Planning Porta Potty Rentals for your Outdoor Events

Let's face it: it's pretty easy to plan an indoor event. Line up your food and beverage requirements, get a grasp on the guest list, sign a contract, and BAM! You're all set to go.

An outdoor event, however, is an entirely different ballgame. What if it rains? Where are people going to park if you don't have a parking lot? Where are your caterers going to prepare their food? And most importantly, where are people going to go to the bathroom?

Sure, it takes a lot more planning, but there are plenty of inherent benefits to planning your event outside. First of all, you're not as likely to face sky-high rental fees. Secondly, you'll find people's expectations are far more manageable: paper plates and portable restrooms go over far better outside than they do in a four-star hotel. Finally, there's no better way to spend a day than in the great outdoors, and your guests will take summer sunshine over a darkened banquet hall any day.

If it's your first time planning an outdoor event, don't sweat it! Here are some quick and easy tips for negotiating porta potty rentals for your outdoor event:

The Bathroom Issue

Your guests will forgive poor food, weak beverages, and an out-of-tune band. They won't care that they parked in a cornfield or couldn't find a place to sit. What they will never forgive, however, is the lack of facilities.

Food, drinks, entertainment—these are luxuries. Having a facility to use when nature calls? Now, that's a necessity. Nothing kills an outdoor event faster than an agonizingly long line to use the porta john. Line up your portable restroom rentals first. You can plan a potluck or truck in a cooler, but you won't be able to supply your own portable toilets.

Before calling to find out portable bathroom availability, ask yourself these questions:

1. How many people are attending the event? The minimum requirement for portable restrooms is one porta john per 100 people for up to four hours. However, that's a basic estimate. Longer than four hours? More than 100 people? Serving alcohol? You'll need more porta potties.
2. Will there be a higher percentage of women than men? Take a good, hard look at your guest list. Do you have more women on your list than men? If you do, you'll need more porta potties than the average event. If you have an extremely high percentage of women (a women's retreat, for example, or a bridal shower), you'll need to plan on having for more portable restrooms.
3. Are you serving alcohol at the event? If you answered "yes" to both #3 and #4, then you'll need to plan on having three portable toilets for every 100 attendees for events after four hours.
4. How long will the event last? Obviously, the longer the event, the more people will have to "go." After four hours, you'll need two portable toilets per 100 people.

Need Porta Potties? Call Gotügo!

For all your porta potty rentals, call Gotügo (410) 360-1215, the quality portable restroom company that's been serving Maryland, Washington D.C., and Northern Virginia since 1980.