Philadelphia Audio Visual Equipment Rentals

PHILADELPHIA AUDIO VISUAL EQUIPMENT RENTALS

Call: (800) 695-5943

4410 Belgrade Street, Unit 13, Philadelphia, PA 19137

A.V. Rental Services Inc

Philadelphia Audio Visual Equipment Rentals

audio visual tips

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When to Hire the Hotel AV Department

city avenue hilton, fastfols, screen, projection, conference, audio, visual, video
2015 Prenatal Conference

Should You Hire the Hotel AV Department

When planning an event at a local or out-of-state hotel, the time will come when you must decide whether to use the in-house hotel av department or hire a third-party A/V vendor.
There will be many factors in determining your decision. The important factor will be your relationship with the hotels audio visual department and how they are treating you. It goes without asking, “how important is this event to you?” as they are all important. I am sure with each event you plan, your intention is a flawless execution that excites the audience.
I have worked closely with many hotel AV departments. I have even hired hotel audio visual staff as our freelance technicians. I have found many skilled technicians with personality and great customer service and many technicians without either. Often times it will not be a matter of their level of skill or A/V knowledge but their lack of customer service and empathy. The big difference between using a hotel in house audio visual department or a third-party A/V vendor is their customer service and price.

In this Article We Will Discuss Both Service and Price

Customer Service! An in-house hotel’s A/V department often gets overwhelmed and cares less about the client’s wants and needs. They have very little invested in how well the show goes because their clients often fall into their laps. Hotels and their A/V departments are often connected by contracts. While many hotels will allow you to bring in a third-party vendor, many hotels are trying to run third-party vendors away by increasing the required insurance certificate minimums and/or running interference to make the set up and breakdown laborious.

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Spaghetti bundle of cables

 

Last year we had a horrible experience in Philadelphia after a three day event. We were rushed out of a hotel and forced to breakdown and clear the room, in less than 30 minutes. This left us with major tangled wires and broken equipment. In addition, we had to do this while the hotel reset the room around us and another company loading in, starting their set up.

Hotels can make life miserable for visiting A/V vendors. However, clients are choosing outside A/V vendors often based on their past experience with using the in-house department. The market was created by the performance of the in-house department. While in-house audio visual department’s are often providing A/V services for many events occurring simultaneously, a third-party vendor will staff your one event with technicians that are only focusing on your one event at that time. Our employees and technicians have a thorough understanding that our client’s satisfaction is imperative. Secondly they understand that our existence relies on repeat business. We do not have any clients that fall into our laps. We have to work hard to gain our business and continue to work…to keep it.
The second difference is price! If thecash in-house hotel audio visual department is required to ‘kick back’ a fee to the hotel, which many are required to do, then they will never be able to beat the pricing of an outside A/V company. If a ‘kickback’ is not required then the hotel is setting the audio visual prices and paying a portion back to the in-house audio visual department. Either method leaves the in-house department with little flexibility to discount. One method where our pricing can get beat is the leverage the hotel has to comp the audio visual equipment rental. Usually if the hotel is comping the audio visual they are making it up in the cost of the food or other chargeable areas. A client often decides to go with the in-house hotel audio visual department based on a false level of confidence that the in-house is located on the property so their response time will be immediate. If you do enough shows in a hotel you quickly learn this is not true. However, if our technician is on site during your event then our response time is absolutely immediate.

One of our other blogs speaks about itemized pricing. To read this blog click the link below.

Itemized Pricing Blog:
In closing I advise event planners to always get comparative quotes and definitely use your past experience with the in-house audio visual department as a major deciding factor. If you have an awesome relationship with a hotel in-house audio visual department by all means use them. There are many great hotel audio visual departments that will provide you with a pleasant A/V experience. If that has not been your experience call us immediately.

