It's probably safe to say that those in the business of event rentals run into one type of function more than any other: birthday parties. And while outdoor and indoor bounce house rentals can be strong throughout the year, most families and event organizers will find themselves needing a much wider assortment of party rentals.
For your customers, birthday parties are usually measured on five simple success metrics:
- The birthday girl or boy enjoys it
- Everyone else has fun, too
- All of the guests are as safe at the end of the event as they were coming in
- Enough guests show up that the birthday is fun and costs are warranted
- The weather doesn't ruin everything
So long as customers can hit those five metrics, they'll consider their event to have been a success. Four out of five? The whole thing was a huge disaster and a blame volcano is on the cusp of eruption.
As an event rentals facilitator, you're in a position where you can directly contribute toward all five of those factors hitting their mark. Yes, even the weather! And it all boils down to the equipment you're offering your customers.
How Prepared for Birthday Parties is Your Company?
Not many people want to go to one grocery store for milk, another for eggs, and a third for bread. They want to get it all in one big go. And your event rentals customers are the same way. They want to minimize the number of vendors they need to juggle while organizing their events. Birthday parties are stressful enough without needing to deal with multiple companies for their party rentals.
Customers who know they can trust you to deliver what they need when they need it are more likely to contact you again for their next event ... and tell their friends they have a go-to party rentals company they trust over all others.
So what sort of event equipment rentals are birthday party organizers look for? It's going to vary for a wide number of factors. Some are just going to want that simple bounce house rental, while others will need a whole lot more. So let's examine some of the more popular rental items your company can deliver to event clients.
1. The Tried and True Bounce House Rental
Many a party rentals company started out with just a few bounce house rental units. There's a decent chance yours did, too. Whether it's a traditional commercial bounce house or one with an attached slide, bounce house rentals are big business for many a party rentals company.
Bounce house rentals are safe bets all year long. Outdoor units do well from late Spring through early Summer, or year-round in warmer climates. Indoor bounce house rentals perform stronger in cooler weather, but can also do well in the summer.
Your bounce house rental options are just about limitless. They're easy to market, and apart from a blower and a truck they don't require too much to set up. So as event rentals go, bounce house rentals are always going to be a big ticket item.
2. Inflatable Water Slide Rentals
There's something almost poetic about kids enjoying a water slide in the summer. It almost makes summer "official" in a way, you know? Like it somehow hearkens in the warmer R&R months and makes it "feel" more like summer.
Inflatable water slides are extremely popular summer rentals, and they're quite popular at birthday parties, weather permitting of course. A water slide bounce house combines the best of both worlds, while a standalone inflatable water slide or a slip-n-slide are great options for expanding your rental equipment inventory and rounding out the options available to your customers.
3. Table and Chair Rentals
Most birthday parties will be relatively small, with twelve to twenty guests at most. They'll likely take place in a residential setting; a backyard, or maybe a neighborhood park. But some bookings are going to be a whole lot bigger. And if you want to be the supplier of event rentals at those larger gatherings, you'll want to offer solutions for a very simple and common logistical predicament: having enough tables and chairs.
Table and chair rentals are often synonymous with wedding rentals, but they're more common with birthday party bookings than you might think. Table rentals will likely do better than chair rentals with birthday parties—the gifts and food all need to go somewhere safe—but chair rentals will see their fair share of use as well.
Mind you, table and chair rentals aren't often going to be as popular as inflatable rentals. But they're good to have for a wide array of events, and they'll likely see some use as birthday party rentals as well.
4. Party Tent Rentals
Remember when we said you can have an impact on weather? At least one person reading this thought we meant Tent and Table was selling mad scientist weather machines. It happened. You know who you are.
What we actually meant was that you can rent party tents to your customers and protect their food, gifts, and valuables while the event continues on as planned. Tent rentals are usually most popular in warmer weather, but they can do business in the winter, too. Especially if you offer space heater rentals.
5. Obstacle Courses and Zorb Balls
Zorb Balls are tremendous fun and make for great party rentals, especially at birthday parties with pool access.Older kids and adults may not be as interested in bounce houses or water slides. But that doesn't mean there aren't inflatable games they can have fun with, too.
Obstacle courses are fun inflatable rentals that do solid business year round. The physical and mental challenges they present keep children occupied for hours on end, and they're something a little different from a standard bounce house. Better still, they're entertaining for those kids who think they've outgrown, or simply grown tired of, bounce houses.
Meanwhile, Zorb Balls are rapidly growing in popularity today, as more and more people discover just how exhilarating it can be to run around, on land or over water, in what is essentially an oversized human hamster ball. They can be used on grass, in pools, on the lake, or on specialty Zorb Ball tracks.
6. Carnival and Inflatable Game Rentals
Games are usually one of the very first birthday party ideas people start tossing around while planning their events. Why not make yours the rental company of choice for games at birthday parties?
Inflatable sports games and ultra lite air frame games aren't just fun at birthday parties, but at every type of event under the sun. Inflatable Velcro walls, basketball shooting games, soccer darts ... there are lots of fun inflatable games for kids and adults to enjoy.
Carnival games like dunking booths and bell ringers are quite popular at birthday parties as well, and will end up getting rented for other events too. And many of these games are weather versatile and can be used indoors or outdoors.
7. Portable Dance Floor Rentals
Portable dance floors allow your customers and their guests to bust a move while a DJ revolves it, in an effort to stomp the yard so they don't get served.
Okay, yeah, I'm a cornball. But don't let that take away from the fact that dancing is a fun activity for people of all ages, and a very popular option you can deploy at customers' birthday parties. The dance floors we offer are semi-modular and can survive the rigors of many an electric slide.
And hey, I should get credit for making it through this whole section without referencing Saturday Night Fever, right? Well, apart from when I literally just did that. Moving on ...
Birthday Parties Can and Should be Stress Free
We all know birthday parties are supposed to be fun for the person they're focused on. But what about the people organizing them? They have to book the entertainment, buy the party supplies, pick up the cake, and reach out to your company for their party rentals. It's usually a thankless job, too.
Remember those five metrics we talked about when we started this article? Your company having more diversity in your offerings means birthday party organizers are reaching them a lot more easily.
Great rentals will mean the birthday kid (or grown up) is having more fun, and so too are their guests. Tent and Table's products exceed safety regulations, so party goers will be safe using your equipment. They'll help ensure everyone comes to the party, too—who wants to miss out on a chance to play in a bounce house or cruise around a pool in a Zorb Ball? And your tents and tarps can keep the party going even when the weather decides not to cooperate.
So, what are you waiting for? Take a look at Tent and Table's selection of products today and start diversifying your equipment portfolio for all those birthday parties you're booking!