspend use of equipment or remove it. Safety decisions take priority over aesthetics and over the planned layout — that is not us being difficult, it is the one call we will always make the same way. Where weather prevents performance we work through the options with you first: delayed performance, alternative setup, substitution or rescheduling.
No — and this is the rule that causes real injuries when it is ignored. Once our crew has rigged and secured a tent, nobody may remove, loosen, reposition or interfere with the ropes, weights, anchors, poles or structural components. If something needs to change, call us and we will send someone. Before we install, please tell us about any underground electrical cables, water pipes, drainage, irrigation, gas lines or septic systems, because we anchor into the ground. Open flames, charcoal jikos, BBQ grills, unapproved heaters, fireworks and hot cooking equipment must not be placed against or inside a tent without our prior approval. We will stop installation, change a setup or dismantle equipment where continuing would create a serious safety risk.
Children must have appropriate adult supervision at all times — this is the one rule we will not flex on, and parents, guardians and organisers remain responsible for it throughout the event. Beyond that: follow the manufacturer’s age, capacity and safety instructions; keep food, drinks, sharp objects and shoes off the equipment where prohibited; do not move equipment after it has been installed; do not overcrowd it; keep older and younger children separated where you can, because collisions between different sizes cause most of the injuries we see; and adults should not use children’s equipment unless it is specifically rated for adult use.
Children’s equipment hires on the same 24-hour basis as the rest of our inventory, so it does not have to disappear at a fixed hour. What we strongly recommend is that active play happens in daylight — ideally between 10:00am and 6:00pm — for safety, visibility, supervision and security. That recommendation does not change your agreed delivery or collection time. Where a Sherehe crew member supervises an attended session, such as a clown, mascot or face painter, that session is scheduled to finish by 6:00pm because someone from our team is on site throughout it. We may ask that play stops where lighting, weather, supervision or site conditions make it unsafe.
Tell us straight away — do not try to fix it or set it aside quietly, because that usually makes it worse. Ordinary wear and tear is expected and is never charged. Beyond that, you are responsible for loss or damage while items are in your care: broken chairs, tables or glassware, damaged décor, burns, torn fabric, permanent staining, lost cushions, missing tent components, and damage caused by guests or by moving things without permission. Where something is repairable we charge the reasonable repair cost; where it is lost or beyond economical repair, the reasonable replacement cost. We can provide photographic or inventory evidence where it is needed.
No. Stack it and leave it — ordinary cleaning and standard laundry are included. What is charged separately is excessive or permanent soiling: wax, paint, glue, permanent marker, chewing gum, burns, oil, heavy food staining, bodily fluids, mud beyond normal outdoor use, or permanent fabric stains. One practical request: if linens get wet, please do not bundle them tightly into plastic bags, because they grow mould within a day or two and mouldy linen counts as destroyed. Please do not try to clean specialist fabrics or décor with chemicals without asking us first.
We aim to supply exactly what you booked. Where something becomes unexpectedly unavailable — damage, a safety concern, a supplier failure — we will offer an equivalent or higher-standard substitute wherever we can. If the substitute would materially change how your setup looks, functions or is valued, we come to you before we swap it, not after.
Ask us in advance and we will do what we can — but please do ask, because the equipment is very often already booked for someone else’s event the next day. Extended hire may attract additional daily rental, transport, labour, overnight and staffing or security costs. Keeping equipment past the agreed period without approval attracts additional charges. At collection time, the equipment needs to be safe, complete and accessible to our crew.
Very closely, but we would rather be honest about the small print of physical materials. Fresh flowers are natural products and vary slightly in colour, size and shape between batches. Balloon shades vary a little between manufacturers and production runs. And colours on a phone or laptop screen are never a perfect match for the same colour in daylight — that one catches people out more than anything else. Custom designs also need a degree of creative interpretation. Where a particular flower, colour or décor item becomes unavailable we will propose an equivalent, and anything materially different we discuss with you first. For custom boards, signs and printing, please check the proof carefully — once you have approved it, an error in the approved information may cost extra to reproduce.
Not automatically, no. A package is priced as a whole — the bundle already sits below the sum of its parts, which is where the 10–15% saving comes from. So removing one item does not subtract that item’s standalone hire rate from the total. We will always tell you what a change does to the figure before you commit to it.
Whatever your quotation or written event plan says — and we put it in writing precisely so there is no argument later. Services outside that scope are not automatically included just because we are coordinating the event. We are responsible for third-party vendors only where sourcing, contracting or managing them is expressly in the agreed scope. In return we need approvals, guest information, venue decisions and theme choices from you within reasonable deadlines, because most planning delays start there.
We will always try to resolve it with you first. But where our staff face violence, threats, harassment, unsafe conditions, serious intoxication-related risk, unlawful activity or interference that prevents them working safely, we may suspend work or withdraw them from the venue. Our crew are people, and they go home to their families after your event.
Not without asking you. We do take operational photographs of installations, equipment and setup conditions — for inventory records, quality control, damage documentation and proof of setup. That is a working record, not a marketing library. Photographs, videos or identifiable client or guest information are not used for unrelated marketing merely because a booking was made, and where consent is required for promotional use — identifiable event photographs, testimonials, direct marketing — we ask for it properly first. This matters most at children’s parties, and we treat it that way.
Call us during the event, not after it. Almost everything that goes wrong at an event is fixable on the day if we know about it within the hour, and unfixable by the following week. If you do need to raise something afterwards, please do it as soon as you reasonably can and include the booking name, event date, a description of the issue and photographs where relevant. We review complaints in good faith and look for a reasonable resolution. None of this removes any statutory rights you have.
No. Nothing in this policy limits any consumer right that cannot legally be excluded under Kenyan law. Where anything here appears to conflict with that, the law wins.