As the weather gets nicer and our thoughts turn to iconic outdoor events like NASCAR races and various and sundry jazz festivals, our thoughts inevitably may dwell on one of the unpleasant realities that inform our experience—the bathroom, or the portable, closet-sized olfactory nightmare without a sink that passes for one. By whatever name—Porta-Potties, Port-a-John or, if you’re in the U.K., a Port-a-Loo–the portable toilet is usually something to be avoided at all costs.
But, maybe, not anymore.
Callahead, one of the portable toilet industry’s leading companies, has introduced the “Versailles,” which might be a watershed moment in the world of portable plumbing. Callahead’s president and CEO, Charles Howard said he came up with the idea after visiting the real Versailles palace outside of Paris, and has created the “Versailles” portable toilet to “transport your guests into the grandeur of the French Louis XIV style of its namesake.”
Callahead, which supplies toilets for events around the New York City metro area, apparently spared no expense. The portable toilet, which is more like a trailer, has private bathroom stalls, “elegant custom-framed artwork,” flower arrangements, heat and air conditioning, surround sound music and porcelain vessel vanity sinks. The bathrooms also feature full vanity mirrors, along with “designer antibacterial soap dispensers, hand towels, tissues and candy mint dishes.” Each of the five stalls (on the women’s side of the trailer) is equipped with a personal skylight, a vent and a ceiling fan, if desired. The men’s side features two stalls and four waterless urinals.
The Versailles actually is the second upscale portable bathroom trailer produced by Callahead. The company’s first, the Equestrian, is a bit more nuanced and features an equine theme. Callahead has several other luxury restroom trailers: the Plaza, the Manhattan, the Oxford and the Regency, with the appropriate décor.
Callahead, which was started by Howard’s father, now has 130 employees and 65 trucks servicing New York City, Westchester and Long Island, with no plans to expand.
Now, if only the creative minds behind the Versailles can do something about the other scourges of outdoor events—the crowds, the dust and, sometimes, the really bad weather.
