Fancy opening up your own party rental business? We’re here to help you get started in 7 steps. A party rental business can have many facets to it. It covers a wide range of assets and items like venue, spaces, furniture, props, catering, and costumes. Depending on your investment, you can start a party equipment rental business at any level of complexity.
You can either offer to cater to one aspect or one item in party equipment, such as bounce houses or you can offer a full-fledged package with everything that your customers need for their specific party.
Whether you’re renting equipment for weddings or birthdays, Christmas or Thanksgiving, corporate parties, or small family gatherings; we’ll help you understand what you should do to get your own party rental business started.
Tip: Use a rental checklist to get started on the initial research and make the most out of your party rental business ideas.
Roadmap and plan your party rental business
The first thing to do when you chalk out your party rental business plan is to find a niche that you want to cater to. The wisest choice is to play to your strength. If you have experience planning and managing a wedding, target wedding rentals. If you have successfully hosted a corporate party, you will understand the nitty gritty that goes into that niche. So, take that route. The best way to kickstart a party rental business is to start with what you know best.
If you are jumping blindly into party rentals, conduct market research to see which niche can be most profitable for you. If your city or town is home to certain festivals or hosts parties for a specific demographic, you can explore renting party equipment to them. Always target the right audience that resonates with you and an audience you understand the needs and expectations of.
Starting a party equipment rental business
Once you have locked a niche you want to offer your rentals to, follow these steps on how to start a party supply rental business:
1. Purchase the party equipment
Make a list of every piece of equipment, props, furniture, etc. that you can rent to your customers. Do an in-depth survey of your local market to find vendors for specific party equipment. Buying bulk from wholesalers is the most cost-effective way to stock your assets, asset stocks, and inventory. Find the right vendors for this.
Conduct a competitor analysis in your market to see where you can get the best rates for everything you would need for your equipment rental business.
2. Take great pictures of the equipment
The next step is to take great photos of the party rental equipment you want to offer to your customers. With a limited budget, you can shoot great photos out in the Sun with a smartphone and some DIY backgrounds. Moreover, you can contact photography students in your locality and hire them for this freelance gig.
If your budget allows it, get professional photographers as they will get you the best possible result. Remember, this will be a one-time investment.
3. Price according to market and area
Pricing your rentals is half the business plan, so do extensive research on your market before setting final prices. You can start with your competitors to see how they price their party rental equipment. This will give you an anchor point to set your rates. Don’t lower your renting point too much and don’t take it way higher than your competition. Find the sweet spot that is both profitable and enticing for your customers.
4. Get legal out of the way
The next step is to go legal by registering your business with your local body. Open a business account for your party rental business. Fill out all the necessary paperwork before moving on to the next step. Additionally, it would help if you also got insurance for your party equipment. Let’s face it, partiers can get wild at times, and it may result in damaged products or props. Stay worry-free and get insurance in time to safeguard all your assets and inventory.
5. Take your business online with rental software
If you don’t have a brick-and-mortar store, your remaining choice becomes taking your business online. A rental software, in this regard, will enable you to keep your party rental business up and running. Most rental software comes equipped with a webstore. Utilize the potential of owning such a webstore. Get your rentals booked online through this channel. Most rental software also offers customer management. This will help you get meaningful insights.
6. Market your party rental business
Apart from your webstore, you can garner the right audience using social media. Create the same handle on all popular social platforms to offer familiarity and connect with your customer base where they want to. You can also market your business with influencers from your market segment.
To get more customers, you can bundle up items that are frequently used together and offer them at a cheaper rate. You can create packages for specific customers, such as offering discounted rates for birthday kids under 10. Depending on the niche of your party rental business services, you can also offer premium packages for high-end furniture, props, etc. You can also collaborate with a costume rental business to get costumes and track them to provide excellent services.
7. Earn, scale, and grow your business
Sit back and start earning by automating your party rental business with rental management software. Using the software’s reporting modules, analyze your business at monthly and quarterly intervals to see what’s working and what’s not. Identify high-revenue segments for both your customers and the products you are renting out.
If you see items that have extremely low utilization, sell them. If there are items that have high utilization, stock them accordingly to ensure that you always have them available for all your customers. Use customized reports in the rental software to analyze renting patterns and to forecast trends your business should be ready for.
Profitable niches in the event rental business
Some of the most profitable party rental businesses we have witnessed are renting out equipment for outdoor events. This includes tents, porta potty, heaters, fans, etc.
There’s also an entire segment you can cover related to weddings. This includes furniture, cutlery, tents, and more. You can offer from budget-friendly event rentals to premium destination wedding equipment.
Birthday parties are another profitable niche where you can rent out party equipment varying from bounce houses for kids to specialized items for quinceañera. The possibilities are endless.
Themed parties have their props and items you can offer in your business. Target a specific diaspora, people, or lifestyles and offer them the right items to party hard.
Seasonal parties such as Halloween, Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Year’s, etc., are other event rental segments you can target with your business. Upsell by offering costumes as well.
To keep everything formal and fun, you can rent out only to corporate parties and black-tie events. Additionally, you can offer tuxedos and dresses on the side to cover the niche entirely.
Supercharge your party rental business
Whichever niche you choose, and whatever party equipment you rent to your customers, adding powerful rental software to your business will help you achieve success. It will enable you to track your assets, automate your rental operations, and not worry about bookings or running out of stock.
By setting alerts at crucial workflows, you will see what you need to stock up on and what needs to be done. A rental management platform will take a long way in starting and growing your party rental business.
Happy renting!
