Rental and purchase can both be smart, depending on your timeline, cash flow, operational bandwidth, and how often your layout changes.
Operate seasonally and want costs aligned with revenue
Prefer predictable monthly expenses (easy forecasting)
Want maintenance handled without pulling staff from guest services
Need flexibility to move/expand units over time
Run pilot concepts (new glamping loops, new RV pads, event weekends)
Don’t want off-season responsibilities (dismantle/removal, no storage worries, off-season maintenance)
Typical hospitality matches:
Operate year-round with stable demand
Have a fixed master plan and don’t anticipate moving layouts
Have in-house maintenance capacity you trust
Want long-term asset ownership and prefer capex over opex
Plan to standardize permanently across one site for many years
Typical hospitality matches:
Ask yourself:
1. Is my revenue seasonal or steady year-round?
2. Do I want capex (purchase) or opex (rental) budgeting?
3. Do I have reliable maintenance labor capacity?
4. Will I want to change layouts in the next 1–3 seasons?
5. Do I want off-season responsibilities—or none?
If flexibility, predictable spending, and reduced operational burden matter most, rental can be a strong fit. If you want long-term permanence and you’re confident your layout won’t change, purchase often wins.
Launching a new business is demanding under normal circumstances. Doing so:
Joe identified the biggest operational concern early:
“I was thinking through how I was going to keep my customers’ feet dry in the winter with snow, melt, freeze-thaw.”
Without a proper deck foundation, risks included:
In winter hospitality environments, ground conditions directly affect guest experience and liability.
Joe first encountered Flatspot while attending Glamping Show Americas. He wasn’t actively shopping for decking, his goal was to source a tent.
What stood out was how consistently Flatspot appeared in real-world installations.
“What caught my attention was the utilization of Flatspot in almost all of the presentations and demos.”
Seeing Flatspot paired with Davis Tent setups created a clear use case for winter deployment.
“It clicked. It made sense.”
Before committing, Joe explored building his own solution:
However, once he evaluated:
the cost-benefit equation shifted.
“It would take at least a week of my time.”
For a first-season launch, that time wasn’t available.
“With installation, timing, and everything else, it made the most sense.”
Installing a deck in Colorado mountain winter conditions requires confidence in both materials and execution.
Key factors that made modular decking the right solution:
“Knowing the installation would be done properly and level—that’s the most important thing. You need a flat spot.”
In winter environments, level installation is non-negotiable:
Despite challenging conditions, the installation process remained straightforward.
“Customer service has been very easy. Very responsive.”
Rather than a standard sales process, the focus stayed on:
“From the initial call to meeting you all here today—it’s been very straightforward.”
With the deck installed:
Most importantly, Cedar Sauna House launched on time, without delaying its first winter season.
This project demonstrates how modular decking supports:
When conditions are difficult and timelines are fixed, the right deck foundation becomes a critical operational decision—not just a construction detail.
Combine all three to get the lowest price per square foot and 10% off every add-on.