Things I didn’t understand included the fact that many venues charge a fee for bringing outside equipment. According to my event planners it seems that one can get away with bringing in one’s own laptops but other equipment, especially projectors, is best rented from the hotel. Michael Stein pointed out that support is a lot quicker to obtain if you’re working with the hotel’s equipment (post).

Still, there are some ways save a few bucks but it all depends on the frequency and needs of your events. My company is probably going to buy a half dozen laptops and a shipping case. We’re estimating a savings of several thousand over the life of the laptops, which I estimate to be 3 years (usually the life of the warranty). Additional presentation remotes and lavalieres will also be purchased for a little more savings. I figure the presentation remotes and lavalieres will pay for themselves within a handful of events and the we’ll keep a spare laptop on hand if any one breaks. These items should require minimal onsite support and some venues are willing to look at your machine to figure out why your equipment won’t function with theirs.

Computer equipment rentals is certainly not as clear-cut as I had initially thought. There is some merit to renting directly from the venues, even if it is by their own design. But I still wouldn’t buy a bag of peanuts from a hotel!