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FAQs

Answers to commonly asked questions. If you have others, give us a call!

What are the legal terms and conditions for renting equipment from Avista?

Our terms and conditions are straightforward. Basically you are responsible for bringing every item back in the same condition it left. Charges for broken or missing items will be billed to your credit card on file. Your driver's license and credit card will be photocopied at time of pickup.  If you send a friend or relative to pickup the gear for you, they will have their driver's license and credit card photocopied and will sign as responsible for the equipment. At pickup, or prior via email, you will receive our terms & conditions that outline all of this information, padded out with big legal words to make it all more official.


Can Avista help me decide what AV rental gear I need?

Of course (who came up with these questions???)! We can help you over the phone, in person, or via email. Call our toll free number (1-888-462-8478) for fast answers to your questions. If you prefer, a web inquiry form is available for online inquiries. An AV rental specialist will get back to you as soon as possible.

If you want to stop by an office, we would be happy to meet with you in person. To insure the right gear is available when you arrive, please give us a call prior to stopping by.


Can you provide your rental and production services at the hotel in which my meeting is taking place? My hotel is saying that I have to use their in-house AV.

Avista has experience working in almost all the major hotel properties, conference centers and unique event spaces throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and Greater Los Angeles area. We not only are intimately familiar with the needs and peculiarities of most ballrooms and meeting spaces, but we maintain great working relationships with the hotel properties we work in.

If you are holding your meeting or event at a hotel, in almost all cases we can provide audio visual rentals and production support. Before you execute your contract with the hotel, read carefully those areas related to outside audio-visual. In many cases the hotel sales person will strike any language that requires you to use the in-house AV (if there is such a requirement, it is rare). In some cases, the hotel contract will require you to pay certain ancillary costs if you bring in outside AV, such as paying for an in-house AV person to “shadow” our crew. This type of corkage fee can sometimes be waived if asked, but in any event we are typically less expensive than the hotel AV services, even with the inclusion of such corkage fees. Call us to discuss the unique requirements of your hotel.


What are your weekend rental rates?

Pick up your rental AV gear after 1pm on Friday and return it by Monday at noon and you are only charged for one day.


How can I get the rental equipment to my location?

We have several options:

You can come to one of our offices located in San Jose, San Francisco or Los Angeles.

We can also deliver and pickup rental items most anywhere in the San Francisco Bay Area or Greater Los Angeles for an additional fee.


How can I pay for an equipment rental?

Our company accepts Visa, Mastercard or American Express. For corporate accounts and other recurring customers we offer additional billing options. We generally take a 50% deposit on a credit card to hold the gear for your reservation.


I have an emergency neeed for AV gear. How much advanced notice do you need to reserve a rental?

We love the challenge of helping our customers. Give us a call and we'll see what we can do. For expedited help, call our 888 number vs. using the web inquiry form.


Do you have technicians that can operate the rental as well?

Avista’s professional technicians can show up at your event, setup, operate and strike the equipment. Whether you need something as simple as a computer or DVD driven LCD projector setup and operated, or as complex as a PA system using a mixer for music, wireless and handheld microphone inputs, we have years of experience operating equipment at events throughout California.


What if don't know exactly what I need?

Avista's equipment specialists ask a few simple questions, like the size of your audience and what your playing or showing, and make equipment recommendations. Whether your AV requirements are for a large or small event, audio or video, inside or outside, you name it, we can make it easy. Give us a call, and we can quickly assess your meeting or event.


What if I can't figure out how to work the rental equipment?

Avista rental equipment is specifically selected with ease-of-use in mind. When you receive your rental item, Avista walks you through everything you'll need to know. Many of our AV rental items come with a step-by-step quick reference guide. Still need help, give us a call! We provide true 24/7 free phone support for all our outstanding rentals. What can be easier than that?


What if the equipment doesn't work?

Avista takes every precaution to prevent field failure, but unfortunately things do happen. We rotate our inventory to take advantage of the newest AV gear, and test each rental just before pickup or delivery. If the equipment does malfunction, our first priority is always given to day-of-event equipment failures (although these are extremely rare). Avista has a technician on call 24/7, so just call 1888.GO.AVISTA and a replacement unit will be dispatched as soon as possible.


We need to go to an audio video rental company for a number of meetings every month. Do you have corporate accounts and is discounted pricing available?

Avista provides audio visual rental services to a number of corporate, venue and planner customers, and would be happy to talk to you about your repeat rental needs. Avista offers tiered discounts for higher rental volume levels.


I am a tax-exempt entity – how can I rent gear from Avista without sales tax?

Fill out the form at this link: http://www.boe.ca.gov/pdf/boe230.pdf. If you are in possession of a valid reseller’s certificate, we can then remove the sales tax from the order. Note that being a nonprofit entity does not exempt you from paying sales tax. 

Flawless Execution. Every Time.

We're extremely proud of our reputation for professionalism and customer service.

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Contact Avista for a quick quote.

For inquiries, please call us at 888-462-8478.

the avista rentals teamAbout Avista Audio Visual Rentals

Thank you for visiting our website! Our team at Avista has worked long and hard to understand what's important to you, our customer, which is distilled into our 4 Value Principles: 1) Being transparent with our pricing, 2) Being prompt and friendly in all our communications with you, 3) Delivering the right AV solution for your event at the best price, and 4) Exceeding your expectations with the high caliber of our crew and gear. We're very proud that these principals have driven strong growth since our founding in 2005, to where we are now one of the premier providers of AV rentals and AV production services on the West Coast. Customers have the choice of picking up and returning AV gear to any of our offices, or having our team of highly skilled audio and video technicians deliver and run the AV aspects of your meeting or event.

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