Known for its vibrant music scene, Austin, Texas is often referred to as the “Live Music Capital of the World.” The area is treated to amazing concerts throughout the year. But concerts and music festivals aren’t always a treat for the locals.

“The idea for the company started in 2007, about a week after the Austin City Limits Music Festival,” says James Gill, owner of Austin Rent Fence & Restrooms. “It poured rain that year and destroyed the park where the music was held.”

Gill routinely walked his dog through Zilker Park, which is home to the festival grounds. When the city fenced off the park for weeks due to the rain damage, Gill took notice. It was the temporary fencing that piqued his interest. 

“I realized that there was not a single locally owned or operated temporary fencing company in Austin, Texas,” he says. Gill turned the temporary inconvenience into a booming temporary fencing business, opening Austin Rent Fence & Restrooms in 2008. He began by targeting special events like the one that inspired his business. 

As the city grew, so did Gill’s company, transitioning into providing temporary fencing for residential homebuilders. Today, the company’s primary clients work on large-scale commercial building projects. 

Demand-led expansion

Austin Rent Fence & Restrooms used subcontractors to provide roll-off dumpsters and portable restrooms for job sites. However, clients routinely asked the company if they provided these services in-house. 

“If they have one company that can deal with their fence, their porta potties, their dumpsters and all of their other site services, and that’s only one phone call that they have to make instead of four. That makes their life easier,” says Matt Briggs, Austin Rent Fence & Restrooms’ general manager.  

“We have all the technology and infrastructure. The idea for portable restrooms had been around for a decade-plus, and eventually it started to make more sense,” Gill says. “We decided to take a leap of faith and go for it.” 

After more than a decade in business, Austin Rent Fence & Restrooms already has a fleet of trucks and trailers that included eight Ford F-350 flatbeds with 16-foot trailers with a ninth on order, as well as three Freightliner M6 flatbeds with 20-foot beds and a liftgate. “We definitely had a leg up in terms of having delivery infrastructure and the manpower available,” Briggs says. 

In 2023, the company finally expanded into portable restrooms, purchasing about 150 units. The company currently has roughly 650 Satellite Global II portable restrooms, 45 Satellite Freedom 4 ADA portable restrooms and 125 J&J Echo standard portable restrooms. The company also owns four Ford F-550 trucks that host an Imperial 1,300-gallon aluminum tank with 400 gallons of freshwater and 900 gallons of wastewater with a Masport HXL4V pump. The company also has a Wabash 300-gallon slide-in unit and a second one on order, three 14-foot, four-stall Satellite portable restroom trailers and 110 Satellite Tag 4 sinks. 

Valuable relationships

Unlike a startup company, Austin Rent Fence & Restrooms entered the portable restroom business with trucks, trailers and trained workers. Despite all the company’s existing assets, it entered the industry with something that was even more valuable. 

“The No. 1 value that we came into this with is the Rolodex,” Briggs says. “It’s the existing client list and the existing relationships and trust that we built up in providing services at different events and different construction sites. Not having to earn that trust blindly or to find the right points of contact.”

For more than a decade, Austin Rent Fence & Restrooms has worked to build a reputation for excellence. The company prioritizes communication and quality service. Thanks to their local roots, customers have numerous local points of contact including a direct line to management. 

Austin is a competitive market. The area has several portable restroom companies, including many that Austin Rent Fence & Restrooms has worked with on job sites. 

“I’m not sure I would have done it if I were starting from scratch,” Gill says. “But due to our saturation in the Austin market in the three sectors, special events, residential and the commercial sector, we were already in it. People asked us for it. We didn’t have to go ask them.” 

Restrooms vs. fencing

While temporary fencing and portable restrooms are both transitory services, there are distinct differences operators must contend with. The initial setup for temporary fencing is more complicated. There are terrain considerations, underground and property line assessments and multi-personnel crews. Fencing crews typically do two to four jobs in a day. 

With portable restrooms, Austin Rent Fence & Restrooms typically sends a single crew member for setup. A single operator can set up 40 or more portable restrooms. However, portable restrooms require more follow-up visits. The company services its portable restrooms on at least a weekly basis. Because more visits are required, the service area for portable restrooms is smaller. Austin Rent Fence & Restrooms provides portable restrooms to the Austin metro area. They provide temporary fencing to a radius area of roughly 100 miles. 

Observations

Surprises: Austin Rent Fence & Restrooms got into the portable restroom trailer business on the suggestion of a client who was interested in more VIP services. 

“The hill country out here in Austin is renowned for its special event venues and the beautiful views but there’s not a lot of infrastructure that’s built up. Our restroom trailers basically stay out there most of the time. We’ve used them on movie sets and different film productions. It’s more of a niche audience relative to our typical clientele we had with fences,” Briggs says. 

Perks of the Job: “This year, we have a goal of having hundreds and hundreds of trees planted, which comes from a percentage of our profits that are donated. About six years ago, we partnered with a charity here in town that cleans up all the rivers and lakes through Austin. We live here, we want the city to look better. The company and myself, take an active role in giving back. We want this place to be as nice as we can,” Gill says. 

Advice: “If someone needs anything, they can pick up the phone and get someone in our office in downtown Austin, Texas, on the phone every day. You don’t have to submit a ticket, you don’t need a PO number, you don’t have a 1-800 number. Everyone knows our first names and they have our cellphones. We make it a priority to emphasize the relationships. That builds the trust and the service speaks for itself,” Gill says. 

Looking ahead

With its moderate winters, construction and special event seasons last practically year-round in Texas. With year-round work, there’s no traditional business season, creating a gradual ebb and flow for work. However, Austin is one of the fastest-growing cities in the country and Austin Rent Fence & Restrooms is growing with it. 

The company currently has 30 full-time employees. During the first year of providing portable restrooms, that service accounted for roughly 5% of revenue. However, almost two years later, portable restrooms are quickly closing the gap. By summer 2025, roughly 20% of revenue came from portable restrooms.   

Gill and Briggs have big plans for Austin Rent Fence & Restrooms. They plan on at the very least doubling the number of portable restroom units it has available for clients.