Experiential Audio Visual Production News & Articles | Clarity Experiences

Are You Still Using In-House AV (Audiovisual)?

Written by Clarity Experiences | Mar 29, 2016

There is a time and purpose for everything, and the same principle applies in the events industry. With each event being unique, we find events need tailored solutions. This causes event planners to go searching for vendors to provide the custom solutions their event needs.

In an attempt to provide a convenient one stop shop, hotels and other event venues have created event packages to handle all your event needs from AV to seating to food options. If convenience is of utmost importance to you, the hotel's package can be convenient, but they may not be able to offer you the same level of expertise, especially in the area of AV.

Using the in-house AV company can be convenient, but is the service and outcome worth what you are paying? What venues don’t tell you about using their in-house AV team is the venue gets commission from the in-house AV company when you agree to use their vendor. This may not seem like a problem, but the commission rate is usually 45+ percent of the total value of your AV spend. Even though the in-house AV company will be writing the commission check, the commission comes out of your total AV spend. Now instead of 100 percent of your AV budget going towards the AV solution your event needs, 45+ percent is going to the venue providing no added value to your event.

Does this mean never use a venue’s in-house AV team?

Not necessarily, like I said each event is unique and needs tailored solutions. Sometimes the in-house team can offer you an acceptable solution for a simple small event, but it is a good practice to get a second opinion or bid from an outside company. For larger events or events where you are looking to make an impact through the environment, an external AV company or a mixture of both in-house and an external AV may make sense.

 

Have an event coming up? Let's talk about your event!


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