Dry hire is one of those venue terms that gets used freely but rarely explained well. Some venues use it to mean space only, no catering. Others use it to mean blank canvas, where even the furniture is not included. And others use it interchangeably with private hire, which means something different again.
This guide explains what dry hire actually means, what it does and does not include, how it compares to wet hire and full-service venues, and how to decide whether it is the right model for your event.
What does dry hire mean?
Dry hire means you are renting the venue space itself, without catering, bar service, or event production bundled in. You source and manage those elements separately, bringing in your own suppliers.
The term comes from the events and production industry, where “dry” refers to the absence of catering or hospitality. The opposite is wet hire, where food and drink are provided by the venue as part of the booking.
In practice, most dry hire venues still provide the basics: the room, furniture, WiFi, and access to shared facilities. What they do not provide is the catering, bar, AV production, decoration, or event staffing beyond a basic site contact. You build the event yourself, using the space as the starting point. For a full breakdown of what tends to be included and what does not, see our guide to what is included in a venue hire.
What does a dry hire venue typically include?
This varies by venue, so always confirm in writing. As a general guide, most dry hire venues include:
- The room or rooms for the agreed hire period, including setup and breakdown time
- Standard furniture: tables, chairs, and a basic configuration
- WiFi
- Toilets, reception access, and shared facilities
- A site contact available during the event
- Basic technical infrastructure in some venues: power points, data points, fixed screens or projectors
Some dry hire venues, particularly those marketed as blank canvas spaces, include very little beyond the walls themselves. No furniture, no technical equipment, sometimes no kitchen access. These venues offer maximum creative freedom but require you to bring in almost everything. They tend to suit high-production events where the aesthetic brief is specific and the production budget is significant.
Most corporate dry hire venues sit in the middle: the shell and the basics are provided, and you bring in catering, AV, and styling on top.
What does dry hire not include?
- Catering: You appoint your own caterer and manage that relationship directly. The venue may have a list of approved caterers, or may operate an open supplier policy. Always check which applies.
- Bar service: Alcoholic and soft drinks are sourced and managed by you or your appointed caterer. Some venues hold a premises licence that covers any caterer you bring in; others require your caterer to hold their own licence.
- AV and technical production: Screens, PA systems, microphones, lighting, and streaming infrastructure are not included. You brief and manage an AV company separately.
- Event staffing: Front-of-house staff, event coordinators, security, and cloakroom attendants are your responsibility to source.
- Decoration and dressing: Flowers, centrepieces, branding, signage, and any aesthetic elements are sourced and installed by you or your suppliers.
Dry hire vs wet hire: which costs more?
The dry hire fee is almost always lower than a comparable wet hire or full-service package. But that does not mean dry hire is cheaper overall. When you add the cost of an external caterer, bar provision, AV company, and any additional staffing, the total can be similar to or higher than a full-service venue.
The value of dry hire is not primarily cost saving. It is flexibility and control. You choose the caterer whose food you know is good. You use the AV company that has worked with your team before. You dress the space to match your brand rather than working around the venue’s existing aesthetic. For events where those things matter, dry hire is often the better choice regardless of relative cost.
For events where simplicity and speed matter more than control, a wet hire or full-service venue removes the need to manage multiple supplier relationships and makes budgeting more straightforward. For context on how different venue models affect overall costs, see our event venue hire cost guide.
When is dry hire the right choice?
Dry hire tends to work well when one or more of the following apply:
- You have specific catering requirements: dietary, cultural, or a preferred supplier relationship you want to use
- Creative control over the event aesthetic matters: branding, styling, or a specific look that the venue’s standard setup does not provide
- You are running a high-production event where a professional AV company is being briefed regardless of the venue
- You want to use suppliers you already know and trust rather than working with a venue’s preferred list
- Your event format is bespoke enough that a packaged offering would require too many adjustments
It is worth being honest about your team’s capacity to manage multiple supplier relationships. A dry hire event requires coordinating the venue, caterer, AV company, and any other suppliers in parallel, briefing them all on the run of show, and managing the logistics on the day. For teams with experience of this, it is a manageable workload. For a team organising a large event for the first time, the overhead is significant.
When might dry hire not be the right fit?
- You need a simple, quick-to-organise event with minimal supplier coordination
- Budget certainty is more important than flexibility: a full-service package makes forecasting easier
- The event is small enough that the effort of managing external suppliers outweighs the benefit
- You need everything managed by a single point of contact on the day
Neither model is inherently better. The right choice depends on the complexity of the event, the priorities of the team organising it, and how much the variables that dry hire puts in your hands actually matter for this particular occasion.
What to check when booking a dry hire venue
Before committing to a dry hire venue, confirm the following:
- Supplier policy: Does the venue have an approved supplier list, or can you bring in any caterer or AV company? Approved lists are common and not a problem, but it is worth knowing upfront.
- Kitchen facilities: What is available for your caterer? A full production kitchen, a prep kitchen, or nothing? This significantly affects what kind of catering is possible.
- Loading and access: When can suppliers arrive to set up? Is there a loading bay? Are there goods lifts if the event space is not on the ground floor? Are out-of-hours access charges applied?
- AV infrastructure: Does the building have fixed screens, data points, or rigging points, or does your AV company need to bring everything from scratch?
- Premises licence: What does the licence cover in terms of alcohol, hours, and noise? This affects what your caterer can serve and when.
- Furniture: Is standard furniture included, or is it hire-in? If the latter, who arranges it and at what cost?
Town Hall Spaces in King’s Cross operates on a dry hire basis. The main hall and breakout spaces include standard furniture, WiFi, basic technical infrastructure, and a site contact throughout your event. Catering, bar service, and AV production are brought in by you, with a flexible supplier policy and full kitchen access for your caterer.
If you are weighing up whether dry hire is the right model for your event, we are happy to talk it through.
