Venue Recommended Photo Booths

Venue Recommended Photo Booths (updated 2017)

(this article was originally published in Oct 2015, updated June 2017)

If you have been on the hunt for that perfect Wedding, Party, or Corporate venue you likely have come across the fact that most venues have a “Recommended Suppliers List”. This being a list of suppliers that they recommend as the ones that they like to work with and ideally would like you to choose from. Whether it be the decorator, cake maker, photographer, celebrant, furniture hire or photo booth operator they will often have one or two of each who they recommend.

As the event holder and as the person who is paying for the event you of course have the right to choose who you want to use for all aspects of your event. One exception to this is when they offer you a package deal (venue hire plus other suppliers) which can tie you to a particular supplier but generally the photo booth operators aren't included in such deals so for the purpose of this discussion isn't really an issue.

Let's have a look at the pros and cons of going with a venue's preferred photo booth operator:

PROS

Generally venues choose photo booth operators who have proven themselves in the past as being professional, reliable and are easy to work with. These operators are often local and have their booths at the location often and have built a mutually beneficial relationship with the venue. Given the aforementioned you can generally assume that any recommended photo booth operators are going to do the right thing by you as they want to keep doing the right thing by the venue to ensure what is often a very lucrative source of referral business for them continues well after your event is said and done.

Sometimes there are slightly better deals on offer from the photo booth operator when you book with them via your venues recommendation but not always.

CONS

Some venues don't base their preferred supplier lists solely on choosing professional easy to work with suppliers but rather suppliers who are willing to give them a cut of the business that they send their way by means of commissions or kickbacks. This can, but not always, lead to paying slightly more than if you had shopped around as operators have to factor in the extra cost of paying the venue their share. Even if that is not the case some operators who are happy to enter paid arrangements do so knowing that it's a numbers game for them to make money and may not always have your best interests in mind.

SOLUTION

You need a two pronged approach. First hopefully you have chosen not only a good venue but have a good venue co-ordinator who can help you. If that is the case talk with your venue co-ordinator about their personally preferred photo booth operator either on or not on their venues preferred list.

Secondly do your research, check reviews and of course use Photobooth Finders free comparison and enquiry directory to make getting quotes all the easier!

Disclaimer: Whilst every caution has been taken to provide readers with most accurate information and honest analysis, please use your discretion before taking any decisions based on the information in this blog. Author will not compensate you in any way whatsoever if you ever happen to suffer a loss/inconvenience/damage because of/while making use of information in this blog.

(Photo Booth Blogger: Justin Jowett)