The Ultimate Pre-Event AV Checklist for Hotels

A 22-point pre-event AV checklist for hotel banquet teams, in-house AV staff, and any property running 5+ events a week.

This isn't a "checklist for the AV vendor." This is what your hotel's banquet team should run internally, every event, to catch issues before the client notices.

48 hours before the event

1. Source/cable inventory

Walk the AV closet or rack. Confirm:

• All cables labeled and accounted for
• Spare HDMI, USB-C, and adapters available
• Battery levels for wireless mics charged + tested
• Spare batteries in known location

2. Spare gear staged

For every primary, have a spare:

• Spare wireless mic (same channel as primary)
• Spare HDMI cable (long run)
• Spare projector lamp (if not laser)
• Spare laptop if BYOD with hotel AV

3. Network + bandwidth check

If the event has streaming, video conferencing, or connected displays:

• Wired ethernet at podium tested
• Wifi load tested (some events bring 200+ devices)
• Bandwidth sufficient for streaming if applicable

4. Speaker / presenter contact list

Most last-minute issues come from presenters:

• Speaker phone numbers compiled (with backup contacts)
• Tech rider received from any musical or video acts
• Slide files received and tested on the room laptop

24 hours before the event

5. Full system test, every input

For every input the event will use:

• HDMI from podium tested with actual content
• USB-C from podium tested
• Wireless mic tested with the actual mic the speaker will use
• Laptop audio from podium routed to speakers
• Confidence monitor working

6. Audio gain structure

• Gain set for the room's typical speaking voice (not max)
• Compressor on speech mics adjusted
• EQ tuned for the room (high-frequency rolloff for echo-prone rooms)

7. Lighting scenes confirmed

• "Walk-in" scene set and saved
• "Speaker on stage" scene set and saved
• "Q&A audience lights up" scene set and saved
• "Wrap / breakdown" scene set and saved

8. Streaming infrastructure (if applicable)

• Test stream sent to a private URL
• Latency measured + acceptable for Q&A
• Backup encoder ready

Day of: 4 hours before doors

9. Speaker tech check + handoff

• Each presenter has 5-10 min for tech check
• Wireless mic levels set per presenter
• Slides loaded + tested on the room laptop
• Confidence monitor visible to presenter

10. House music + walk-in playlist

• Music queued and tested at appropriate volume
• Audio source verified (Spotify, AppleMusic, or local files)
• Auto-mute on stage mic confirmed

30 minutes before doors

11. Final line check

• Mic check on every wireless mic ("check check, line check")
• Levels confirmed at FOH and at speakers
• Comms tested between stage / FOH / banquet team

12. Backup mic on standby

• Backup wireless mic powered on, on a different channel
• Wired mic at podium as final backup

13. Streaming go-live (if applicable)

• Stream live 10 minutes before scheduled start
• Stream URL distributed to client
• Recording started and confirmed

During the event

14. Dispatch on standby + comms open

The on-call AV tech should:

• Be physically present, not "on call from the office"
• Have direct comms with FOH (radio or comms)
• Know the run-of-show enough to anticipate transitions

15. Mid-event check-ins

• Battery levels checked at the 60-minute mark
• Audio levels confirmed during Q&A
• Any speaker swap pre-coordinated

During breaks

16. Cue + content reset

• Slides for next speaker pre-loaded if possible
• Wireless mic returned to charging station between users
• Lighting scene transition confirmed

End of event

17. Strike + reset plan

• Strike begins immediately after doors close
• Equipment returned to AV closet, spares accounted for
• Room reset for next event (or for cleaning/turnover)

18. Wrap notes for next event

• Any issues documented
• Spare gear used = noted for restock
• Client-side feedback captured

Weekly (between events)

19. Battery rotation

• All wireless mic batteries charged + rotated
• Spare batteries restocked
• Battery age tracked (replace at 18 months)

20. Firmware updates

• DSP firmware checked monthly
• Switcher / control system firmware quarterly
• Any pending updates scheduled for off-hours

21. Cable / connector inspection

• HDMI cables tested monthly (HDMI cables fail more than people think)
• Connector bend strain checked
• Cable runs labeled correctly

22. Documentation review

• Banquet team training docs current
• AV-system playbook updated
• Service contract / vendor contacts current

What banquet team owns vs. what AV team owns

Banquet team owns:

• Items 1-2, 9-12, 16, 17, 19

AV team owns:

• Items 3, 5-8, 13-15, 18, 20-22

Both share:

• Items 4 (presenter contact), 11 (line check)

If your hotel doesn't have a clear ownership matrix, things fall through the cracks. The simplest division: banquet owns the operational checklist, AV owns the technical configuration.

How we support hotel ops

We work with hotels that don't have full-time AV staff. Our service contracts include:

• Quarterly preventive maintenance (covering items 19-22)
• Pre-event remote check (covering items 5-8)
• Day-of dispatch with SLA
• Banquet team training (quarterly refreshers)

If your hotel is running 5+ events/week and your banquet team is overloaded with the AV checklist, we can take on the technical layer.

📞 (407) 885-5770 · 📧 info@axiosprosolutions.com