Hotel & ballroom AV

At a hotel, is your AV budget funding your event — or the property?

Book a ballroom and you’ll usually be handed the hotel’s preferred AV provider. It’s convenient — and that convenience is priced in. The provider pays the hotel a commission on your AV bill, and still holds its own margin on top.

Get a free commission breakdown How the commission works

How the hotel deal works

What you’re really paying for.

Hotels sign an exclusive or “preferred” AV vendor for their function space. That vendor pays the hotel a commission — frequently a double-digit percentage of your AV invoice — for the exclusive. Because the cost has to come from somewhere, it’s built into your rate, on top of the vendor’s markup. The result is a higher number with less room to negotiate.

It isn’t a scandal — it’s the business model. But once you can see the commission, you can decide whether your budget funds the show or the hotel.

Before you sign

Three questions for your hotel.

Ask the hotel what the in-house AV commission and markup are.
Ask whether outside production is allowed (it usually is) and what the facility/power fee would be.
Get a Show Plan from an outside team and compare it to the in-house quote line-for-line.

The alternative

Buy production, not commission.

BËTR is the outside production company you bring into your hotel instead — one accountable team, the same senior crew every show, our own gear, and a quote you can read line-for-line. We coordinate with the property on load-in, power, and rigging, so it’s the easy part.

The in-house AV alternative Breakout rooms

Hotels & ballrooms AV — FAQ

Can I bring my own AV company to a hotel?

Almost always, yes. Most hotels allow outside production; some charge a modest facility or power fee. We coordinate directly with the hotel on load-in, power, and rigging.

Why is hotel ballroom AV so expensive?

The in-house provider pays the hotel a commission on your AV spend and adds its own margin — both are baked into the rate. As the default in the building, there’s also little pressure to discount.

Do hotels charge a fee to bring in outside AV?

Some do — usually a modest facility or power/labor fee. Even with it, an outside Show Plan frequently comes in below the marked-up in-house quote.

Free, no obligation

Send us your hotel AV quote.

We’ll break down what’s commission and what’s markup — and what we’d charge to run the same show.