Not a week goes by that I don't speak with someone in the tent rental industry that describes to me how tough the current business environnment is. Companies like American Pavilion that have been in business for years and have seen economic ups and downs are generally better prepared to weather a recession than newer companies that are experiencing a recession for the first time. While some of the more established rental companies are doing well or holding their own, quite a few others are cutting way back on expenses, delaying the payment of their bills and some are even shutting their doors. American Pavilion has been preparing for this downturn for quite some time by keeping expenses down even during the best of times and by ramping up our sales and marketing via the internet as well as print advertising.
If you are looking to do business with a rental company, now more than ever is the time to make sure that their financial position is sound so that when the day of your event comes you will be assured that they will arrive on the job site. You can check to make sure that your rental company is paying their bills by running a Dun & Bradstreet report and by speaking with their suppliers. A newer company might not have the financial reserves to survive an extended downturn so a well established company with many years under its belt is usually a better bet. None other than the great investor Warren Buffett says not to sell American short and I agree that once the excesses of the past few years work their way out of the system America will continue to be the dominant economy for many more years to come.
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