Most AV companies won’t publish rental pricing, and there’s a real reason for that: every room, agenda, and building’s logistics genuinely change the number. But planners still need a working frame of reference before they can build an internal budget, so here’s an honest one based on current New York market conditions.
Rental Cost Ranges by Room Type
| Room Type | Attendees | Typical Rental Range | What Moves the Range |
| Executive boardroom | 10-25 | $1,200-$2,800 | Video conferencing needs, confidence monitor count |
| Breakout room | 30-50 | $1,800-$3,500 | Display size, mic count, recording |
| General session | 100-150 | $5,500-$14,000 | LED vs. projection, streaming, wireless mic count |
| Full one-day conference (general session + 2 breakouts) | 150-250 total | $11,000-$26,000 | Whether crew is bundled, streaming, load-in complexity |
What’s Usually Included at Each Price Point
At the lower end of each range, you’re typically getting equipment and a single technician for setup and strike only, with your team or the venue running things during the actual event. At the higher end, you’re getting a technician on site for the full event day, backup equipment on hand, and a system designed around your specific agenda rather than a generic package. The middle of each range is usually the difference between a projector and an LED wall, or between one wireless mic and four.
The New York Premium: Why NYC Rates Run Higher Than Other Markets
- Union labor requirements at certain venues, which can add 30 to 60 percent to crew costs compared to non-union settings
- Real estate and trucking costs baked into every vendor’s overhead, since warehouse and staging space near Manhattan isn’t cheap
- Freight elevator and loading dock scheduling that frequently requires standby labor waiting for a window rather than working continuously
- Venue exclusivity or preferred-vendor arrangements at some buildings, which can limit competitive bidding and keep pricing firm
Line Items That Get Missed in a Rental Quote
- Delivery and trucking, sometimes quoted separately from the equipment rental itself
- An on-site technician for day-of support, which some rental-only quotes exclude entirely
- Certificate of insurance requirements, which many Manhattan buildings mandate and which can involve a real administrative delay if not requested early
- Overtime, if your event runs past the scheduled end time and the crew is on an hourly call past a set block
THE MOST COMMON MISTAKE
Booking rental-only equipment for a conference of 150 or more people with no one on site who can troubleshoot. The most common failure isn’t equipment breaking, it’s a laptop that won’t hand off cleanly between two presenters, and a rental-only setup has no one there to fix it in the 30 seconds before the room notices.
Astoria Productions quotes New York conference rentals against your actual room list and agenda, not a generic package. Tell us your dates and room counts and we’ll give you a number you can actually build a budget around.