Phone Charging Stations for Festivals, Fairs and Events
Attendees tap to rent a charged power bank at the gate, the info tent or a stage. Where a JB Charging operator serves your area, they bring and service the stations at no cost to the event beyond electricity, under our standard terms.
Charging that moves with attendees
Attendees tap to rent a power bank and carry it to the stage, the food line or the campsite. Any station on site takes it back.
The info tent stops charging phones
Volunteers point to the station instead of minding phones and cables. Payment, returns and rental help all go through the station and JB Charging.
A sponsor line to sell
With the operator's agreement, station screens from 10 to 43 inches can carry a sponsor's artwork, and every rental can open with up to an hour free, courtesy of that sponsor.
A phone charging station for events puts power where a field has no outlets: attendees tap a card or phone, take a charged power bank to the stage, and drop it at any station on site. Where a JB Charging operator serves your area, under our standard terms they bring, stock and remove the stations at no cost to the event beyond electricity. Your volunteers don't run it, and a bank that walks off is charged to the renter's card, never to you.
Why attendees run out of battery at events
- The gate and the bar. Tickets are QR codes on phones, and drinks are paid by tap. A dead phone at 4pm can mean no re-entry and no dinner.
- Finding your people. Picture the main stage letting out at 10:50pm, thousands of people moving at once, and one friend's phone at 3%. "Where are you?" stops working.
- The ride home. The ride-share request comes after the last set, when batteries are lowest.
- No outlets, for days. Field outlets belong to vendors, so the info tent becomes a charging desk. At a camping festival, day three starts on phones last plugged in Friday.
How an attendee rents a power 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.
- Return it to any free slot at any JB Charging station, so a bank rented at a stage can go back at the gate.
A rental takes about 30 seconds. The operator can set a separate price for your event. At a common setting of $3 per 30 minutes with a $20 daily maximum, a bank kept from the 2pm set to the 6pm set costs $20, not $24. For an all-day event, ask for a lower daily maximum so an attendee who keeps a bank from gates opening to the last set isn't surprised by the total.
On a camping weekend, a bank taken back to a tent Friday night can outlast the default return window. Ask your operator for a window that reaches checkout, printed on the station sign.
Where to put phone charging stations at a festival or fair
Put a station where people stop and wait, not where they stream past, and give each busy zone its own.
| Zone | Busy when | Station | Placement notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main gate, past the scanners | Arrival, re-entry, the exit | J24 | Under the entrance canopy, clear of queue lanes. Everyone returns here at close, so ask the operator to run it emptiest in the last two hours. |
| Info tent, by first aid | All day | J8 | On a sturdy table, back to a post or solid panel, never against tent fabric. Volunteers point people to it. |
| Food and drink | Meals, the beer garden at night | J8 or J24 | Under the dining tent by the seating, away from order lines. |
| Each stage | Between sets | J8 | Beside a covered bar or vendor tent at the edge, never in the crowd or an emergency lane. |
| Campground store or check-in | Mornings and late nights | J24 | Under the roof where campers line up for ice and coffee, on power that stays live overnight. |
Two rules for every spot:
- Shelter. Treat the station as indoor equipment: under a tent, canopy or roofline, out of rain, afternoon sun and blowing dust, on level ground with its back to a post or solid wall. The bank travels with the attendee; the station stays covered and cool.
- Power. One standard outlet per station, on the site electrician's plan like any vendor. If outlets come through your electrical contractor, each drop is a line on your power order, so add the stations early. Run cords along edges, never across exit lanes; if one has to cross a walkway, use a cable ramp your electrician approves.
Which station fits your event
| Your event | Start with |
|---|---|
| A few hours in one area: a market, a 5K, a rodeo night | One or two J8 Pros (8 banks, 11.5 lb, about 9 x 9 inches of table) at the info table or finish tent |
| All day across several zones: a county fair, a festival, a car show | A J24 Pro (24 banks, 23.8-inch screen, 14 x 18-inch footprint) at the gate, J8 Pros at info, food and stages |
| Several days with camping | J24 Pros at the gate and campground, J8 Pros elsewhere |
| The largest gates | A J48 Pro: 48 banks, a 43-inch screen, built to order and delivered on a pallet |
Conferences and all-day tournaments have their own pages: convention centers and sports complexes. Planning a wedding? See what a charging station costs for an event.
What your team does (and doesn't)
Your team provides the covered spots, the outlets, and a charging icon on the site map and in the pre-event email. Staff and volunteers don't hand out banks, take payments or chase returns. If attendees ask, they point to the station; rental help comes from JB Charging through the station, the app or the receipt.
Two lines worth handing out:
Info tent: "Phone dying? Tap your card at the charging station, take a battery with you, and drop it at any station on site."
MC, before the last set: "Got a charging battery? Drop it at the gate station on your way out."
A bank handed to lost and found goes in any free slot at any station, which ends the rental.
- Event-day contact. Before load-in, get the name and number of the operator's person on site or on call, and agree what happens if a station goes offline or runs out of charged banks at the peak.
- Signal. Stations run on built-in 4G with Wi-Fi as a backup. Big crowds slow cell data (carriers such as Verizon sell temporary capacity for festivals), so offer a production Wi-Fi login if you have one, and have the operator test a rental at each spot during setup.
