How many hats do I need for my event?

The base rates

Corporate events, activations, and mixed parties: 60–75% of headcount. Not every guest visits any station — some skip the line, some leave early, some just do not wear hats. Twenty years of live stations says roughly two-thirds participation is the honest planning number for a general crowd.

Weddings and bachelorettes: 90–100%. When the hat is the favor and the couple announces it, participation spikes. For a bachelorette, it is definitionally 100% — every member of the squad gets a lid, plus the bride's reserved set.

Trade shows: think per-hour, not per-attendee. One press moves 40–60 hats an hour. A two-day booth running six hours a day maxes out around 500–700 hats regardless of foot traffic, so inventory follows press capacity.

The overage rule

Add about 10% across colorways. It is not about running out of hats total — it is about running out of the good colorway. The stone and sage caps vanish first at every event; deep stock on predicted favorites keeps the ninth-hour guest from choosing between two leftovers. We forecast the colorway split for you based on your palette and crowd.

Leftovers are a feature

Unpressed caps are yours to keep, and because they are quality blanks — Richardson 112s, 115s, foam snapbacks — they never go to waste: late gifts, new-hire kits, next year's party. Some corporate clients deliberately over-order to bank branded inventory at event pricing.

Once the count is set, the cost answer shows how quantity feeds the quote, or jump to pricing for the anchors.