Phone Charging Stations for Convention Centers and Trade Shows
Attendees tap to rent a charged power bank, carry it on the show floor and drop it at any station. Under our standard terms, a local operator installs and services it at no cost beyond electricity, where one serves your area.
Charging that walks the floor
Attendees carry the power bank to sessions, booth meetings and lunch, then drop it at whichever station they pass next. No one has to sit on the floor by an outlet to charge.
Free to host, nothing to run
Under our standard terms, where an operator serves your area, the building pays only for electricity and your staff don't run it. A bank that isn't returned is charged to the renter's card, never the venue or the show.
A sponsorship shows can sell
Each screen has display space beyond the price and the rent button. Agree in writing with your operator which sponsor runs there, and a show's charging sponsorship has real stations behind it.
A phone charging station for trade shows keeps the phones that hold badges, agendas and exhibitors' lead scanners alive from badge pickup to the ride out. Booth outlets sit behind back walls, and the hallway ones are taken by mid-morning.
Why attendees run low by mid-afternoon
- Badge and app. The badge QR code sits in an email, and the agenda, room changes and floor map stay open all day.
- The 3pm meeting. Picture day two: an attendee at 11% has a 3:30 booth meeting, a dozen new QR contacts, and the only free outlet is by the restrooms.
- The ride out. At 5pm: the ride-share queue, the hotel's mobile key, the boarding pass home.
How attendees rent and return a bank
- Tap a card or phone (Apple Pay, Google Pay or any contactless card) on the reader, or scan the QR code. No app or account needed.
- Take a charged power bank with Lightning and USB-C cables built in.
- Walk the floor while the phone charges in a pocket.
- Return it to any free slot at any JB Charging station, such as the one outside the next hall.
It takes about 30 seconds, and the screen shows the price before anyone taps. At a common operator setting of $3 per 30 minutes and a $20 daily maximum, a bank taken at the 10am break and back at noon costs $12; kept until the 5pm close, it stops at $20. Renters get help from JB Charging through the machine, app or receipt, so your registration desk isn't the help line.
Where to put phone charging stations at a trade show
Attendees move in pulses: registration at 8, the hall doors at every break, the exits at 5. Put permanent stations where those pulses stop, in space the building controls during every show, including one outside each hall.
| Spot | Who's there, and when | Station | Placement notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registration and badge pickup | Pickup the night before, the first-morning rush, late arrivals | J24, or J48 for a large show | In sight of the queue, outside the stanchions. |
| Pre-function outside each hall | Every break; exhibitors stepping out | J24 | Against a wall between doors. |
| Food court and seating | Lunch, roughly 11:30 to 2 | J8 on a stand, or J24 | Beside the tables, not the order line. |
| Attendee or sponsor lounge | Meetings, laptop work | J8 | Counter or stand, in sight of the seats. |
| Main exit toward shuttles and ride-share | End of day | J24 | Inside the doors, clear of the exit path; ask your operator to keep slots free for returns. |
Each spot needs a standard house outlet within cord reach that stays live overnight, so banks returned at close charge by morning. No extension cords, and nothing in an aisle, an exit path or in front of fire equipment. Skip session rooms and corridors without seating.
Which station fits your building
| Building | Start with | Add a station when |
|---|---|---|
| Conference center | J24 in pre-function, J8 in the lounge | The tower is nearly empty by the afternoon break |
| Convention center with one or two halls | J24s at registration and outside each hall, J8 in the food court | Registration is out of banks before the keynote: add a J24 or move up to a J48 |
| Large center with several halls | J48 at main registration, J24s at hall entrances, J8s in lounges | A show books a hall with no station at its doors |
- J8 Pro: 8 banks, about 9 x 9 inches and 16 inches tall, 10.1-inch screen. Counter, stand or wall mount.
- J24 Pro: 24 banks, 71-inch tower, 14 x 18-inch footprint, 23.8-inch screen.
- J48 Pro: 48 banks, 81-inch tower, 23 x 16-inch footprint, 43-inch screen. Built to order, delivered on a pallet.
If you're organizing a show here
Many shows already sell a charging sponsorship; what event charging costs covers what shows pay and how sponsors cover it. Before that line goes in your prospectus, agree in writing:
- who sells the sponsor's spot on the screens, and who keeps what
- which sponsor runs, on which stations and dates, and which categories are off-limits
- where floor stations stand, including in exhibitors' booths, and who orders their power
Stations brought in only for your dates fall outside our no-cost hosting terms: the operator may charge the show a fee, and you'll see it in writing before you commit.
What your team does, and what a station needs
The building provides a spot, a standard outlet and the electricity. Staff don't hand out banks, take payments or troubleshoot, and stations run on built-in 4G, not your network. The operator monitors and restocks them; before a large show, ask how they'll rebalance and who your event managers call.
- A spot that stays put. Use a wall shows don't build on. If a show needs a station moved, agree in writing who moves it, under which labor rules and on how much notice.
- Power. A J8 runs on a 60-watt adapter; a J24 is rated at 160 watts and a J48 at 290. A floor station needs an outlet ordered like any booth's, and if floor power goes off overnight, returned banks can't recharge.
- One line for attendees. Ask each show to add it to its app and confirmation email: "Phone charging at registration, outside every hall and in the food court. Tap a card, take a bank, return it at any station."
