Long ago, there was a time when music festival-goers accepted restrooms that were less than perfect. Today, that attitude has gone the way of the dinosaurs. “Everything is really well stocked and really clean,” said Mikey Blaha of Columbus, who attended the September Lost Lands Festival at Legend Valley. “Bathrooms are important to me, and they have to be clean!”

“I think we have a new generation of fans who are used to a more premium experience,” said Division Manager Doug Hall, who helped coordinate an army of Porta Kleen personnel and sanitation and shower equipment to service more than 50,000 Lost Lands patrons.

Hall said modern music festival producers are competing with mobile devices, laptops, advanced video games and digital media. “So, if you’re going to lure people away from the comforts of home, you have to provide them with something a little more elevated,” he said. A prime example of this trend is glamorous camping, or “glamping,” which is increasingly popular at Lost Lands and other festivals.

While glamping at Lost Lands used to be somewhat rare, this year’s event hosted roughly 350 yurts complete with furniture and air conditioning. Glamping patrons are provided with all the comforts of home on arrival for an all-inclusive experience. This places even more pressure on the sanitation and shower vendor because now nearly 1,000 patrons have paid for and demand sparkling clean restrooms and showers.

Otherwise, Hall said Porta Kleen’s restrooms and showers are for all patrons, whether patrons hold glamping, VIP or regular festival passes; those with regular passes are charged $10 per shower.

Lost Lands’ universal appeal prompted Porta Kleen to increase female staffers this year. Hall explained there were 10 women on staff this year whereby there were fewer in previous years. “The problem is you have trailers with men and women’s sides,” he said.

With constant traffic in the women’s sides, male employees are forced to wait sometimes hours for an opportunity to enter, restock and maintain the trailer. Increasing female staffing solved this problem. Hall said the ability to problem-solve is key, especially at large-scale events, and it’s part of why Porta Kleen is such a trusted vendor.

“The customer knows Porta Kleen will rise to the occasion no matter what the challenge is,” Hall said. “And each year presents new challenges.” Legend Valley, the Lost Lands’ host site, draws its water from underground wells. This year’s late summer drought threatened water supplies across the board. It took a coordinated effort to haul in enough water to last the duration of the event.

“There are vendors who will throw up their hands and quit answering their radios, basically baling on difficult issues,” Hall said. “Leaving a customer hanging like that leaves a lasting impression you don’t want to have.”

Porta Kleen supplied Lost Lands 2024 with 30 restroom trailers, 30 shower trailers, 900 plastic restrooms and 150 handicap and handwash stations. “Communication is the biggest part of anything like this,” said Sales Manager Jennifer Gerken, who spent weeks preparing for Lost Lands. “You have to be there to answer questions and be available at all times. It was nice to see it all come together successfully and see the result of all those weeks of hard work.”

“It’s important to keep a positive attitude,” Hall said. “People are there to have fun.” The vendors who work Lost Lands see each other at several other events every year and there’s a strong camaraderie. “When you need things or they need things, you know who to talk to, and everyone’s more than willing to help each other out,” he said. “You try to look out for each other.”

But, obviously, the bottom line is keeping the customer happy. “At the end of the day,” Hall said, “that’s what you want!”