Impactful insights shared during ARA’s first event-focused webinar

The American Rental Association (ARA) hosted “The Future of Event Rental” — its first event-only webinar — on Thursday, July 28. The program delivered insights into what is happening in the economy and its potential impact on event rental, and featured a panel of event rental operators sharing their experiences on how they are overcoming challenges in today’s event rental market.
  
“We have been working on providing our event members with additional rental research, insights and forecasts to benefit their businesses,” says Tom Doyle, ARA vice president, program development, on the efforts that drove the development of the webinar.

The one-hour program started with a review of the results from ARA’s latest quarterly event survey. Next, Scott Hazelton, director, S&P Global Market Intelligence, shared an update on the economic environment, both current and for the foreseeable future, geared towards the event rental market. Hazelton’s update revealed that while the event rental drivers have positively trended upward, there is a note of caution moving forward based on inflation, labor, and global uncertainty, among other factors.

James Auerbach, ARA vice president, event segment and rental industry workforce development, then hosted an expert panel of event rental operators who addressed several topics, including how they have increased their revenue with less staff and their outlook for future business. Panel members included:

• Dan Hooks, CERP, president, Party Reflections, Charlotte, N.C., who also serves as ARA board chair 
• Robin Denny, CERP, director of sales, CORT Party Rental, Everett, Wash.
• Jennifer Rodriguez, CERP, general manager, Marianne’s Rentals, Oklahoma City 
• Jeff Crotto, CERP, president, All About Events – Jacksonville, Jacksonville, Fla.

“These event rental professionals did a terrific job presenting how they have overcome the significant labor challenges and continued to grow their business. They shared valuable insights on the proactive steps they have taken while also looking ahead and giving their outlook for the rest of 2022 and beyond,” Auerbach says.

Based on feedback received and the event’s success, ARA plans to hold another event rental-specific webinar in late fall.