A lockdown holiday in your own garden! The Hartlepool business offering 19ft-wide teepees with a cinema screen

Town entrepreneur Steven Smith has started a new business which supplies 19ft-wide teepees for hire complete with a cinema screen if needed.

Steven normally runs the golf dome at Seaton Carew where facilities include a nine-hole mini golf course, private driving range booths, snack bar and childrens play area.

It is also home to the Body Doctors gym.

Steven also recently added Footpool which is a 14ft long and 8ft wide table which players stand on and kick footballs into a pocket.

But the dome is closed because of the lockdown and Steven has started Smiths Boutique Events which hires out two different teepees for people to choose to have in their garden.

Even though the business only started two weeks ago, Steven is already booked up to the end of March with customers also taking dates in April.

The Covid-safe business brings the teepee to a customer’s home and installs it – and takes it down at the end of the hire – without needing to have contact with anyone during the process.

Steven said: “We come to your back garden, do the full set-up for you and collect it when your hire is up.

“Normally hire is 2 nights at a time. Our teepees are amazing. They will be fully furnished when we hire them out and decorated in lovely decor.

"We also have a cinema teepee and this one comes with couches in too!

“They are perfect for birthdays, anniversaries, Valentine’s Day. With Covid and not being able to celebrate anywhere, we are bringing the party to you.”

Steven has invested in two teepees which are 19ft wide, 19ft long and 7ft high. The cost of hiring them ranges from £150 to £199 for one teepee, to £299 to £379 for the cinema teepee.

Steven has already had interest from Newcastle, Gateshead, Peterlee, Wingate and Wynyard and said: “With the lockdown, I don’t know when the gym can reopen. People are sat at home and this is the best time to do this.”

He admitted that business is already so brisk that he may need to invest in more teepees and take on staff in the future.

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