How to encourage hirers to respect your Village Hall – Creating a hirers checklist
05/15/2024
Many village halls hire out their spaces to individuals, groups, or organisations, to bring in extra income. One helpful tip to keep your hall safe and treated with respect, is to put together a checklist. Sometimes it is the little things, like making sure that hirers know how to open and close the hall for their activities, that make all the difference.
For example, while the village hall may be complying with legislation and health & safety requirements, these can be undermined if a hirer does not understand what the halls procedures are. Having a thorough checklist that everyone has access to, you can help make sure that everyone is on the same page and working together for a successful rental experience.
We’ve put together some suggestions for you to consider when creating your own hirer’s checklist:
Information to provide before your Village Halls’ hirers arrive:
The more information you provide hirers upfront, the more you can help them understand what to expect from you and what you expect in return.
- Access: If you do not plan to meet your hirers at the hall on the day they’re using it. You’ll need to provide them with detailed instructions for accessing the village hall, including any key or access code information. Remember, if you’re sharing codes, you should change them after the hire is finished.
- Parking: If there are any local parking restrictions, make sure this is explained to your hirers. You don’t want the local community frustrated if your guests are blocking driveways or access.
- Hall rules: Outline any restrictions or guidelines that must be followed during the rental period, such as noise levels, decorations and cleaning responsibilities.
- Emergency contacts: Include emergency contact information for at least 2 people (who can be available during the hire) in case of any issues or questions.
- Inventory: Create an inventory list of items in the Village Hall that hirers are responsible for and check all items on the lists are present before (and after) each rental to prevent theft or damage.
First aid, safety information and resources
Make sure all hirers know of the First Aid and safety information for your Village Hall. Here are some important steps and resources that should be shared with hirers:
- Safety Information: Make sure safety information is provided in advance of the hire, giving the hirer time to read and digest the information.
- First Aid Kit location: Confirm that your Hall is equipped with the necessary first aid equipment and instruct hirers on its location.
- Emergency contact numbers: In case of any emergencies, include the contact details of the appropriate people, or when the situation requires it, suggest calling the emergency services (999 – in the UK).
- Fire procedures: Location of fire alarms, fire exits, fire extinguishers and fire assembly points.
- Accident reporting: If any accidents or incidents happen during the hire, make sure your hirers report them to you as soon as possible.
Checklist for hirer’s departure:
Provide a checklist of tasks for hirers to follow before leaving your Village Hall, such as cleaning up, taking rubbish out to the bins and returning furniture to its original place. It can be helpful to provide photographs, so your hirers have a clear idea of your expectations.
Essential items for replenishing
While you may not require your hirers to restock items that they’ve used, it’s always helpful for them to let you know when certain items are running low or have run out. Here are some items you might want to make sure they keep an eye on:
- Washing up liquid, sponge and cloth
- Spare bin bags
- Paper towels and toilet paper for the bathrooms
- Any items that have been used from your halls’ First Aid supplies.
Cleaning and Maintenance
- Report breakages: Encourage them to report any breakages to you and make a point of addressing the issue before the next time your Village Hall is used.
- Cleaning task list
- Location of cleaning supplies: Share the location of your cleaning supplies, but also any tips you may have to make life easier. For example, “We suggest you use the power socket by the back door for vacuuming, as it allows you to reach the full hall without unplugging”.
- Return any furniture or equipment to their original places to prevent safety hazards.
- Your expectations: Help them out by letting them know your expectations and why you have them in place. For example: “We kindly ask all hirers to respect the space and leave it as they found it. Your cooperation ensures a pleasant experience for all future users.”
Heating, Lights and Electricals
- Conserve energy: Remind hirers to switch off lights and electrical equipment when they’re not in use.
- Heating system: if you can, it’s worth scheduling your hall’s heating for hires. So that it turns on automatically before the hire and turns itself off. This can reduce the need for people changing your boiler or heating settings.
- If you don’t have the option of scheduling, give detailed instructions on how hirers should heat the hall and what they need to do to turn off the heating when they leave.
- Include safety guidelines for using electrical outlets and equipment to prevent accidents or electrical fires.
- Apply our tips to reduce the energy usage bills for your Village Hall
Security, locks and alarms
- Has everyone left: You don’t want a situation where a hirer locks up the building with one of their guests still inside. Make sure they do a thorough check of all rooms (including bathrooms), to make sure the hall is empty.
- Locking up: Suggest locking the doors starting from the back of the building and working to the entrance. If interior doors need locking, include these on your list. There is also no harm in asking them to double check all doors (even those they don’t think have been used) are securely closed and locked.
- Windows: Remind hirers to close all windows when they leave your premises.
- Valuables: advise hirers not to leave anything valuable on display (during and after their hire) to help prevent theft.
- Intruder alarm: If your hall has an intruder alarm system and you expect your hirer to reset it when they leave, let them know and provide detailed instructions. It’s worth telling them if there is a ‘safe’ zone, where they won’t set off the alarm once it’s set.
- Key safety: Make sure keys are safely deposited in a designated and secure drop-off location (key safe, lockbox etc.) following our Village Hall Key Safe guidance
- Car parks, gardens and outdoor space: if needed, give your hirers instructions on how to close-up your car park or external gates to prevent unauthorised access.
