I love countdowns. Casey Kasem’s Top 40 Countdown was always a favorite, and anytime I see a show or article with a “Top 10”, I always want to see or read it. Psychologist say we love “Top X Lists” because it doesn’t take any real thought to digest the information (I guess we are inherently lazy even when it comes to thinking). The New Yorker compiled A list of Reasons Why Our Brains Love Lists.
So I decided it would be fun to make a top 10 list for event rentals. I realized when I started putting this list together, that it wasn’t as easy as just running a report. I had to decide, do I want to rank by quantity or revenue. If I choose quantity than items that you rent in multiples will win (glasses, flatware, etc.). If I rank by revenue, then high dollar items (like tents) would win even though far less in quantity were rented. I ultimately chose to go with a list of categories.
Here are the most rented event rentals in 2022 (by quantity):
10. Inflatables Rentals
We work with a lot of schools, and nothing is more fun at a school event than an inflatable. The most popular one was the bounce house / slide combo followed by the dry/water slide.
9. Concessions Rentals
We were sold out of margarita machine rentals every weekend except for one this past summer. Other popular concessions are the popcorn machine and snow cone machine.
8. Tablecloths Rentals
Always plan to cover your table rentals with tablecloths, unless you are renting a vineyard or farm table. Polyester tablecloths are the most popular, and the least expensive to rent.
7. Tent Rentals
The #1 rented item by revenue is tent rentals. In Austin, it is either terribly hot, and you need shade, or it’s really nice so you want to have an outside event. I lumped all tents together instead of sorting by size, but the most popular size was the 20 x 40 tent rental followed closely by a simple 10 x 10 pop up tent.
6. Games Rental
Almost every large event we helped with this year incorporated games – from corporate events to galas to weddings. The most popular games were Cornhole, Giant Jenga and Giant Tic Tac Toe. Towards the end of the year, we saw a surge in other more unique games like video games and mini golf.
5. Tables Rental
This is a big category and lumps together everything from cocktail tables to vineyard tables. The most commonly rented tables was a 60″ round probably because it seats the most number of people in a space. The next most popular table was a 6′ rectangle.
4. Dinnerware Rentals
Simple white china was rented the most, but we saw a lot of gold chargers with the more high end events.
3. Flatware Rentals
Stainless steel was the most rented, but very closely followed was gold flatware.
2. Barware Rentals
I’m lumping all glasses together here. If I didn’t we’d just have a big list of glasses. Glasses have an unfair advantage in this ranking since everyone rents multiples. The most rented glass is the wine glass followed by the double old fashioned followed by the champagne flute.
1. Chair Rentals
Almost every event needs chairs. The white resin folding chair was the most popular followed by a plastic folding chair followed then the gold chiavari chair.
It’s so fun to see what everyone chooses for their event rentals and to start to spot trends. If you want more info on what’s popular, get in touch. If you own a rental company, you might be interested in the Top Ten List by Revenue to help you make purchasing decisions next year. Email us at info@reventals.com to learn more.
