Welcome Week & Back to School Rentals
Move-in weekend, orientation, first Friday and the whole first-week programming block.
Welcome week is the highest-stakes programming week of the year and the hardest one to get attention during. New students are overwhelmed, upperclassmen are catching up with friends, and every org on campus is competing for the same crowd.
Attractions work because they don't require anyone to talk to a stranger first. A student who won't walk up to a club table will get in line for a velcro wall — and then they're standing next to someone. Book by June or early July; August is one of our two busiest months.
By moment
- Move-in weekend. Something visible near the residence halls. Parents are stressed, students are nervous, and a bounce house or interactive game outside a dorm changes the whole tone of the day.
- Orientation and org fair. Place attractions inside the org fair footprint so the queue path runs past tables. Same trick that works for trade show sponsors.
- First Friday / kickoff event. The big one. Knockerballs, zorb balls, obstacle courses, the 26-foot rock wall as the anchor.
- Late night programming. Velcro wall and axe throw simulator, lit and staffed. This is where welcome week competes directly with off-campus options.
Attractions are an icebreaker, not entertainment
The reason to spend welcome-week budget here isn't fun — it's that a queue is a low-pressure place for first-year students to meet each other. Two-person formats like the axe throw simulator and knockerballs do this better than anything solo. If your goal is connection rather than attendance, weight the mix toward head-to-head.
August in New Orleans
- Heat is the constraint. Move-in weekend is brutally hot. Shade placement or evening programming, and drinking water on site.
- Afternoon storms. August pop-ups are routine. Have an indoor fallback identified, and know our policy: cancel two days out for a raincheck good for three months; inside two days it's forfeited.
- Water units are a strong August call if campus allows water play and there's a hose within 50 feet.
The practical stuff
- Power: generators from us, one per inflatable, for quads and lawns. Near residence halls you may have a usable 20 amp circuit — we'll confirm on the site visit.
- Insurance: certificate naming the university, 4.5% of the order. Start with risk management in early summer, not August.
- Access: 36 inches for a bounce house, 42 for a bigger game, plus a vehicle route.
- Multi-day: book the whole week as one job and we'll move equipment between locations rather than redelivering.
Common questions
When should we book welcome week?
June or early July. August is one of our two busiest months because every school and university in the metro area programs the same two weeks.
Can you cover multiple days and locations?
Yes, and it's cheaper as one job. Send us the full week's schedule.
What's best for helping first-year students meet each other?
Head-to-head, two-person formats. Axe throw simulator and knockerballs beat solo attractions for that goal.
What if an August storm hits?
Cancel at least two days out for a raincheck valid three months. Inside two days, payments are forfeited — so call early if the forecast turns.
Plan welcome week
Send us the week's schedule and locations. We'll quote it as one job.
Call 504-467-9424 All college events