u/PopularWay5381

Is renting tablets for check in and surveys better than buying devices we will only use once a year?

We ran a conference last month and sent the feedback survey by email after everyone had already gone home.

Barely anyone answered.

For the next one, im thinking about collecting feedback while people are still at the venue. Maybe a few ipads near the coffee area, outside session rooms, or close to the exit with a short 5 question form.

Has anyone rented tablets or kiosks for on site event surveys before?

We’re putting together a full day training workshop and I’m debating whether it’s better to rent tablets for attendees instead of asking everyone to bring their own device.
The training has a few parts where people need to follow along, fill out short forms, open shared materials, and use the same web based tool. My worry is that telling people to bring their own tablet or laptop, they can show up with dead batteries, old devices, login issues, tiny phone screens, or no charger.
I’d rather have everyone on the same setup if possible, but I don’t know if renting iPads for one training day is overkill. Has anyone done this for a workshop or internal training event?

We have an event coming up where registration, Wi-Fi, POS, printers, and a few other pieces are all coming from different vendors.
My main concern is that if something stops working, nobody is going to own the full problem. The Wi-Fi company might blame the devices, the device company might blame the software, and we’ll be stuck in the middle trying to figure it out while people are waiting.
Has anyone found a good way to manage this without having five different support contacts and no clear person responsible for the whole setup?

I helped with a nonprofit gala last year and the payment side was way more stressful than expected.
We had guests buying auction items in one room, making donations near the stage, and paying for raffle tickets near the entrance. A few card readers were slow, one station had the wrong login, and there weren’t enough working devices near the auction tables. By the end of the night, staff were walking guests across the venue just to complete a payment. A few people said they would come back later and never did.
We’re planning the next gala now and I want the payment setup to follow the way guests move through the event instead of putting everything at one checkout table.
For anyone who has handled this before, how many payment points did you use and where did you place them?