What it costs, and the agreement
- What it costs. Under our standard terms, nothing beyond electricity. Where one serves your area, a local, independent operator on the JB Charging network supplies, installs, stocks and services the stations, paid from rentals and any screen ads it sells. Many venues host purely as an amenity; others agree a rental share in writing, paid monthly by direct deposit.
- Term and exit. Our standard template runs 6 months, then month to month on 30 days' notice, with free removal and no venue liability for guests' theft or misuse. It also asks you not to host a competing charger during the term; since you can't promise that for every show you book, ask to limit it to the building's own common areas. What you sign before install is what counts; see our agreement checklist.
- The screens. Agree in writing what runs between shows (your events, food court hours, shuttle times), which categories are off-limits because you or a booked show sold them exclusively, and whether a show's sponsor can take over the screens for its dates, and who is paid.
- Or own your stations. Buy them and you become the operator. You set the price and keep 80% of rental revenue before your own costs (JB keeps 20% for payment processing, 4G and support), plus all the screen-ad revenue you sell. You also find and sign the advertisers, restock and service the stations. Rental and ad revenue aren't guaranteed; they depend on placement, demand and how actively you run the stations. Stations and list prices.
To start, request a station with your venue name, city and rough daily attendance, or your show dates and halls. We'll reply with who would install it and the terms; nothing is installed until you sign.
Run charging stations yourself? Read our trade show sponsorship playbook for operators.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a phone charging station cost a convention center?
Under our standard hosting terms, it costs nothing beyond the electricity it uses, where an operator serves your area. A local, independent operator on the JB Charging network supplies, installs, stocks and services the station, and is paid from attendee rentals and any screen ads it sells. The electricity is modest. Say a J24 Pro tower drew its full 160-watt rating around the clock: that's about 115 kWh a month, or roughly $23 if you pay 20 cents per kWh. Stations brought in for a single show are different, and the operator may charge the show a fee. If you'd rather own stations, list prices at the time of writing are about $1,200 for a J8 Pro, $3,300 for a J24 Pro and $4,300 for a J48 Pro, plus shipping or freight, with no monthly fees.
How many charging stations does a trade show need?
There's no reliable per-attendee ratio, so size by where people wait: one station at registration, one in the pre-function area outside each hall and one in the food court, plus a lounge if you have one. Then size each spot to its crowd. A J8 Pro holds 8 power banks, a J24 Pro 24 and a J48 Pro 48. Your operator sees how many charged banks each station has ready and can tell you which spot runs out first. If a station runs low before the afternoon break, add a station or move up a size.
Can a sponsor or exhibitor brand the charging stations?
Yes, on the screen. Beyond the price and the rent button, each screen is display space: 10.1 inches on a J8 Pro, 23.8 on a J24 Pro and 43 on a J48 Pro. On a hosted station, the operator controls that space and loads content remotely. Agree in writing which sponsor runs, on which stations and dates, who sells it and who keeps what. If you own your stations, you find and sign the advertisers yourself and keep whatever you sell, because JB takes no share. Ad sales aren't guaranteed and take time to build. Ask before you promise anything printed on the cabinet itself.
What if an attendee keeps a power bank overnight or flies home with it?
The attendee's card pays, never the venue or the show. By default, a bank that isn't back within 24 hours triggers a $40 non-return fee charged to the renter, who then keeps the bank. The operator can set a different window and fee. Until then, billing follows the station's pricing and daily maximum, so on a multi-day show an attendee can take a bank back to the hotel and return it at registration in the morning. A station just inside the main exit, kept with free slots, gives attendees one last place to drop the bank on the way to the shuttle.
Do the stations need our Wi-Fi or our IT team?
Usually not. Every station we sell takes payment on its own card reader over a built-in 4G connection, with no monthly fee to the venue, so it doesn't rely on your network. Wi-Fi is only a backup for spots where cell signal is weak, such as deep inside an exhibit hall or below grade, so check signal where the station will stand. Each station needs one standard outlet and no extension cord.
We're organizing a show. Can we get stations just for our dates?
Ask us. Stations brought in only for your dates aren't covered by our no-cost hosting terms: the operator may charge the show a fee, and you'll see it in writing before you commit. Whether it's possible depends on whether an operator serves that city, on the building's rules for outside equipment and power, and on timing. A floor station also needs an outlet ordered through the building, like any booth's. Send the show dates, the building, the halls you're using and your expected attendance, and we'll tell you plainly what's possible. If you want a sponsor on the screens, ask early, because the sponsor, the screen content and the terms all need sign-off in writing.
Does JB Charging carry insurance, and can our venue be named on the certificate?
JB Charging carries general liability insurance of $2 million per occurrence. On request, a venue or its management company can ask to be added as an additional insured on JB's policy; send the exact entity names and we'll confirm. Your operator is an independent local business that owns and services the stations, so ask them for their own certificate too, as you would any vendor working in your building.
What about lithium batteries and the fire marshal?
The power banks carry FCC, CE and RoHS markings and charge in their own slots inside the station. Each station plugs straight into a standard wall outlet with no extension cord, and it should stay out of aisles, exit paths and doorways. Convention centers and show contractors usually have written rules for powered equipment in public areas and on the show floor. Send us those rules before you plan stations, and we'll tell you which documents we can and can't provide, so there are no surprises on move-in day.