Success doesn’t always smell sweet.
For Daniel Thom, 31, owner and operator of Bay Area Sanitation, success means having nearly 2,000 portable toilets at events and work sites throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Tom’s company is responsible for the rental and maintenance of these toilets, including weekly cleaning, restocking, and emptying up to 60 gallons of waste from each unit with one of the Bay Area Sanitation Department’s 12 vacuum pump trucks.
“When I tell people I run a porta-potty business, I get some pretty nasty looks,” Tom says. “But once you explain the business model and revenue to them, they are almost always interested.”
Tom launched Bay Area Sanitation Services in 2023 with one truck and just 100 rental toilets. The company has been profitable since its first year of establishment, and profits have increased along with the number of rental toilets. The Bay Area Department of Health brought in $3.1 million in total revenue in 2024 and $4.3 million in 2025, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.
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Tom’s business operates just about anywhere there is a need for portable toilets, from short-term outdoor events such as concerts to long-term rentals at construction sites and public parks. Bay Area Sanitation’s standard-sized portable toilets start at $160 per month for long-term rentals that include weekly cleaning. Short-term prices range from $239 to $399 per event.
Tom said the majority of the company’s revenue comes from long-term rentals with recurring weekly cleaning fees that add up over weeks, months or years. “I like to focus on long-term rentals because it equates to guaranteed recurring revenue for my business,” he said, adding that his business’s net profit margin is about 22%.
Tom never forgot the irony of building a successful business collecting human waste “right on the doorstep of some of the world’s biggest tech companies like Google, Apple, and Nvidia.” At a time when many workers are worried about being replaced by artificial intelligence, Tom sees an advantage in building a business around solving humanity’s inevitable problems.
“We have succeeded in building a business that is low-tech and AI-resistant,” he says.
“I take pride in my work.”
Tom began his career in the industry during his junior year at San Jose State University, where he was studying to become a physical education teacher. He took a part-time job in customer service at a portable toilet rental company.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Tom, who worked as a sales manager at Hanson & Fitch for seven years before deciding to start his own business, said, “I loved it so much that I decided to quit teaching and work full time after graduation.”
Tom saw the solid profit potential of business and came to appreciate doing the necessary work that others would shy away from. “The truth is, I take pride in my work. I love going to work every day and providing a service that everyone needs. Everyone goes, right?” he says.
Daniel Tom is the owner and operator of Bay Area Sanitation.
Source: CNBC Make It
Starting a porta potty rental business typically requires sufficient up-front capital to purchase equipment, which can cost about $800 per rentable toilet and $160,000 per vacuum truck, Tom says. He declined to provide details about his startup capital, but said the average person may need about $250,000 to start a business.
Labor costs for Tom’s 19 employees are the biggest expense, he says, representing about 30 percent of Bay Area Sanitation’s revenue. Other costs include fuel for vacuum trucks and delivery trucks, and consumables such as toilet paper and paper towels. Tom’s personal annual income is approximately $120,000, but he says this number could easily be higher if he didn’t reinvest a large portion of his profits back into the business.
“Our top priority is to reinvest in the business to continue to grow,” Tom says. His goal is to collect 5,000 portable toilets and generate $10 million in annual revenue within the next five years. In December, the Bay Area Department of Sanitation signed a lease for warehouse yard space that can accommodate “almost twice the number of trucks we currently have,” he added.
The portable toilet rental industry brought in an estimated $3.3 billion in the U.S. in 2025, an increase of 1.7% from 2024, according to a September 2025 analysis by research firm IBISWorld. Tom said he expects the company’s market share in the Bay Area to be significant due to the countless outdoor events held locally and the growing construction sector.
Start by waking up at 4am
Tom’s business probably isn’t for everyone, but he says he’s gotten used to some of the less palatable aspects. “I’ve cleaned a lot of porta potties in the past, and the smell didn’t really bother me,” he says. “But every once in a while, you’ll come across a (unit) after someone has had a bad burrito or something. And even for me, it’s hard to stomach.”
His typical day begins with a 4 a.m. wake-up. He drives to the company’s storage yard to meet with employees before everyone leaves to deliver new toilets to customers or clean long-term rental properties. On non-busy days, Tom remains in the office performing administrative tasks, making sales calls, and working on the company’s long-term growth strategy.
A Bay Area Department of Sanitation employee cleans the inside of a portable toilet.
Source: CNBC Make It
One of the keys to success, Tom suggests, is to take the hygiene side of your business as seriously as possible. The weekly cleaning schedule for each unit includes completely emptying the waste with a vacuum truck’s suction wand, adding odor eliminator to break down future waste and reduce odors, scrubbing and disinfecting all surfaces within the unit, and replenishing paper products.
Tom says prioritizing the customer experience means avoiding awkward situations for users as much as possible. And that means working with your hands, even if you’re a business owner. “What sets owners apart in the porta potty business is how involved they remain in the day-to-day operations,” he added.
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