How many portable restrooms will we need?

Special event organizers should refer to the usage chart provided above for use in determining the number of portable restrooms needed at a special event. Factors that may skew this chart:

• Does not allow for excessive consumption of beer that will cause the quantity of portables to be insufficient.
• Any available on-site or permanently built restrooms on the event property should be considered based upon the number of people these facilities are designed to accommodate.
• If event space is a problem for a large quantity of portables, then perhaps an alternative to reducing the number of portables is an increase in the service/cleaning of the portables during the day of the event. If the units are serviced twice during each day of the event, you can cut the number required in half.

Get Help and Delegate!

You opened your mouth and volunteered. Or worse, someone nominated you to head the committee and there was no way to graciously get out of it. You have to run a fund raiser along with trying to run your own busy life. Sit down, take a deep breath, and start making a list of all the things that have to be done. Try to group some of this stuff and then ...GET HELP! Call everyone in the organization and don't ask them if they can help. Just tell them that you have all these things to be done and then ask them which item they can take care of. Do it nicely and don't whine. You'll be surprised how effective this technique can be. Better yet, get someone who is a natural sales person to make the calls for you! If each person only has to handle 1-2 things on the list, it makes it much easier for everyone. MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW UP. Verify everything has been ordered, all the details have been seen to and check it off your list. People forget and when the big day comes, it's you they hunt down to find out what happened!

Serving Food or Beverages

State regulations require that portable restrooms and hand washing facilities be setup in areas around but not immediately adjacent to food service areas. The quantity for the portable restrooms and hand washing facilities may be based on state, county or local regulations. Food prep and service areas may have special requirements; hand washing facilities for these areas can not be simple hand sanitizers due to the food handling. Contact your local health department for additional information on these requirements.

Corporate Sponsorship

Check with local companies about providing corporate sponsorship to help cover expenses. You can give them free advertising at your event by posting a sign or banner such as "Portable Toilets provided by the generosity of XYZ Company" or just post their signs around the area with "Corporate Sponsorship provided by XYZ Company". The larger the donation to your event, the more signs or the larger the sign should be.

Raffles and Auctions

When you beg for money from those corporate sponsors, you'll often get the reply that money is just too tight and they really can't afford to help out right now. Suggest they donate a product or service that can be raffled or auctioned off. This helps you on the fund raising efforts and still gives them an opportunity to help out and advertise their business. Even if they just give you a gift certificate for discount on a purchase, every little bit helps when you're trying to raise money. Maybe next year you can get them to donate more if they see there was a benefit to helping out. Auctions and raffles are a great way to get people to part with more money to benefit your cause. People who would only donate $5 may pay $25 or $50 more to your cause if they have the chance to get something for their money.

Advertise

You can get free advertising for non-profit groups and fund raisers through your local TV and radio stations, newspapers and cable providers. You will need to contact their Public Affairs department to find out about the options available. Suggest that your event might be a good human interest story for them.
Check with local grocery stores, local colleges, health clubs, etc. Anywhere that may have a public bulletin board may allow you to put up notices about your event. Make sure you check with someone in authority before posting your notice though.

Adult Only or Family Affair?

If your event is designed for families, make sure you have lots of activities for children of all ages. A "moon jump" is great for younger kids and don't be surprised to see "older" kids join in the fun. If your event is being held outdoors and in the summer heat, consider having contests where the kids can get wet! Water balloon fights are cheap and teams can win prizes. Or have a relay race involving a parent and child. Music keeps everyone happy and local bands may play for free just to have the opportunity to be seen and heard. Just try to make sure the music will appeal to as broad a group as possible. Seniors don't usually care for the hard core rock and kids get bored with a polka band!

If are having an event that is "adult only", see if you can arrange for group child care. Request that anyone who wants to use the service reserve a space for the child so you don't end up with 50 kids and only 1 adult to watch them. It may also be much easier to require that they be potty trained and/or walking age. A nominal fee is not out of order but make sure you have a location that is child friendly, snacks and drinks for the kids, and that the child to adult ratio is reasonable to insure that the children will be properly looked after. Having a babysitting service available instead of trying to locate a sitter will help to boost the attendance for your event and give the parents a great night out.

Permits

Any public event will usually require permits. It can seem endless and often frustrating, but there is no way around it. If your event is held inside city limits, you'll have to contact your city government. If it's outside city limits, you have to contact the county. Have all your information, if possible, before you start calling. You'll need to let them know details about the event, where it will be held, what day(s), etc. Be patient, courteous and friendly. Ask questions. The people you are dealing with may have some excellent suggestions and steer you in the right direction if you have the right attitude. Start with the Zoning department, then on to the Health department. If you want to have the event at a public park, contact the Parks & Rec. department for details. Make sure you know what facilities are available where ever you have the event. (Public parks rarely have enough facilities to handle large crowds so give us a call if we are in your area!)

Not Enough Room?

If space is a premium at the location for your event and you need large number of portable restrooms, consider these alternatives.

• Our air conditioned restroom trailers can substitute for up to 30 portable restrooms. Consider a combination of the two. A few portables placed near the trailers allow for shorter lines, especially for those who may have an urgent need! A few portables placed strategically near parking areas are always appreciated as well.
• Remember that portable restrooms are required to be serviced once a day during a special event. However, if you double your service you can usually cut the number of portable restrooms in half. Get them serviced three times in a day and you can cut it to a third. You may have to pay a premium for the additional services but when the choice is more parking for paying patrons or more portable toilets the additional business could be worth the expense.