Should I Rent Or Buy For My Next Event?

Catering, parties, birthdays, special events. Everybody’s had the pleasure of attending at least one event or another in your life. Fewer though have had the “pleasure” of setting up an event like this themselves. For those that have and read this, my sympathy goes out to you. I’ve personally seen people almost pull hair out (and I’m not necessarily saying their own), while trying to plan, manage, and coordinate an event. In the process also of keeping fires from starting and putting out ones that happen when things aren’t going as perfectly as you had hoped. In the end, everyone left happy, your guests enjoyed their evening, and you get to enjoy a certain sense of accomplishment while cleaning and breaking down your equipment, and that’s that you survived another party.

If you are someone that works in catering or you just enjoy throwing parties like you’re Jay Gatsby, then the question is whether you should rent or buy your equipment for your next event. Guests need a place to sit, and you need tables to help you serve them to the best of your ability. Lets look through each option, and the benefits and potential down sides you may run into.

Should I Rent?

Renting chairs and tables for your catering gigs and at house parties offer incentives you might find more beneficial to you and your business in the long run.

If your business is new and you don’t feel comfortable investing a bunch of money into something you don’t will take off, renting might be your best option. Starting off, its typically a much lower cost of investment. If you begin to see sales start to come in you might want to consider buying your own chairs and your own tables.

If you choose this option, experiment a bit. Renting gives you the freedom to choose different tables for each event. Maybe all you need is a basic folding table to hold your food and equipment, but maybe one day you want to really impress your guests and sport a table with built in ice containers and drain holes for the melted ice. The skies the limit when you’re not committed to a single product because you had to buy it.

The downside to renting your equipment is the extra work it will put on you. You’ll find yourself going to rental companies to pick up the chairs and drop off the chairs, pick up the tables and drop off the tables, pick up the…well, you get my point. It’s work that will take up your time and you need to determine if that time is worth it. Another problem you might encounter is companies not having certain products in stock. Just because you’ve rented the same folding chair for the last 30 events, doesn’t mean you wont call up one day to be told they cant provide you the chair you’re looking for. This forces you to spend more money than what you were expecting to.

Should I Buy?

You can save some serious cash in the long haul by buying your chairs and tables. That initial investment may take a good chunk of change from your wallet, but event after event later you’ll find a large increase in profits now that there’s no second party involved. If you’re planning for a wedding or a party, the only thing buying 30 chiavari chairs is going to do is take up a lot of space while costing you a lot more money. If you want to buy, make sure it’s for large events, and make sure it’s for something you see yourself doing many more times in the future.

For businesses, folding chairs and folding tables are equipment used to operate and help run your business, and can be wrote off on the companies taxes.

If storage is an issue, buying may not be your best bet. Although most party chairs and tables can fold or be stacked up, it can still take up a lot of space, especially if your business is ran from home or you’re only looking to host a single event.

In the End

You have to figure out what the most affordable, and convenient method is for you. Renting requires no storage, you typically get new equipment each time, and you can experiment with new tables for each different event. However you may find this to be a much more expensive method in the long run. You might also have issues where companies are out of stock. Buying your equipment gives your company a stronger foundation, and is necessary for any potential future growth. Buying in bulk saves can save you a lot of money and any chairs you purchase can be wrote off for tax purposes.