Ways to Incorporate Porta Potties to your Event.
Portable restrooms are a great addition to an event, especially when the venue may not have enough or any restrooms to accommodate the needs of your attendees. Here’s what you should keep in mind when incorporating portable restrooms into your event.
How to calculate the number of portable toilets you need
You want to make sure you have the right amount of porta potties for your event, but not so many that some would just end up being untouched. Fortunately, many rental sites and portable restroom manufacturers have calculators and consulting services online to help you plan for what you’ll need. Generally, these calculators take a look at how many attendants will be there, if alcohol will be served, the type of attendants, and how long the event is. Make sure when you use these calculators and consulting services that you already have a good grasp of these details beforehand and are upfront about your event so they can better accommodate your needs and prepare for circumstances you might have been unaware of. A good consultant will most likely have those details and the following factors already kept in mind.
Types of Portable Restrooms and Factors to Consider
There are various types of portable restrooms on the market, ideal for different needs, cultures, and circumstances. For example, portable restrooms with flushing options, different sizes, handrails and flat floors for accessibility and maneuverability, squatting or sit-down toilets for comfort or sanitary needs, and more.
Accessibility and Maneuverability
Portable restrooms that are extra-large and labeled disability accessible typically have wide spaces with little to no obstruction, flat floors, and handrails installed. This is ideal for attendees with wheelchairs, need assistance maneuvering, and for families with small children and strollers.
Collapsible, Fold able, or Stack-able
Typical portable restrooms are solid structures wide and tall enough to fit the average sized adult person. Nowadays, collapsible and stack-able portable restrooms, like from Tblustar or P-Pod, exist to make transportation and storage easier for consumers. If transportation and storage is a concern for you, consider these kinds of portable restrooms for your event. Some porta potties that allow easy assembly and disassembly allow further customization when it comes to placement and adding additional parts.
Sanitary Needs and Cultural Customs
Western toilets are typically made to sit down on. But if you are concerned about the amount of contact in your portable restrooms, especially for female attendees, squatting or hovering toilets is an option worth considering. Keep in mind though that this could be off putting for attendees not used to squat toilets and would just prefer sit-down toilets with more sanitation and servicing.
Luxury and Comfort
Even the nicest, cleanest, and widest polyethylene or polyurethane portable restrooms could be seen as undesirable by certain attendees because of how they perceive porta potties. If you want to provide your attendees with more high end portable restrooms and are willing to pay the additional cost, consider luxury portable restrooms like NuConcepts “VIP” (Very Impressive Toilets) portable restrooms or restroom trailers like Satellite Suites.
Abandoning the infamous bright color plastic look and feel, luxury portable restrooms use
different materials to craft the exterior and interior with a modern look. These types of restrooms can make attendees feel more comfortable and safer, which could add to the success of your event or the impression you’re trying to make on your attendees.
Type of Event and Activities
Depending on what type of event it is, you might want to consider different styles or adding additional parts. If there’s camping or swimming involved, consider a changing room or portable shower unit. If it is a night event, make sure your portable restroom has lights. For fancier events, like weddings or conferences, a restroom trailer might be ideal.
Location
Consider the location of your portable restroom. This can play a role in how big of a portable restroom you end up renting or buying, how you decorate it, it’s accessibility, and its impression it has on your event. Generally, you wouldn’t want your porta potty somewhere where it’s in the middle of where there’s socializing or dining, but you also don’t want it to be so far that commuting to it or finding it is an inconvenience. You should be careful about the surrounding area so that it’s both accessible and not inconvenient, like not situated too far or requiring a rough path to take, or could block anything important from where it’s located or if it develops a line (which it’s likelihood can also be reduced by getting the right amount of porta potties that are placed in the right areas).
Convenience
With those different aspects explained, it is important to narrow down what is the ideal option for you. How much space do you have to place your portable restroom? Who is in attendance? While all the explained types of toilets have their conveniences, it is important to establish what is convenient for you. For some, it could be smaller portable restrooms that fit into smaller spaces. For others, it’s collapsible ones that are easy to transport. Trailer or luxury restrooms may seem like the most convenient for all scenarios, but you might not have the space for it or need something more accessible from the ground and maneuverable.
Additional Parts
Whether you are renting or purchasing, additional parts are usually available from the rental company or manufacturer for you to rent or buy.
- Shower units
- Changing rooms
- Urinals
- Hand washing stations
- Storage shelves or hooks
- Mirrors
- Lights
- Dispensers (for toilet paper, paper towels, hand soap, and hand sanitizer)
- Deodorants, cleaning supplies, and other fragrance and sanitary products
- Vacuum trucks or tanks
- Trailers or wheels, lifts, and straps
- Freestanding stations, like freestanding wash basins, showers, or urinals if you want to have washbasins outside or have a private space you can make as an outdoor restroom.
Customization
If you want to make an impression on your attendants with your event, consider further customization to put your name out there or really make the whole event seem cohesive and thoughtfully planned, down to the porta potties
Colors
Consider the color of your porta potty to better suit your event and the attendees, like following a color scheme, standing out against its surroundings or blending in, or different colors to differentiate between specialized toilets (like family and accessible portable restrooms or male restrooms with extra urinals). Choosing the right color could further enhance the impression your attendees have on your event by invoking certain emotions and thoughts.
Graphics
Some nicer portable restrooms, like the E-Top portable restroom, allow further customization by adhering graphics on its exterior surface. This is ideal if you have a graphic you would like to showcase, like a company graphic or advertisement.
Decals and Signs
When printing or molding is not an option for your porta potty, consider renting or buying decals, stickers, or signs. Some of the more common decor are ones signifying what the portable unit is used for, like specialized restrooms, showers or changing rooms, additional services, or general rules on its usage or for the event.
Other Decorations
Don’t be afraid to decorate your portable restroom beyond what’s offered to you via the rental company or the manufacturer. For instance, for events like outdoor weddings, you can dress up the exterior, so it feels more aligned with the theme of your event. If a more luxurious portable restroom isn’t an option for you, you can still make it a comfortable and welcoming experience by making the outside and inside more inviting, from as simple as adding flowers inside to dressing up the surrounding area as a private restroom area with freestanding stations, a tarp or canopy, and elegant seating.
Servicing
Portable restrooms are a great option to help your attendees feel taken care of, but could deliver the wrong impression or create more problems if left unserviced. You want to make sure your portable restroom is serviced properly and often, so it remains sanitary and functionable. Consider adding more cleaning services to your rental to make its cleanliness and functionality at its most ideal throughout your event.
Comparing Prices
After figuring out what you want and could need, do not rush with the first company you find that has it. Consider different options and compare services, features, and prices. Different rental services could be providing the same porta potty at different prices and with different benefits. Remember to keep in mind the servicing and the different procedures that different portable potties require.
There are several factors to consider when incorporating porta potties into your event, from considering who your audience is and the impression you want to deliver. When in doubt, don’t be afraid to consult portable restroom rental companies and manufacturers directly to find the best option for you and additional steps you can take to deliver more than just a typical porta potty experience at your event.
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