HomeRatesPromisesWork with usNewcastle and the North EastLondonManchester and the North WestChristmas party staff 2026Halloween event staffGet a quote
Salt Social People/Conference staff hire
Registration hosts · catering service · cloakroom · room crew

Conference staff hire,from registration to the last session.

Registration hosts, catering service staff, cloakroom and room crew for conferences, exhibitions and seminars. Hand-picked, briefed on your programme and your venue, and paid properly, on a published hourly rate with a four-hour minimum.

Registration and event hosts, Skilled, ex VAT£28.00/hr
Catering, cloakroom and room crew, Core£25.00/hr
Event manager, Lead£34.00/hr
Minimum booking4 hours
What the role covers

What our conference teams do across the day.

The first ten minutes decide how delegates feel about the whole day. Our registration hosts check delegates in on your list or your registration system, hand out badges and lanyards you provide, answer questions and direct people to the right room. Cloakroom staff take coats and bags at the busy arrival and hand them back at the end. Through the day hosts staff the information point, manage room doors and microphones for questions, and keep sessions starting on time.

Catering service staff serve arrival coffee, the breaks and lunch, clear quickly so the next session is not delayed, and run the drinks reception or dinner at the end of the day. Room crew turn rooms round between sessions, from theatre to cabaret or classroom to dinner, following your floor plans. We supply the people. The venue, catering, audio visual, badges and registration technology come from you, your venue or your event agency.

Which tiers you need

Registration and event hosts, baristas and team leaders are Skilled tier at £28.00 an hour ex VAT. Catering service staff, runners, cloakroom, admissions and room crew are Core tier at £25.00. An event manager or supervisor is Lead tier at £34.00: they run our team across the day, work with your organiser and the venue, and are your single point of contact.

What good looks like

What makes a good conference team.

How we vet and brief

Picked one at a time, briefed twice.

Every person on our books has been interviewed by us, has had two references checked, has passed a right-to-work check before their first shift and has worked a paid trial shift alongside a senior member of our team. Anyone handling food or drink holds Level 2 food safety and allergen awareness, paid for by us. Supervisors hold Level 3.

For conference work we choose people who are organised, confident with the public and comfortable with a tablet or laptop. The written brief includes the programme, the floor plan, the registration process and any system log-ins you provide, the dress code and the names of your organiser and venue contact. If you need a confidentiality agreement signed, tell us at booking and we arrange it before the event.

They are our people, engaged on PAYE zero-hours terms, and they choose which shifts to accept. So the person who turns up wanted the shift. They are paid every Friday, from £14.00 an hour plus holiday, and they are paid for the hours booked even if you send them home early.

How we brief

Every person is briefed twice before your event: once in writing 48 hours out, with the venue, door, transport, uniform, service style, allergens and your on-site contact, and once by phone three hours before start. They photo check-in on arrival. If anyone is not right, tell us in the first hour and there is no charge for them.

If you want to work these shifts yourself, see how we take people on.

Team sizes, as guidance

How many conference staff you need, as guidance.

These are the starting points we use when we build a quote. They are general guidance, not a rule. How delegates arrive, whether badges are printed on the day, the number of breakout rooms and the catering style all change the number. Tell us the programme and we will tell you honestly how few people the job needs.

ServiceGuidance only
Registration deskPre-printed badges, peak arrival1 per 75 to 100 delegates
CloakroomCoats and bags at arrival1 per 100 to 150 delegates
Breaks and lunchBuffet or served refreshments1 per 30 to 50 delegates
Room crewTurnarounds between sessionsAgreed from the floor plan
Breakout room hostsDoors, microphones and timing1 per room in use
Event managerRunning our team1 per event, plus team leaders over 20 staff
Guidance, not a rule. Every event is different. We would rather send three well-briefed people than six who have never seen the venue, and we will tell you if we think you are over or under staffed.
Rates, published

The rate card for this booking.

Conference hosts, catering staff and room crew are charged at the national rate everywhere outside the M25. The only uplifts we apply are for London, the festive period, bank holidays and New Year's Eve, and they are printed below.

