Every weekend there are countless community concerts, festivals and special events that are held. Some of these events are free and some of them have an admittance fee, but there is one constant between them all. Most event coordinator would like to keep more people at their event longer, in order to sell more concessions, merchandise and drinks. However, with so much competition, it is difficult to get people to your event and keep them there for a long period of time. If you are planning an event, there are a few things that you can do to help keep patrons around.
Designate an Area for Mothers
New mothers don’t always want to stick around the house, especially if the weather is nice. Free outdoor festivals are a great way to get out with all of the members of the family, but it can sometimes be difficult to bring young children to events. A lack of facilities to feed children and change diapers could mean the difference between spending an hour at an event, and spending an afternoon there. Think about providing breast-feeding tents, where mothers can discreetly feed children without the stares of other attendees. Also provide places for them to sit and feed their children and take a minute to re-gain their energy. A great example of this was our friends the Irish Fair of Minnesota executed this perfectly in their events in the past.
Be sure to provide baby-changing stations as well. These stations are the same size as a wheel-chair accessible portable restroom, but are equipped with a baby changing table and hand sanitizer. These areas may simply provide a designated area for mothers, to make sure that they feel that they are being taken care of. In turn, they may be more likely to want to stick around.
Provide Adequate Restroom Facilities
Portable restrooms may not be a favorite part of outdoor events. When renting portable restrooms for you event, you have to take into account how many people will be attending, how long they will be staying, and whether or not they will be consuming alcohol. A rule of thumb from the PSAI is to rent one portable restroom for every 100 people that are attending your event. If you don’t rent enough restrooms, they are likely to be in bad shape around the middle of your event when you are trying to keep people there. Be sure to discuss the length of your event and other factors with your portable restroom sales person, to ensure that you have enough restrooms to make your guests feel comfortable. You could also consider luxury restroom trailers to offer your guests something a little more upscale.
Hand Washing Stations
These foot pump hand sinks come in handy especially if you are offering food that can be eaten with your hands. Hand sanitizer is a great way to disinfect your hands after eating, changing a diaper or using the restroom, but sometimes patrons want something a little more. By offering hand washing stations, you can make people feel cleaner, which could make them more likely to eat more food, or shop around for merchandise.
