Love It or Hate It, Pumpkin Spice Season is Upon Us
It’s late summer. The weather ranges from beautifully warm to oppressively muggy, but with some chillier mornings. Kids are still making use of your inflatable water slide rentals, and families are still grilling and relaxing in the shade under party tents. It’s still summer. But fall is definitely coming, and with it, fall party rentals.
I’m sure some people think I sound like a fall Grinch—my wife and several of my friends sure think so—but I never want summer to end, and I’m never happy when pumpkin spice season rolls around. I want to squeeze every last drop of summer I can out of any given year. And that’s especially true in 2020, for obvious reasons.
Wishing of course doesn’t make it so. Fall is coming whether I like it or not. I need to suck it up, pull the hoodies out of my closet, and plan a trip to the pumpkin farm with my daughters. And party rental companies need to be prepared for this seasonal transition, too.
The weather will be cooling, and those aforementioned water slides and inflatable slip and splash slides may need to be packed away for the season soon. But there’s still money to be made in the fall months, especially if your event and party rental business is equipped to handle those “pumpkin spice” rentals.
Fall Party Rentals are Dominated by Party Tents
If your company predominantly works with inflatable equipment rentals, don’t worry … we’ll be getting to that shortly. But the big money makers in Fall are traditionally party tents. Especially when those tents are outfitted for milder or cooler weather. And this might be more true in 2020 than ever before, too.
Fall is a popular season for weddings, festivals and fairs, and after school events. And given this year’s social distancing and quarantines, there’s all sorts of newfound opportunity to be found in outdoor classrooms and curbside pickups. And let’s not forget the ongoing need for medical tents, too.
In cooler fall months, the need for party tent upgrades becomes paramount. You’ll want to seriously consider investing in tent sidewalls and tent heaters to facilitate more events. Learning how to heat a party tent in winter and fall is a good idea, too. Remember, your party tent is useful in bookings so long as the weather isn’t freezing. If it’s 45 degrees or warmer outside, your tent could potentially be set up at an event and earning income for you.
Don’t forget, though: colder weather means colder, harder ground. If you don’t already have a tent stake driver, now is a good time to consider investing in at least one. Tent stake drivers facilitate punching your tents into harder, tougher ground. You can of course get this done with sledgehammers, but it’ll cost you a lot more time and the experience is anything but pleasant.
‘Cooler’ Bounce House Fun: Fall Inflatable Rentals
Depending on where in the country you’re situated, chances are your inflatable water slides and slip and splash slides are going to take a dip—no pun intended—in bookings in September, and stop getting customers entirely in October. But that doesn’t mean the rest of your inflatables will stop getting bookings as well. And if your inflatable slide has wet and dry functionality, there’s extended potential into the fall as well.
Bounce houses, bounce house slide combos, dry inflatable slides, and inflatable obstacle courses provide outdoor fun through most of the year and well into the fall. In most of the country, you’ll be able to book commercial inflatables at all sorts of events through October and well into November. We’ve seen some occasions where bouncers get rented as late as Thanksgiving or even beyond.
When it does eventually get to be too cold outside for your commercial inflatables, you can bring them indoors. There are often family-friendly events getting put together in late fall and through the winter that take place indoors. School events, holiday parties, Family Entertainment Center (FEC) events … there are opportunities out there if you’re willing to seek them out ambitiously.
Don’t Forget the Inflatable Games
Fun fall events are certainly improved with party tents and bouncers. But sealed air games and carnival games are great additions to nearly any fall event, and they have great upselling potential as well.
Inflatable games and carnival games offer all ages fun at most events. They’re perfect additions to birthday parties, Halloween events, apple and pumpkin farm events, and more. Some have even set them up at fall weddings, providing entertainment to younger guests and keeping them occupied in a safe way.
We strongly recommend having at least a few inflatables games and carnival games on hand and ready for fall bookings. Sealed air games and our Ultralite inflatable games are especially ideal, with their reduced storage space and ease of use.
Get Ready for Fall Party Rentals with Tent and Table
Your event and party rental business shouldn’t be limited to a single season for profitability. Summer might be your busiest season, but there’s really no reason you shouldn’t be working toward earning money in the spring, the fall, and even the winter. Those events might be a little more rare, but they’re still happening nevertheless.
Party tents require a little modification, but they can find bookings throughout most of the year; practically any day that isn’t freezing. And your bounce houses, inflatable slides, inflatable games, and carnival games could be bringing in cash at outdoor and indoor events all year round. All it takes is an investment into your business, both financially and in terms of the work you’re putting in.
Give our sales team a call today at 1-716-832-8368. Our experts will help you find the perfect party tent sidewalls, tent heaters, commercial inflatables, and inflatable games for all of your fall party rentals. Be sure to tell us a little about the equipment you already have, too, so we can help you maximize its earning potential during these cooler months!