- Overnight. At a multi-day event, tell the operator which zones lose power or lock up after close, and agree who secures the stations. A station recharges banks only while it's plugged in.
- Timing. Bring charging in when you lay out vendors and power, not the final week. Lead time depends on the stations and your dates, and sponsor artwork needs your approval before load-in.
What a phone charging station for events costs, and the terms
You can combine these:
- Attendees pay per rental. Under our standard terms, this costs the event nothing beyond electricity. Many hosts take no share; others agree a share of rental revenue.
- A sponsor pays. Add charging to your sponsor packages. With the operator's agreement, the sponsor's artwork runs on the station screens and every rental can open with up to an hour free, "courtesy of" the sponsor, whose payment can cover the operator's fee. Free charging for the whole event isn't a standard setting, so ask us before you promise it.
- The event pays. An event can also pay the operator a flat fee, and pair it with a free first hour for attendees. The fee is the operator's own quote.
The terms:
- Who does the work. Where one serves your area, a local, independent operator on the JB Charging network brings, sets up, stocks and removes the stations. If none does yet, we'll tell you.
- In writing before load-in. Dates, spots, outlets, pricing, any rental share, who sells the sponsorship and what may run on the screens, the event-day contact, and what happens if weather cancels a day.
- Year-round grounds. A fairground or amphitheater can host a station full time on our standard venue agreement: 6 months, then month to month on 30 days' notice, removed at no cost. Your operator may propose different terms; the term, the exit and any share are in writing before install.
- Or own your stations. If you'd rather own the equipment, buy stations and become the operator: you set prices, keep them stocked and online, and keep 80% of rental revenue before your own costs. See stations and list prices.
To start, request a station with your event name, dates, city and expected daily attendance. We'll reply with who could bring stations and on what terms. You sign with the operator, and nothing is set up until you do. Need specs and photos for your fire marshal or insurer? Ask in the same email.
Run charging stations yourself? Read our event playbook for operators.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a phone charging station cost the event anything?
Under our standard terms, nothing beyond electricity, where a JB Charging operator serves your area. Attendees pay per rental, and the operator is paid from those rentals and any screen sponsorship it sells. If you want the first hour free for attendees, or you're running a short event, the operator may quote a flat fee instead. That fee is the operator's own price. If you'd rather own stations, list prices are on our products page.
Can phone charging stations be used outdoors at a festival or fair?
Only under cover. Treat the station as indoor equipment and put it under a tent, canopy or roofline, out of rain, direct sun and blowing dust, on level ground with its back to a post or solid wall. Attendees carry the power bank out into the field while the station stays covered. If weather closes a zone, ask the operator to pull or move the station, and agree in writing what happens if weather cancels a day.
What power and internet do the stations need?
One standard outlet per station. A J8 Pro runs on a 60-watt adapter, a J24 Pro is rated at 160 watts and a J48 Pro at 290 watts. If your outlets come through an electrical contractor, add each station to the power order early. At a multi-day event, keep those outlets live overnight, since a station recharges its banks only while it's plugged in. Each station connects over its own built-in 4G, so it doesn't need your network, and it can use Wi-Fi as a backup. Big crowds slow cell data, so offer a production Wi-Fi login if you have one, and have the operator test a rental at each spot during setup.
What if attendees walk off with the power banks?
The event is never charged. Billing follows the station's pricing up to its daily maximum. By default, a bank that isn't back within 24 hours puts a $40 non-return fee on the renter's card. The operator can set a different window and fee for each station, so for a camping weekend, ask them to set a window long enough to reach checkout, and post it on each station's sign. Banks go back to any JB Charging station, so renters can drop one at the gate on the way out.
How many charging stations does an event need?
Size by how many banks will be out at once at your busiest hour, not by tickets sold. Say you expect 10 rentals an hour at the peak and people keep a bank about 3 hours. That's about 30 banks out at once, more than one J24 Pro's 24, so plan a second station or a few J8 Pros nearby, and ask the operator to bring charged spares. Then cover each zone where people stop, since more stations also mean more places to return a bank. These are planning numbers, not a forecast.
Can a sponsor's brand go on the charging stations?
On the screen, if the operator agrees. It measures 10.1 inches on a J8 Pro, 23.8 inches on a J24 Pro and 43 inches on a J48 Pro, and beyond the price and the rent button it's display space the operator controls. The operator uploads artwork to the screen remotely, so branding is a file, not a print job. Put in writing who sells the sponsorship, that nothing runs at your event without your approval, and which categories can't run, and send artwork early enough to approve and load it before gates open.
Will you provide a certificate of insurance for our event?
JB Charging carries general liability insurance of $2 million per occurrence. That policy covers JB Charging, not the operator. Your operator is an independent local business that owns, sets up and services the stations, so get their certificate of insurance as you would from any vendor on site. On request, and subject to our insurer's review, an event or venue can also be named as an additional insured on JB's policy. Send us the exact entity names you need.
What will our fire marshal want to know about the power banks?
The power banks carry FCC, CE and RoHS markings, and each one charges in its own slot in the station. Each station plugs into a standard outlet and stays out of exit lanes and walkways. If your fire marshal, insurer or venue needs a specific listing or safety document, ask before the event and we'll tell you plainly what we have.