When hosting an event such as a music festival, food market, or one-day event full of fun, you get to a point where you start thinking about how many toilets you should prepare for your visitors. Especially for larger festivals, this is one of the most important questions to focus on. A poorly sized number of toilets can lead to long queues and, more importantly, very rapid soiling, which can often defile the festival experience. You can have a perfect event in all other respects, but you throw away all previous efforts with a mismanaged toilet situation.
So how many of them?
The size and scale of the event you're arranging toilets for will affect how many you need. There is no one-size-fits-all rule to follow when planning. You have to take a lot of variables into account, such as:
The length of the event - A day-long festival will require more toilets than a two-hour theatre performance.
Refreshments - If it's an event where there aren't many refreshment options (especially alcoholic beverages) available, you won't need to have as many. On the other hand, if you expect hundreds of people to eat and drink throughout the weekend, then quite a few will be needed to keep your guests happy and the toilets clean.
Target audience - You undoubtedly need more toilets at a beer festival than you would at a fun afternoon for children.
You're still not wise enough about this? Don't worry: There's an equation to roughly calculate it. In general, there should be at least one toilet for every 50 women and 100 men, plus one urinal stall for every 50 men and at least one bathroom for wheelchair users. So if you want to be sure, we recommend sticking to this equation.
The location is equally important
If you want to keep your event clean, you need to think carefully about the location of the toilets around the venue. Even a sufficient number of toilets, if incorrectly positioned, can make visitors unhappy. In general, you should ensure that there is adequate diversity of toilets in the area so that they are easily and quickly accessible from every part of the venue. In addition, it is appropriate to place directional signs around the area.
While the toilets should be located so they are as accessible as possible from everywhere, their positions should also not spoil the overall impression of the event. Therefore, we recommend avoiding placing them near refreshment stands or the stage.
For large events, you should also consider the provision of toilets for service staff, caterers, security, etc. One thing that should not be forgotten is separate toilets for the event performers. Consider replacing the mobile toilet with a sanitary trailer for the backstage area. The latter is a substitute for mobile chemical toilets and is used where the emphasis is placed on the design and higher standard of the toilets. Backstage performers will thus be able to use the ceramic toilet where this was impossible before.
Cleanliness
The one thing it doesn't pay to skimp on. We all know too well what mobile toilets can look like. It really does happen that we're almost afraid to enter them. And in general, the more dirty toilets, the fewer toilets are used, which can negatively affect their capacity available to visitors.
Have someone go through the toilets regularly, clean the dirtiest ones, and replenish toilet paper or paper towels. If it is a multi-day event, ensure that all toilets are cleaned and returned to as much of their original condition as possible at the end of the day so that they are ready for the next day's onslaught.
If you want to be sure of the condition of the toilets, you can use the services of various companies that offer permanent supervision and servicing of the toilets. These services not only offer the replenishment of consumables such as toilet paper, paper towels, soap and water refills but are also able to ensure that the contents of the fecal tank are vacuumed and the sanitation solution is replenished thanks to the presence of a service truck.
When visitors go to an event, they do not expect any luxury in the toilets. However, if your budget allows it, then feel free to pay extra for better toilet paper, especially for prestigious and expensive events. After all, even such a small detail can make the event more enjoyable!
When to book rental capacity?
Each event is specific, but to ensure toilets and other elements of mobile hygiene, we recommend that everything is arranged well in advance. Especially in the busiest summer period, it is challenging to get them at the last minute, and all available capacities may be already reserved. To give you an idea, the biggest festivals and events are prepared at least six months before the event, when the possible number of toilets is determined in advance, and the capacity for delivery, servicing and removal of toilets is secured. It is advisable to address these at least 1-2 months in advance for medium-sized events.
So now we hope you have a better understanding of this topic and next time you plan an event, you will take into consideration everything that you have read about in this article.