Dry Hire
Rental of equipment without an operator or crew. The customer supplies their own technicians to operate and return the kit. Most common in AV and live events hire. Contrasts with wet hire, which includes a qualified operator in the rate.
Dry hire refers to the rental of equipment without an operator, technician, or crew. The customer takes the physical kit and provides their own qualified personnel to deliver, set up, operate, and return it. This contrasts with wet hire, where equipment is supplied with a trained operator included in the rate.
Dry hire is most common in the audio-visual, events, and plant hire industries, where customers have their own crew but need additional or specialist equipment to complete a job.
Dry Hire in AV and Live Events
In AV and live events, dry hire typically covers lighting rigs, moving head fixtures, PA systems, LED screens, audio consoles, cameras, and cable looms. A production company might dry hire kit from an AV hire business because their own inventory is fully committed, or because a specific job requires a quantity or specification they do not own. The hire company supplies the physical equipment only - all operation is the hirer's responsibility.
Dry hire pricing reflects the equipment cost alone, with no crew element built in. Rate cards are typically structured as daily, weekly, or multi-week rates, with tiered discounts for longer hire periods. Most AV hire businesses also apply a damage waiver or require a security deposit - damage liability transfers to the hirer once equipment is signed out.
Wet Hire vs. Dry Hire
Wet hire includes a qualified operator with the equipment - standard for specialist kit such as aerial work platforms, broadcast cameras requiring licensed operators, or cranes. Dry hire assumes the hirer has competent operators in place. The distinction matters for insurance, liability, and pricing structure.
Operational Considerations for AV Hire Businesses Running Dry Hire
Equipment condition documentation is the most critical operational step in dry hire. Disputes over damage are common when condition at dispatch was not formally recorded. A detailed delivery note - listing every item, with serial numbers and signed by the collecting party - is the standard instrument for establishing the condition baseline. Without it, a business has no defensible record if equipment returns damaged.
Serial number tracking matters particularly when a hire order covers multiple identical items. Returning 18 out of 20 speaker cabinets without individual identification makes it impossible to match returned units to dispatch records or attribute a damaged unit to a specific hire. Individual serial number records per delivery note solve this.
Inventory availability management for dry hire requires more precision than for sales stock. Equipment signed out for a weekend event is unavailable for a Friday dispatch even if it is physically present in the warehouse on Thursday. Hire businesses need to track committed vs. available kit by date, not just by quantity.
Zigaflow's delivery notes and inventory tools allow AV hire businesses to create itemized dispatch records with serial number tracking, link them to hire jobs, and maintain signed return records - giving a clear paper trail for any damage or loss dispute.
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