TierWe pay themYou pay us
CoreBar staff, waiting, runners, kitchen porters, event crew, stewards, cloakroom, admissions£14.00 + 12.07% holiday£25.00
SkilledCocktail bartenders, baristas, fine-dining and box waiters, hosts, brand ambassadors, team leaders£16.50 + holiday£28.00
LeadSupervisors, event managers, chefs de partie£20.00 + holiday£34.00
Senior chefSous chefs, head chefs£24.00 + holiday£40.00
Uplifts, also published. Inside the M25: +£3/hr (we pay +£2). 1 December to 2 January and bank holidays: +£3/hr (we pay +£2). New Year's Eve: +£6/hr (we pay +£4), which replaces the festive uplift rather than stacking on it.
Not on the invoice. No last-minute premium. No surge pricing. No travel charge within 15 miles of the worker's base. No booking fee. Minimum booking 4 hours per person.
The contingency and the rebate. Every quote carries a 20% contingency line so a late finish never becomes an argument. Unused, it is never charged. If the job comes in under the quote, we refund 5% of the final invoice.
Cancellation, published. Free more than 48 hours before start. 50% between 24 and 48 hours. 100% inside 24 hours. Whatever you pay goes to the person who cleared their diary.
The whole rate card and the instant estimate
In the contract, not just on this page

Five promises with money behind them.

Every client booking carries the same five guarantees, written into our terms of business.

Quote in 60 minutes

Written, itemised, ex VAT, 8am to 8pm every day. Three hours outside that.

A named human, 7am to 2am

Your account manager's mobile is on the booking confirmation, answered on any day we have people working.

First-hour swap

Anyone not right? Tell us in the first hour. No charge for them and a replacement on the way.

First shift on us

New clients get one person for one four-hour shift free on their first booking. See what you are buying.

Fill honesty

Names confirmed within two hours of booking. If we cannot fill a position we say so at booking, never on the day.

Questions

Straight answers.

Can your hosts use our registration system?

Yes. Tell us which system you use and send log-ins or a guide before the event. We brief it in writing and our hosts arrive early to check the devices with your team.

Do you supply badges, lanyards or registration technology?

No. We supply the people. Badges, lanyards, devices and the registration system come from you, your venue or your event agency.

Can you staff a multi-day conference or exhibition?

Yes. We can send the same team every day so they learn the venue once. Where they are working away from home, accommodation, travel and a £20 per person per day meal allowance are shown in the quote at cost.

Can you staff exhibition stands?

Yes. Hosts and brand ambassadors for stands are Skilled tier at £28.00 an hour ex VAT. We brief your product and key messages before the event.

Do you supply security?

No. Door supervision and security need an SIA licence and we refer that to a licensed partner. We do supply hosts, admissions and cloakroom.

What if someone is not right on the day?

Tell us in the first hour. There is no charge for them and a replacement is on the way. That is written into our terms.

What is the minimum booking?

Four hours per person per shift. There is no minimum number of people, so two registration hosts for a morning seminar is a normal booking.

Related roles

Build the rest of the team.

See the whole rate card and the instant estimate, or start a full quote. Looking for shifts yourself? Work with us.

Get a quote

Tell us the brief. We reply within 60 minutes.

Staff enquiry

Build the team you need, role by role. The more you tell us, the more accurate the quote. Nothing here commits you to anything. Hosts sit under Skilled, catering staff, cloakroom and room crew are in the Core column, and an event manager sits under Lead.
1About you
2The event
3Dates and times
4Your team
Core£25/hr
Bar staff
Waiting staff
Runners
Kitchen porters
Event crew / stewards
Cloakroom / admissions
Skilled£28/hr
Cocktail bartenders
Baristas
Fine-dining waiters
Hosts
Brand ambassadors
Team leaders
Lead£34/hr
Supervisors / event managers
Chefs de partie
Senior chef£40/hr
Sous chefs
Head chefs
Priced on requestquoted
Drivers
Anything elsequoted
Team: 0 people
5Requirements
6Budget and paperwork
7Anything else
Or email hello@salt-social.co.uk

What happens next

Your brief lands with Tasmyn or Liam, not a queue. A written quote within 60 minutes (8am to 8pm) and a call if anything needs clarifying. A named mobile is given to every client at booking.

Compliance in one place

Every person paid through our PAYE payroll, so you carry no status risk. Right-to-work checks before day one. Employers' Liability £10m, Public Liability £10m. Certificates with your first confirmation.

Already have an agency?

Keep them. Use us for the shifts they cannot fill, or the ones that matter most. Overflow is where most first clients start.

Other agencies

Short on people for a big weekend? We supply overflow to other agencies on the same published terms.