Booking Inflatables for a School or City Event: COI, W-9 and PO Guide

We Rent Fun has been on the vendor side of that process for more than a decade — with school districts, municipalities, parishes, condo associations and corporate HR teams across Miami-Dade and Broward. This is the guide we wish every event coordinator had before they started making calls.

The five documents your business office will ask for

Almost every institutional booking in South Florida comes down to the same packet. If a rental company cannot produce all five, the order will stall at accounts payable no matter how good the price was.

1. Certificate of Insurance (COI) naming your organization as additional insured, with the correct legal entity name and event address.
2. W-9 for vendor setup in your accounting system.
3. State ride inspection documentation — in Florida, amusement rides are inspected under the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS).
4. Proof of trained operators for any staffed attraction.
5. Vendor registration with your district, city or parks system, where one is required.

We Rent Fun is an approved vendor with both the Miami-Dade and Broward school and parks systems, we are fully insured, our rides are FDACS-inspected, and our attraction operators are safety-trained. Our COIs go out within 24 hours of a request — usually the same business day.

Getting the COI right the first time

Most delays we see are not the insurance company's fault. They are a naming problem. Before you request a certificate, send your vendor these four things:

• The exact legal name of the entity to be listed as additional insured — a district and an individual school are not interchangeable, and a management company is not the same as the association it manages.
• The mailing address that entity uses on contracts, which is often not the event site.
• The event address and date, including the park or campus name.
• Any required coverage limits or specific endorsement language your risk office demands.

Send those four items in the first email and you will have your certificate in a day. Send them piecemeal and you will spend a week on revisions. If your risk management office has a standard vendor packet, forward it whole — we would rather read six pages than guess.

How institutions actually pay for this

Families pay by card. Organizations usually cannot. We are set up for the way your finance office works:

• Purchase orders — send the PO number and we will invoice against it.
• Corporate and school checks, including checks that arrive after the event.
• Tax-exempt billing for qualifying organizations.
• One invoice for the whole event rather than four vendors to reconcile.

That last point matters more than people expect. Booking inflatables from one company, tables and tents from another, a generator from a third and staff from a fourth means four COIs, four W-9s, four vendor setups and four invoices for the same afternoon. We supply attractions, mechanical rides, tents, tables and chairs, concessions, generators and staffed attendants on a single contract.

Safety questions worth asking any vendor

• Are your rides inspected by the state, and can I see the current documentation?
• Do you carry general liability insurance, and will you name us as additional insured at no charge?
• Are your units anchored to manufacturer and ASTM standards — including on asphalt and pavilion slabs where stakes will not hold?
• Do you provide trained attendants, and what is your wind and weather policy?
• Who is my contact on event day, and what time will the crew arrive?

A vendor who can answer all five without checking is a vendor your risk office will approve.

The mistake that ruins park events: power

Most county and city park pavilions in Miami-Dade and Broward have no usable power for inflatables, or have a single outlet that cannot carry multiple blowers. Every blower needs continuous power for the entire event — there is no battery option. We supplied over 900 generators last year, which tells you how often this comes up. Generators run $119–$249. If your event is at a park, put power in the quote from the start.

What institutional events actually cost

• Elementary school field day (multiple attractions, staffed, generators included): roughly $2,600–$3,200.
• City or large community festival: $6,000–$10,000+.
• Staffed attendants: $300 per attendant per 4-hour shift.
• Tent packages: $649 for about 40 guests up to $1,399 for 100.
• Individual attractions: bounce houses from $209, water slides from $249, obstacle courses from $359.

When to book

• Fall festivals (October) — book in August and September.
• Holiday events (December) — book by early November.
• Spring flings (February–March) — book in January.
• Field days (April–May) — the tightest window of the year. Broward and Miami-Dade end their school years about a week apart, stacking nearly every field day into two weeks. Book in January or February.
• Summer camps and July 4 city events — book in April and May.

Frequently asked questions

How fast can you send a certificate of insurance?
Within 24 hours of receiving your entity name, address and event details — usually the same business day.

Are you an approved vendor with Miami-Dade and Broward schools and parks?
Yes. We are registered with both school systems and both parks systems.

Can you invoice against a purchase order?
Yes. Send the PO number with your booking. We also accept corporate and school checks.

Do you provide staff to run the attractions?
Yes. Attendants are $300 per 4-hour shift, recommended for every school, city and corporate event.

Do you set up on asphalt or in a pavilion?
Yes. We use sandbag and ballast anchoring rated for hard surfaces instead of stakes.

Start with the paperwork, not the price sheet

Tell us the entity name, the date, the venue and the headcount. You will get a quote, a COI and a W-9 back — the whole packet, not just a price. See the full Schools, Cities & Organizations page.

Call 305-985-0505 or email info@WeRentFun.Net.