Did you know that 26% of Americans attend a music festival during the summer months? With so many people gathering at one time for anything from festivals to weddings, event planners need to be prepared. And that includes accounting for the inevitable bathroom needs of attendees.
If you’re planning an event, put a porta potty rental at the top of your to-do list. Read on to learn how many toilets you’ll need at your event!
Consider the Type of Event
Are you hosting a music festival, auction, or walkathon? The type of event will impact the frequency of bathroom usage — and the caliber of what you should offer.
For a casual outdoor festival, basic porta potty units should suffice. You’ll get a vented unit with secure locks, a toilet seat, and some natural light filtration. For multi-day events, talk with the rental company about sanitation services to keep your units clean.
For a more formal event, like an outdoor wedding, you may want to select nicer bathroom accommodations. For instance, you can look into a luxury restroom trailer rental. You’ll offer guests a better bathroom experience that aligns with the quality of the event.
A luxury restroom will include a climate-controlled environment, which provides a break from a hot summer day. You’ll also get classier laminate flooring and better lighting. For guests who want to check their makeup or cool off, the luxury trailer is a better offering at an outdoor event.
Just be aware that luxury rentals take up a bigger footprint. For events that are short on space, you may want to stick with a more modest porta potty option.
Estimate the Number of Attendees
You can use a few general guidelines to determine your event porta potty needs. For nicer outdoor events, like weddings, rent one porta potty per 25 attendees. So, if you have a wedding with 100 people, you should reserve at least 4 porta potties.
For smaller informal events, you may be able to assign one porta potty to 50 guests. If the population skews more heavily toward women, you may want to rent an extra porta potty.
If the event attendance is unknown, it’s better to err on the side of caution and rent based on the projected upper limit for attendance. For example, maybe you’re guessing that up to 200 people may attend your concert in a park. In that scenario, reserve 9 or 10 porta potties just to be safe.
For a bigger event, such as a road race, you’ll need to go even higher with your rental count. Any event where people are engaged in physical activity means they’ll be reaching for water bottles or iced tea more frequently. You’ll want to add an extra porta potty beyond the recommendations.
You should add a dumpster rental to the mix, too. As long as you’re hiring a company to deliver the porta potties to your event, you can get a dumpster delivered at the same time. This ensures that clean-up will be a breeze!
Factor in Food and Beverages
Events with food and beverages will result in higher demand for porta potties. If your event will have food trucks or an open bar, plan on renting more porta potties. And if your event is on a day where beverages provide relief from the heat, you can count on your guests having several drinks.
This is especially true if you’re hosting an event with an open bar. Alcohol causes water loss, which results in more frequent urination. If attendees enjoy a few libations while they’re standing outside, you can trust they’ll be hitting up the porta potties.
For events with a steady stream of food and beverages, you may want to go with one porta potty rental per 25 attendees. That means that for an event with around 100 people, you should be renting at least 4 units. You’ll keep the lines short — and that will keep your guests happy.
Investigate Other Bathroom Availability
In some cases, you may be holding an event at a venue that has some standalone bathrooms. For instance, you may be using a park or fairground with existing facilities. Before reserving porta potties for your event, you’ll want to factor in these options.
Confirm that the toilets will be available, too, so you’re not surprised on the day of the event. The last thing you want is for your guests to encounter locked doors. Make sure that you identify these existing restrooms as usable spaces with signs, too, so your guests aren’t confused.
While you’re at it, estimate the length of the event when you’re determining how many units to rent. If your concert or fair will exceed 4 hours, you may want to opt for an extra porta potty or two. The longer people hang around — and consume food and drinks — the greater the likelihood that they’ll need a restroom.
Finally, consider the location of the porta potty rentals. If possible, try to stagger your porta potties on either end of an event that stretches across a park. Or situate them in a more centralized location with clear signage.
Pursue Porta Potty Rental
Prioritize porta potty rental when you’re reaching out to vendors for your next event. Consider the type of event you’re hosting as well as the number of people expected to attend. And if you’re serving alcohol and food, know that you’ll want to increase your numbers to accommodate more frequent use.
When you’re ready to get porta potties secured for your next event, contact us and we can help!