What venues ask for, and what to ask them

New operators tend to experience venues as an obstacle. Forms to fill in,
questions about insurance, a coordinator who wants to know things you have not
thought about yet.

None of it is aimed at you. A venue is managing three things: a room, a
schedule, and its own liability. Every question they ask maps to one of those,
and once you can see which, the questions stop feeling like suspicion and start
feeling like a checklist.

Getting good at this is worth more than it sounds. Venue recommendations are
the cheapest bookings in this business, and they go to the supplier who made
the coordinator's night easier.

What will a venue ask you for?

Not all of these every time, and the specifics vary by country, by venue and by
the size of the event.

Proof of insurance. The most common request by far. Larger and corporate
venues often want a certificate naming them, and they usually want it days
ahead rather than on the night. What is required varies, so ask the venue what
they need rather than assuming your policy satisfies it.

Electrical safety. Many venues, particularly in the UK and Australia, ask
about testing and tagging of equipment you plug into their supply. Requirements
differ by jurisdiction and by venue policy. Ask early, because this is one you
cannot fix on the day.

A load-in window. When you can get in, which door, whether there is a lift,
and whether anything else is being set up at the same time.

A risk assessment or method statement. Standard at bigger venues, rare at
small ones. It is usually a short document describing what you are bringing,
where the cables go, and what you do if something fails.

Power draw. Rarely a problem for a 360 booth, but they may ask.

None of these are unreasonable, and all of them are easier to supply in advance
than to argue about at the door.

What should you ask the venue?

This is the half operators skip, and it is where the night is actually won.

Where exactly is the booth going? Not "in the function room". Which corner.
Then ask what else happens in that corner during the night.

Is there power within reach? And is that circuit shared with anything that
matters. You are low draw, but you still need to reach a socket without running
a cable across a walkway.

What is the floor? A spinning arm needs flat and solid. Carpet over
floorboards is usually fine. A temporary raised floor or an uneven marquee
surface is worth seeing before the day.

How high is the ceiling there? Beams, low sections, chandeliers and
projector screens all live at exactly the height an arm sweeps through.

What is the lighting like in that spot, and can it be changed? Ask whether
uplighting will be on, whether anything is pointed at the booth, and whether
you can bring your own. This is the answer that decides how your clips look, so
it is worth more than it appears. The reasoning is in
lighting a 360 booth.

Is there usable wifi in that corner? Not at reception. In the corner. Ask
for the password in advance and test it during setup, because the answer is
often no and you would rather know before guests arrive.
Running a booth with no wifi covers
what to decide in advance if the answer is no.

When does the room have to be clear? Packing down at midnight is different
from packing down at two.

Where do I park and unload? The single most underestimated question.

What should you ask about the running order?

Ask what else is scheduled and when.

A 360 booth is loud, it draws a crowd, and it competes for guests. At a
wedding that means speeches and the first dance. At a corporate event it means
the keynote. Nobody will tell you to stop, they will just quietly resent the
queue noise during the toast, and you will not be recommended.

Getting the run sheet in advance costs one email and it is the difference
between being part of the night and being in the way.

How do you get recommended by a venue?

Venues deal with suppliers constantly, and they remember two kinds: the ones
who caused problems and the ones who did not.

Send everything before it is asked for. Insurance, what you are bringing,
when you arrive, when you leave.

Turn up when you said. Coordinators are running a schedule with no slack.

Leave the space as you found it. Tape lifted, cables gone, nothing left
behind.

Introduce yourself to whoever is running the room. Ninety seconds, and it
makes you a person rather than a supplier.

Ask at the end whether they want your details. Not a pitch. Most venues
keep a list of suppliers they recommend, and the moment right after a night
that went well is the only time it is easy to ask.

The short version

Answer the room, the schedule and the liability, and a venue has nothing left
to worry about.

Then ask your own questions early enough that the answers can still change
something. Almost everything that goes wrong at a venue was knowable a week
beforehand, and almost nobody asks.