The Old Cigar Warehouse requires that any vendor entering our space be approved by our staff. We do this to ensure that you are working with reputable vendors who will not only do a great job for you, but also treat our venue well and follow our policies. Although there are certainly hundreds of event vendors to choose from in the Upstate area, we do highly recommend choosing vendors that are already on our preferred vendors list, since getting new vendors approved does take time and some vendors may be difficult about getting the right documentation turned in. If you do decide to use a different vendor please note:
- We do not require any kickbacks or rebate fees from vendors.
- We do ask that the sign a Vendor Agreement and send us a Certificate of Insurance listing us as an additional insured.
- Client is responsible for securing these documents and getting approval from our staff BEFORE they can sign a contract with them. We are not responsible for lost deposits in the event we are not able to allow a vendor to work in our space.
- We need to approve all vendors before the Client has made any payments in the event we have had a bad experience with the vendor in the past. It's unfortunate that this happens, but we are looking out for the best interests of our clients!
- We do charge a $25 fee to process a new vendor. Unfortunately keeping up with all the paperwork is incredibly time consuming!
- If your vendor is not currently approved by us, you will need to send them a Vendor Agreement to fill out and send in.
- In addition to the Vendor Agreement, we will need a Certificate of Additional Insured (COAI) on file. If the event is far enough in the future that their current policy will have expired, they can submit a copy of their Insurance Certificate as proof of coverage and then get us a COAI 30 days before the event. Click here to see a sample COAI.
- Email both the Vendor Agreement and COAI to vendors@oldcigarwarehouse.com.
Questions about the process? Email vendors@oldcigarwarehouse.com. Want to know if your vendors are already approved? Fill out this short form and we'll email you to let you know the status of each vendor. Remember, there is a $25 fee to use a vendor who isn't on our list:
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do you require Vendor Approval? We have been in the business long enough to have worked with many of the hundreds of vendors in the Upstate. Most of them are great to work with, but unfortunatly there are some bad apples in the bunch that our past clients have had issues with. There are a few vendors we have choosen to blacklist due to excessive problems. We don't want any of our clients or their guests to have a bad experience on their event day. We have choosen a select list of exceptional vendors on our Preferred List that we would encourage you to look at. Trust us when we say your event will go much smoother if you hire off our list!
Why do you require a Certificate of Insurance (COAI)? First of all, let’s talk about what general liability insurance, or “GL” is. GL is a business insurance policy that protects a company’s assets, and pays for medical payments if someone is hurt due to an employee’s negligence. GL also covers the cost of your legal defense and any settlement should you be successfully sued for causing any type of accident. As a venue, we of course have liability insurance that covers us if say, someone slips on a puddle that our staff fails to clean up. However, if the catering staff knocks over a pitcher of water and their staff does nothing to clean it up, then most likely their company along with The Old Cigar Warehouse would be held liable for any medical payments and possible lawsuits. We ask to be named as an additional insured on the vendor’s policy, that way if they cause an accident, their insurance company will automaticaly cover our attorney fees and company assets. We live in a litigious society, and if there is any kind of injury on my property, regardless of who is at fault, our venue is most likely going to get sued along with the vendor at fault. If you have more questions, feel free to read the linked blog article. Click here to see a sample COAI.
Which vendors need insurance? Accidents happen to the best of us, so we do require any vendor (professional or not), who is working in our space to provide us with a COAI. This includes your catarer, photographer, baker, musician, event planner, florist, etc. There are a few exceptions to this:
What if my vendor doesn't have insurance? If your vendor doesn't have insurance, either you or them will need to purchase a one-day policy. Most one-day policies are around $90-$200, depending on the type of vendor and risk. Your vendor might be able to get one through their homeowner's insurance or look at a reputable insurance company like K&K Insurance. Of course if your vendor is running a business, they really should consider a year-round policy. We recommend the local folks at Herlong, Bates & Burnett. It's super easy to get insurance through either one of these companies, and you will have better piece of mind!
What about the DHEC license for a caterer? Because we have a DHEC-licensed kitchen, we do ask that all caterers provide us with a copy of their DHEC license for their commissary kitchen. We have had instances of entire events getting sick from caterered food, so we need to know that everything was handled properly. In the event of mass food poisoning, we need to know who to tell DHEC to call.
What happens if my vendor doesn't submit paperwork or get insurance? Our clients are responsible for making sure that all their vendors are approved and insured. In the event you have a vendor show up who is not approved, there will be a $250 fee taken out of your security deposit for each vendor who is not approved.
Is there a fee to get a vendor approved? Yes, we do charge a $25 per vendor approval, if you pick someone that is not on our list. We end up processing hundreds of vendors per year, so it is a lot of administrative work for us to keep up with!
Why do you require a Certificate of Insurance (COAI)? First of all, let’s talk about what general liability insurance, or “GL” is. GL is a business insurance policy that protects a company’s assets, and pays for medical payments if someone is hurt due to an employee’s negligence. GL also covers the cost of your legal defense and any settlement should you be successfully sued for causing any type of accident. As a venue, we of course have liability insurance that covers us if say, someone slips on a puddle that our staff fails to clean up. However, if the catering staff knocks over a pitcher of water and their staff does nothing to clean it up, then most likely their company along with The Old Cigar Warehouse would be held liable for any medical payments and possible lawsuits. We ask to be named as an additional insured on the vendor’s policy, that way if they cause an accident, their insurance company will automaticaly cover our attorney fees and company assets. We live in a litigious society, and if there is any kind of injury on my property, regardless of who is at fault, our venue is most likely going to get sued along with the vendor at fault. If you have more questions, feel free to read the linked blog article. Click here to see a sample COAI.
Which vendors need insurance? Accidents happen to the best of us, so we do require any vendor (professional or not), who is working in our space to provide us with a COAI. This includes your catarer, photographer, baker, musician, event planner, florist, etc. There are a few exceptions to this:
- Officiants
- Hair/make-up artists
- Solo acoustic musicians (only if you are not using our power sources or plugging anything into our building). We do require insurance from harpists due to the size of the harp.
- Simple DIY centerpieces. This does not include arbors or large props that may fall over.
- Media Photographers on assignment shooting for a magazine/newspaper piece (no lightstands or other equipment)
What if my vendor doesn't have insurance? If your vendor doesn't have insurance, either you or them will need to purchase a one-day policy. Most one-day policies are around $90-$200, depending on the type of vendor and risk. Your vendor might be able to get one through their homeowner's insurance or look at a reputable insurance company like K&K Insurance. Of course if your vendor is running a business, they really should consider a year-round policy. We recommend the local folks at Herlong, Bates & Burnett. It's super easy to get insurance through either one of these companies, and you will have better piece of mind!
What about the DHEC license for a caterer? Because we have a DHEC-licensed kitchen, we do ask that all caterers provide us with a copy of their DHEC license for their commissary kitchen. We have had instances of entire events getting sick from caterered food, so we need to know that everything was handled properly. In the event of mass food poisoning, we need to know who to tell DHEC to call.
What happens if my vendor doesn't submit paperwork or get insurance? Our clients are responsible for making sure that all their vendors are approved and insured. In the event you have a vendor show up who is not approved, there will be a $250 fee taken out of your security deposit for each vendor who is not approved.
Is there a fee to get a vendor approved? Yes, we do charge a $25 per vendor approval, if you pick someone that is not on our list. We end up processing hundreds of vendors per year, so it is a lot of administrative work for us to keep up with!