 

Bruce Johnson
A.V. Rental Services, Inc.
4039 Comly Street,
Philadelphia, PA 19135
PH: 267-463-7043
FX: 215-904-8503
bruce@AudioVisualRenting.com
www.AudioVisualRenting.com

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5 Responses to 5 Presenter’s Request

Foot-on-Microphone
~Reposted from LinkedIn

The Next Great Idea May Come From an Outsider

As A/V professionals we correspond and work alongside event planners on a daily basis. In addition we work alongside the end user/client. There are times, during an event when a client will suggest a better way to do our job. In all honesty, during some of those times I have picked up a tip or two on a better way. Having so said, this article is not to discount the planner or client but to remind everyone to stay open to new ideas and suggestions. Many times a new and efficient discovery is made from a non-audio-visual pro. This is true for all .

Now that that is out of the way lets discuss 5 situations and how to handle them. Below are examples from me and my colleagues’ experiences; questions or concerns, posed during the execution and preparation of an event.

1. No Thanks, I do not need a microphone.

I have heard this line from presenters in front of audiences as large as 100 people. I always recommend a microphone and sound system for audiences as small as 20-25 people. In small groups the microphone and speakers are required only to amplify the presenter’s voice and should not be used to blow out an audience’s eardrums.

No-Mic-Needed

Response: The microphone is necessary for attendees seated closer to the rear. Even though your voice is powerful, often there is someone trapped between or near other people who may be holding private conversations at a low volume but loud enough to prevent them from hearing your presentation.

2. I forgot to mention I have videos in my PowerPoint, can we play them?

Hear ye, hear ye…Presenters far and wide, do not keep vital information such as playing videos in the PowerPoint or videos at all, from your event planner. In addition to the planner, ensure this information trickles down to the audio visual provider, prior to event day. When this information flows efficiently it also means we can prepare for the now known video resolutions and match appropriate projectors for the best video quality, on screen.

Response: Of course we can but it is always helpful to have this information ahead of time so we can have all the equipment prepared and up and running, before you arrive.

3. It was not on the floor plan but can the laptop live on the podium?

Floor plans are an efficient way to filter information to every one involved. Detailed floor plans supply every trade involved (banquets, catering, audio-visual, lighting, staging and even the talent) with information necessary to at least start setting up the room without having to ask, or bother anyone with questions.

Response: Yes we can handle the change but be advised it entails re-running video cables and possibly audio cables from the old location to the new location and we will do everything we can, not to delay the event start time.

4. My laptop always works, let me do it.

This may be asked when the presenter provides his or her own laptop and is having trouble getting the laptop image through the projector and on the projection screen. Unless you have a truly one of a kind laptop and if your A/V provider is worth their weight in salt then your audio-visual technician will be more familiar with the quickest way to get the laptop signal to the projector. It is issues such as these where we earn our keep. Planners and clients, we encounter these same issues on a daily basis. This is one of the opportunities we have to impress you and show off; please do not take that away from us. Besides there are probably other, more important things you could be handling, as this usually occurs, probably less than 30 minutes to show time. When responding, you will need to read the client to be sure they are not getting irritated or like a few medical professionals, might not allow anyone to touch their laptop. If that is not the case…

Keep-my-Laptop

Response: (If you are sure you correct the issue) Sir or ma’am, I have worked with laptops just like this. If you have something else you need to do, feel free…I will get the laptop on screen before you know it.

5. The last issue is a question for event planners, presenters and all other AV clients.

Scenario: Your program is starting in 10 minutes, the AV technician has checked the microphone batteries, powered on and placed the lapel microphones on all of the presenters and have them muted at the audio mixer. However, the first presenter demanded we leave his microphone off and he will power it on when he begins. Lo and behold, he begins his presentation and forgets to turn his microphone on.

How would you like your AV technician to handle this situation?

A. Let the event continue until the first break.

B. Have the technician go onstage and power up the microphone or hand him a new mic.

C. Same as ‘B’ but this intro is too important; stop the presenter first.

Timing Tip: Arrive Time, Set Time, Start Time

Always let your AV provider know 2 event times. Most, if not all audio-visual providers work on 3 event times; arrive time, set time (up-n-running) and start time. Most planners will provide a start time but the other two are crucial to a flawless event. The AV provider can determine an appropriate ‘arrive’ time; given the planner provides the ‘set’ and ‘start’ time. Next time you are giving details remember to provide a set time and start time.
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