Organizing a music festival requires you to wear so many different hats. You need to book the talent, figure out a layout that will work for visitors and the performers alike, and issue flyers and online advertisements. One of the responsibilities that sometimes goes overlooked is the restroom trailer rentals. Here are some tips to guide you as you navigate that part of your job as a festival organizer.

1. Only rent trailers for the backstage area.

If you are considering renting restroom trailers for use throughout the festival, you might want to reconsider. Restroom trailers are nicer than porta-potties, but they also cost more to rent. You'll need a lot of toilets for the large crowd at the festival, and porta-potties can supply those toilets much more affordably. You want to reserve the nice restroom trailers for the backstage area where the performers and organizers spend their time. Restroom trailers are easier to keep clean the portable toilets. They have handwashing sinks, and they offer more privacy. Your performers will be happier to use them, as will staff members who have been working long hours and do not want to wait in line with the patrons to use the toilets.

2. Place the trailers in a convenient location.

Your first instinct may be to place the restrooms far from the dining areas or other backstage facilities. This is, after all, what you would want to do with porta-potties. But restroom trailers are different. They're well enclosed and basically like formal restrooms on wheels. There should not be noxious odors coming from them, so you don't need to be too worried about their placement. Put them near the stage so that the performers can easily access them between sets or right before they go on stage. Make sure the performers all know where the bathrooms are located as soon as they arrive.

3. Place some specialized amenities in the trailer.

Since restroom trailers are basically like full restrooms, you should treat them as such. Put together a basket of basics, like hair ties, comb, cotton swabs, and feminine hygiene products, and place the basket on the side of the sink in the bathroom. Include a little sign that says, "Help yourself." This courtesy will make anyone who uses the bathroom feel welcome. Little fans, face wipes, and bottles of water are other good things to include on a hot day.

4. Rent an accessible trailer.

Some restroom trailers have one wheelchair-accessible stall and a ramp to allow access to the trailer itself. Other times, you need to rent a separate trailer with an accessible option. Either way, make sure you have at least one wheelchair-accessible stall in one of your rental trailers. Not only is this convenient for anyone with mobility issues, but oftentimes, it is actually required to meet local permitting codes. You might get away without having an accessible trailer at your festival once or twice, but if the right authorities discover it, you could end up being fined.

5. Restrict access to the restroom trailer.

Since you need the restroom trailer to be easily accessible to performers and VIPs, you need to make sure your general attendees can't access it. Once one of them finds a way to access it, their friends will flood it! Put the trailer behind a fence and, if possible, behind a line of trees or another building so that nobody can see it too easily. You may not want to label the side of the trailer that's most visible to the public. Festival-goers have been known to jump fences. You want them to use the public toilets accessible to them, not try to sneak into the restroom trailer. 

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