Where to place a photo booth, and how venue revenue share works

Ask anyone who runs photo booths what matters most and you will hear the same answer: location. The same machine can be your best earner in one spot and barely pay for its paper in another. This guide covers how to choose a location, what to check before you sign anything, and how the two common deals with venues, fixed rent and revenue share, compare.

We are not writing this from the outside. Alongside selling Korean photobooths to businesses in 30+ countries, we run our own unattended Raon booths in venues across Singapore. Much of what follows comes from placing and operating those booths ourselves.

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What makes a good photo booth location

The best locations share three things.

1. Steady foot traffic. Not just busy on Saturday night, but people passing every day you are open.
2. Time to spare. People waiting for a table, a film or a friend are far more likely to step into a booth than people rushing past.
3. A social reason to take a photo. Groups, dates, celebrations, fandom and tourism all create the moment. A booth gives that moment somewhere to happen.

Places that often tick all three boxes:

• Cafés and dessert shops. Relaxed groups who already photograph their food.
• Bars, restaurants and K-food venues. Long tables, late nights and friends in a good mood.
• Fashion, beauty and character-goods stores. Customers who already look at themselves while shopping.
• Cinemas, arcades and entertainment centres. People arriving early and waiting.
• Malls. High traffic all week, with peaks at weekends and holidays.
• Tourist attractions. Visitors who want proof they were there, and a souvenir only your venue can sell.
• Dedicated self-photo studios. Several machines in one space, the classic Korean studio model.

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How to scout a location before you commit

Do not rely on the venue's own traffic figures alone. Spend time on site.

• Count people. Stand near the proposed spot at the hours you plan to trade and count how many people pass, and how many are in groups. Repeat on a weekday and a weekend.
• Watch behaviour. Do people linger or walk straight through? Are there queues nearby?
• Check sight lines. A booth that can be seen from the entrance or a walkway earns more than one tucked into a corner.
• Look for neighbours. A booth near seating, a queue or a counter picks up waiting time.

A quiet spot cannot be fixed with a better machine. It is worth taking a week to get this right.

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The practical site checklist

Before you sign a lease or venue agreement, confirm these.

• Power. A permanent supply at the right voltage. Machines run on 110–120V (60 Hz) or 220–240V (50 Hz), so tell us which when you order.
• Wired internet. A stable wired connection is strongly recommended. Booths can run offline, but you lose key features such as remote monitoring and card payments while offline.
• Indoors. Our standard machines are built for indoor use.
• Floor space and ceiling height. Check the footprint of the model you want. A Low Angle booth, for example, needs a 1.3 × 1.3 m platform. See the technical specs.
• Door widths and access. Measure every door, lift and corridor between the loading bay and the spot. Larger booths arrive in crates, and some need equipment to unload.
• Queue space. Customers need room to wait without blocking a walkway or a shop entrance.
• Someone nearby. An unattended booth still needs a person on site for simple things like paper changes or a jam. Venue staff can usually handle this after a short handover.

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Fixed rent vs revenue share

Once you have a location, you need a deal with the venue. There are two common models, and plenty of hybrids.

Fixed rent

You pay the venue a set amount each month, whatever the booth takes.

• Good for you when: the location is busy and proven. Every extra session above your costs is yours.
• Risky when: the location is new or seasonal. You pay the same in a slow month.
• Good for the venue when: it wants predictable income and no need to check your sales figures.

Revenue share

The venue takes an agreed percentage of what the booth earns, usually of gross session revenue.

• Good for you when: you are testing a new location or a new market. Your costs fall when sales fall.
• Risky when: the location is very busy. A share of a big number can cost more than rent.
• Good for the venue when: it wants upside and is willing to promote the booth, because it earns more when the booth does well.

Where a deal lands depends on the venue's traffic, how much space and support it gives, and who supplies and maintains the machine. Busier, higher-profile venues ask for more.

Hybrid deals

Some venues ask for a small fixed fee plus a lower percentage, or a revenue share with a minimum monthly guarantee. These can work well, but model them before you agree.

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Model the deal before you sign

Use a simple monthly calculation for each option:

Monthly profit = (sessions per day × price per session × days open) − consumables − location cost − payment fees

Run it for a slow month, an average month and a busy month. Then compare how fixed rent and revenue share affect each. Our article on photo booth ROI has a worked example, and our free financial template lets you plug in your own numbers.

Three things to agree in writing, whichever model you choose:

• What revenue means. Gross or net of card fees? Including extra prints and digital downloads?
• How the venue sees the numbers. A monthly report from your dashboard builds trust. Chalkak software gives you sales and transaction reports you can share.
• Who does what. Paper changes, cleaning, promotion on the venue's channels, and what happens if the booth has to move.

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If you are a venue: hosting a booth without buying one

Not every venue wants to own and run a machine. In Singapore, we place and run Raon booths in venues on a revenue-share basis: we supply the booth and keep it stocked and monitored, and the venue provides the space and power. Venues get a new attraction and a share of sales with minimal setup costs. If you run a café, shop, mall unit or attraction, see our venue partnership.

If you would rather own the machine yourself, a compact kiosk-style model is often the easiest fit for a venue with limited space.