Belgian scientists Kurt Van Hautegem and Wouter Rogiest of Ghent University have discovered that the answer to improve event line lengths for bathrooms can be solved by redesigning the space in order to make them gender neutral. The scientists found that the average length of time females waited to use the facilities at festivals was an alarming six minutes and 19 seconds, and that mixed restrooms brought that average down to just one minutes and 27 seconds. That’s a 63 percent reduction, while only seeing the wait time at the men’s restroom increase from 11 seconds to 58 seconds. Using an algorithm typically used to determine the flow of traffic to call centers, Van Hautegem and Rogiest calculated the precise time that people both wait and pee for, and added a series of potential designs that would “put an end to this misogynistic toilet culture”. The pair’s plans have been implemented to great success at a handful of major Belgian festivals and live events this summer.
While hardly the sexiest subject in the world of festivals, bathrooms are a big deal for festival fans. Not being able to use the facilities when you need to is a very real dampener, and festivals cutting corners on portaloos are hurting fan experience. Simply Google “festival bathrooms” and you are met with a long list of blog posts advising you on how to “survive” the festival bathroom experience, as if it were a hazardous war zone. Sure, you might not be able to offer your punters the Ritz, but investing in keeping the facilities as clean as possible really makes a difference to the fan experience. Lines of all forms are the scourge of the festival experience. Often chief amongst the real time complaints on festival social media, long wait times to get in and out can be a PR disaster, while the revenue being left on the table by lines at the bar and the food vendors can really eat into your bottom line. As well as increasing per customer spend by up to 30 percent, RFID cashless solutions reduce transaction time from 90 seconds to 15 seconds, leaving both the festival and its guests sharing in the advantages for cutting those long lines. To learn more about how cashless technology can help your festival cut into wait times and boost your bottom line, read our Cashless 101 guide!]]>
