Renting Enough Bathrooms for Your Event

Everyone planning an outdoor event wonders if they’re renting enough bathrooms. In fact, the #1 question we get is “How many bathrooms do I need for my event?”

Having too few restrooms can spell disaster, especially at events for kids and families. But, renting too many restrooms needlessly drives up event expenses. Finding a balance between those two extremes and renting enough bathrooms can feel like walking a tightrope.

So, if you’re wondering how many restrooms you need, review this guide:

Number of People

The general rule is that you’ll need 1 porta-potty for every 50 people for every 3 hours. Use this handy Porta Potty Planning Chart to avoid doing the math yourself!

Of course, really large events, you’ll need to get a professional recommendation on how many units you’ll need. For events with more than 5,000 attendees, contact us for more information.

Duration

The longer the event, the more people will be using the restrooms. Scale up your rental count for the duration of your event. Generally speaking, for a small event or medium-sized event you’ll need 1-4 restrooms for every 3 hours. Larger events will need more porta potties as the duration increases.

While most outdoor events are either daytime or evening events, others may be multi-day or even weeklong events. In the case of a prolonged event, reach out to us for recommendations on how many porta potties you’ll need. We can also provide information on the costs associated with servicing the units during the event.

Size of Event Area

The estimates we’ve discussed assume that rental porta potties will be placed together at a location central to the event. However, for events spread out over a wider area, more restrooms will be needed. The goal is to avoid making attendees travel too far to find a bathroom. This is particularly important for events like music festivals with multiple stages spread out across the venue, corporate functions at sprawling parks, weddings spanning large estates, etc.

You will want to bump up your rental numbers to accommodate spreading bathrooms over a wider area to keep attendees comfortable. Consider how many separate locations you have where you’ll want porta potties to be placed, and ensure you have enough for each area to avoid long lines. Then, simply add them up to arrive at a final count.

For example, if you have 5 music stages, and you need 8 restrooms for the crowd size and duration of each concert at each stage, reserve 40 porta potty rentals for you event.

Constraints

Budget demands and spacing constraints may restrict how many portable toilets you can have. If you have some unique circumstances to consider, give us a call so we can talk them through with you and find a solution that will fit your needs.

Kerkstra Luxury Portable Restroom Service Inc. provides portable restroom service across Michigan and luxury restroom trailers for all of the states surrounding the Great Lakes. Take a look at our mobile restroom trailers and request a quote today!