Hotel AV - The Hidden Price of Convenience

Why Hotel A/V Isn’t Just Expensive — It’s Engineered That Way

When planning a corporate event, graduation, or conference, it’s tempting to go with the in-house A/V provider at the hotel. After all, they’re already there, they know the venue, and it seems... convenient. But what many clients don’t realize until it’s too late is that in-house A/V is often not about service — it’s about control and profit. And that “convenience” comes at a very real cost.

Hotel AV - The Illusion of Simplicity

Hotels often market their in-house A/V teams as seamless and worry-free. What they don’t tell you is that the hotel usually receives a cut of whatever the in-house provider bills you. That gives them a powerful incentive to discourage you from bringing in your own (often superior) team.

How Clients Are Subtly Boxed In

When you request to use a third-party A/V company, the hotel might say, “Sure, no problem!” But then come the extra fees: - Power drop charges - Internet access fees - “Outside vendor” management or supervision charges - Rigging surcharges. These aren't standard charges. They're tactics—designed to make outside A/V look just expensive enough to tip the scales back toward the in-house provider.

Misleading Terms, Inflated Fees

One of the most deceptive elements of this setup is the way these charges are labeled. Clients are often billed for “power usage” — but in reality, no one at the venue is actually metering or measuring how much power is consumed. Instead, they base charges on breaker size or equipment presence, which has no correlation to actual usage.

Let’s be clear: No utility company in the power industry bills based on breaker ratings — because it’s not a measurement of consumption. This method is not only technically inaccurate — it's misleading. It's like charging someone for water usage based on the size of the pipe going into the building, not how much water they used. These kinds of billing practices would be unacceptable in regulated industries. But in the world of in-house A/V, they’ve become normalized — and that’s a serious problem.

Who Really Pays the Price?

The result? Clients pay thousands more than they should and often don’t even realize they’ve been overcharged because the billing looks “normal.” But when you dig into the fine print and compare the actual services provided, it’s clear these fees are padded, vague, and designed to discourage competition. There is no incentive for the in house Hotel AV to be cost effective or provide exceptional service.

Up Next: The $4,000 Power Drop

In next week’s post, we’ll break down how venues charge outrageous fees for “power drops” and internet access — especially when you bring your own team. We’ll show you how to spot these charges before they show up on your final bill, and what you can do to protect your budget.