With so many in-house AV companies consolidating recently, it’s easy for event and meeting planners to feel like the AV company at the hotel is the only option they’ve got.

That’s definitely what hotels would like you to think since they typically get a commission when you go with the in-house company.

But less competition means service and consistency at in-house companies can start to take a back seat.

It’s worth taking a big step back to share what we’ve heard from clients who have tried a different approach and hired an outside AV company instead of venue-based in-house companies to save on time, energy, and their bottom line.

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1. One point of contact for all your events

 

If you have 20 similar events in hotels across the country over the course of a year, you’ll be working with a different person each time. That means you’re explaining every detail of your event 20 different times, learning the working styles of 20 different people, and basically crossing your fingers nothing gets lost in translation.

Here’s where our event managers come in. They’re your personal AV experts, planner extraordinaire, and all-around wizards who plan hundreds of events each year. They’re about to make your life a whole lot easier by knowing your event inside and out. They know which speaker always runs late for rehearsals, which executive likes to make last-minute changes onsite, and what your CEO’s major show-flow pet peeves are. 

They’re your one contact when you have a question, need to make a change, or want to add more events to the calendar. 

2. A consistent experience in every city and state

 

Something we often hear from clients is that it’s tricky to predict the onsite experience when working with dozens of different AV companies. Each venue and crew is different, so it’s tough for our clients to know exactly how to prepare and how involved they need to be. 

When you work with a nationwide company like ours, our top priority is making sure your event runs smoothly, whether it’s in a breakout room in Miami or a conference room in Phoenix. We run over 8,000 events a year — most of them in hotels — so we know exactly what details to gather beforehand for success.

And since it’s the same team managing all the details, you don’t have to worry about unpredictable service or results.

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3. Same look, feel, and branding

 

Here’s a common scenario that would put our stomachs in knots: Let’s say you’re having an important series of publicity events. For the first one, you’ve perfected the backdrop, your digital signage, the stage arrangement, and the design of your lighting. It’s perfect. It’s a vision. 

Next venue? Turns out, the venue and AV team have a different set-up. The backdrop is much brighter, the lighting is different, there’s nowhere to put your sponsorship signage, and it looks nothing like your first event. 

When you’re looking for predictable, consistent branding, an outside, nationwide AV vendor is going to guard your brand like it’s a precious jewel. Expect the same result because it’s the same experts keeping consistency and brand presence top-of-mind.

4. One go-to crew for all your event needs

 

Remember that book, “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie?” Corporate event planning is kind of like that. If you’re having an event, you’re probably going to need iPads for check-in. And probably a bulletproof webcast. And perhaps fast event WiFi so your attendees can stay connected. 

We’ve got it all under one roof. Just let your event manager know what you’re looking for and voilá— you just saved yourself a whole bunch of searching, contracting, and calling.

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5. You’ll have a dedicated onsite team​

 

Hotels are busy places. Sometimes, in-house audio-visual companies at hotels are responsible for multiple events happening in the same venue. What if you need different AV equipment than you expected, at the last minute? This can be especially tricky if your event is one of the smaller events happening that day, and may not be a top priority. 

When you hire an outside audio-visual provider, you can expect everyone on the onsite team to be fully dedicated to making sure your event runs smoothly. Instead of a large AV company that has high personnel rotation, so you'll never have consistency and you never know who you will get to direct and lead your event, only that can make or break the success of your event and the continuity it deserves.

 

6. Flat rate pricing nationwide​

 

Flat rate pricing is a beautiful thing. Imagine knowing exactly how much you’ll know to pay for each event in your series, regardless of the city or venue. 

You’ll likely be saving on your bottom line, too. Event costs vary so much from city to city, that flattening everything out to one consistent rate typically results in huge savings for our customers with traveling events. We do not owe 40%+ commission to venues for being their in-house Av company so our prices are fair and competitive and our clients save a lot and are the ones directly benefiting of those savings.

One of our biggest clients did nearly 26 of the same events in one year — just imagine the time, money, and energy saved that they can put back into their business.

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