Only Thing They Sell Is an Idea : Convention Promotes Burgeoning Rental Industry

When President Reagan throws a wingding at the Western White House, he rents.

At one recent Reagan party attended by nearly 2,000 people, nearly everything the guests used, from the dinner chairs they sat in to the napkins in their laps, was rented. And much of it came from ABC Rent-Alls Inc. in Santa Barbara, which has supplied the essentials for a number of the Reagans’ functions, said Pamela Ciarimboli, ABC’s party manager.

Even though the general public doesn’t rent as often as the President, the rental industry is growing at a 7% annual clip. What is now a $7-billion annual industry was only good for $2.5 billion 10 years ago. But still, each year only one in three consumers rents so much as a punch ladle--a ratio that the American Rental Assn. would like to improve. Many of the association’s 4,000 member rental companies are meeting this week at the Anaheim Convention Center to develop ways to let the public know it can rent the likes of a salad fork or forklift for a fraction of the retail cost.

No longer is the local rental store simply the place to pick up a crib and highchair when the grandchildren come to town. The industry’s growth has been bolstered by do-it-yourselfers who would rather spend $20 renting a cement mixer than hundreds of dollars buying one. And with the trend toward home health care, it simply makes more sense to rent a wheelchair, if it is needed only temporarily, for $8 a day than to buy one for $450.

Also playing a new role are life style changes, especially splashy corporate functions that demand festive decor. Often called rent-a-parties in the industry’s lingo, these lavish parties have spawned a new rental market for everything from hot-air balloons to hot tubs.

“The evolution into a service society is great for us, because we’re a service industry,” said C.A. Siegfried Jr., executive director of the American Rental Assn., which is based in Moline, Ill. And it is a profitable industry: Executives say their return on investment is among the highest in American business. During a 15-year period, one California rental company chalked up rental revenues of $18,000 on a demolition hammer it purchased for $300.

Eyeing the industry’s changes, U-Haul International Inc. of Phoenix, Ariz., recently added millions of dollars in general rental equipment to 1,200 rental outlets. But the move has had a slower pay-back than expected, because most consumers still think of U-Haul as a place to rent a trailer, not a tractor.

Although U-Haul has yet to add the likes of linens and punch bowls to its stock, so-called special-events rentals appear to be the industry’s fastest-growing niche. The market share of this growing segment is approaching 20%, and it is even higher in California. Party rentals have become so vital that many big rental companies have their own party specialists, and several publications focus only on that facet of the industry.

One of them, Special Events, calls itself “the national magazine for people who really know how to throw a party.” Later this year in San Diego, the magazine will host the industry’s first-ever trade show geared exclusively to party rentals, said publisher Tim Novoselski.

John Santrizos, owner of ABC Rent-Alls, said, “People seem to be having more and more parties, especially here in Southern California.” Not only has he hired a party specialist, but an increasing percentage of his $300,000 inventory is for party rentals.

Besides providing the likes of napkins, tablecloths, dishes, silverware, tables and chairs for various Reagan parties, the company also has supplied rental equipment for parties given by a number of Santa Barbara-area celebrities, including John Travolta, said Ciarimboli, the company’s party manager. “The delivery guys love to take equipment to celebrities’ homes,” he said.

In order to satisfy Nancy Reagan before one recent party, the company first sent samples of its red linen to the White House. “Nancy likes her red linen very red,” Ciarimboli said.

It just makes more sense to rent some party items than to buy them. Stainless steel beverage fountains that spew champagne at elegant affairs can cost $700. But Vic Pontrelli, co-owner of Pontrelli Fountain Co. of La Mirada, said he sells 70% of the lavish fountains he makes to rental companies. He plans to peddle plenty of fountains at the four-day Anaheim show.

The life of many parties is often supplied by Dan Toomey, whose company, John Toomey Co. of Worcester, Mass., makes lifelike animal costumes. Rental companies purchase these costumes for about $225, then rent them for about $35 a day, he said. “With some costumes, they can get their money back in just a few rentals,” he said. Toomey said that rental companies account for 80% of his business.

Not too long ago, parties with gambling motifs were sure bets, but the popularity of renting gambling equipment has recently faded, said Carol Creeger, national sales manager of Rental Shops Inc. in Richmond, Va. The company sells gambling equipment to rental firms, from reusable bingo cards (100 for $67) to portable craps tables ($90 each).

All is not so glamorous in the rental business. J. I. Case makes contractor equipment, such as diggers, forklifts and trenchers. Nearly 20% of its $2.5 billion in sales last year went to rental companies, estimated Marv Zoromski, national accounts manager of the Racine, Wis., company. The big $55,000 machines will rent for about $200 a day.