A bounce house has a rider limit, and a birthday party has a guest list. Divide the kids by the per-unit capacity and round up, and you know whether one inflatable covers the party or you need to send two.
Twelve kids on an 8-rider unit is 1.5, which rounds up to 2 bounce houses.
The example
Three events, each with a headcount and the safe capacity of one unit.
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Event | Kids | Capacity | Units |
| 2 | Backyard party | 12 | 8 | 2 |
| 3 | School fair | 60 | 8 | 8 |
| 4 | Church picnic | 24 | 8 | 3 |
The formula
A part-full unit is still a whole unit, so ROUNDUP does the rounding:
How it works
Two arguments:
B2/C2divides the number of kids by how many one bounce house safely holds at a time.ROUNDUP(...,0)rounds that up to a whole number — you cannot rent half an inflatable.- Capacity is the manufacturer's rider limit, not a guess — keep it in its own cell so you can switch units.
- For all-day events, remember kids rotate through, so capacity is a concurrent limit, not a total for the day.
Very young and older kids should not bounce together, so split the headcount by age group and size each group separately.
Try it: interactive demo
Enter the number of kids and the safe capacity of one unit.
Variations
Total rental cost
Multiply the units by your per-unit day rate.
Attendants needed
Many venues require one attendant per unit — the unit count is also your staffing count.
Pitfalls & errors
Capacity is a concurrent-rider limit set by the manufacturer and by weight, not just headcount. A unit rated for 8 small kids holds fewer teenagers — use the weight-appropriate limit.
Round up, never down. Rounding 1.1 units down to 1 leaves a line of kids waiting and a safety problem — the extra unit is the whole point of the calculation.
Practice workbook
Frequently asked questions
Why round up instead of to the nearest whole number?
Does this cover all-day fairs?
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