Encore vs Harris Production Services
Same gear. Same crew. Half the price.
Encore pays the hotel a commission on every AV invoice, and that commission is baked into your quote. We do not pay one. That's the entire difference. See the line-by-line comparison below.
Encore's own 2026 SEC filing, on the record with the federal government:
"While these contracts do not preclude outside event technology providers coming into the venues to support individual events, and event planners retain the option to use outside providers, the contracts do prevent non-Encore team members and technology from being in-house at these venues."
Side by side
Line by line, where the money goes.
| Feature | Encore | HPS |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel commission (paid to venue) | Revenue-based commission on every invoice; rate is set per venue and is not disclosed publicly (Encore S-1, 2026) | $0 |
| Self-service ordering portal | Phone + email only | Branded portal, Stripe checkout |
| Automated event outreach (27–29 days out) | No | Yes (TripleSeat integration) |
| Line-itemed invoices | No (bundled, service charge added) | Yes (every line item visible) |
| Outside-vendor liaison fee | Charged by some properties; ask for the amount in writing | N/A (we ARE the outside vendor) |
| Power drop fees | Billed separately at most properties | Included in the package |
| Quote turnaround | Varies by property | Same business day |
| Custom-branded for the venue | No (Encore-branded) | Yes (your logo, your colors, your domain) |
| Per-day equipment rates posted online | No (proprietary rate card) | Yes (public rate card) |
| Event internet / WiFi | Limited / bundled | Native Meraki integration, self-service |
| Hotel exclusivity required | Yes (most properties) | No (we work alongside any in-house) |
| In-house tech transition plan | N/A | We hire the in-house team |
| On-site lead tech guarantee | Varies by property | Named lead tech, every event |
Worked example
The math, line by line.
Same event: a 3-day, 300-attendee corporate conference with an awards gala. Both columns are illustrative estimates for the same scope, not issued quotes. HPS labor and delivery are at our published rate-card rates. The in-house column is built from typical venue AV line items plus an assumed service charge and commission — it is not a quote from Encore, and Encore does not publish a public rate card. Ask your property for its actual numbers and put them next to ours.
In-house AV (illustrative)
- Projector and 9x16 screen$3,690
- Stage light wash$3,305
- Wireless microphones (8)$558
- House audio system$567
- 20-amp power (3 drops × 3 days)$844
- Tech labor (3 days × 4 techs)$12,587
- Outside-vendor liaison fee (3 days)$3,000
- Subtotal$24,551
- Service charge (24% assumed)$5,892
- Total planner pays$30,443
- Plus 6.625% NJ sales tax. Assumes a 40% venue commission (~$12K) baked into the rate.
HPS Production package
- Full JBL SRX line array × 3 days$2,490
- Midas M32 console × 3 days$600
- Shure ULX-D wireless (8) × 3 days$1,320
- Epson 4K projector + 9x16 screen × 3 days$1,350
- LED wall (8 panels + processor) × 3 days$4,275
- Lighting wash + console × 3 daysincluded
- 3 techs × 3 days × 8 hrs$4,680
- Delivery + strike (50 mi radius)$390
- Subtotal$15,105
- Sales tax (NJ 6.625%)$1,000
- Total planner pays$16,105
- Hotel rev-share (10%) = $1,510. Less than the assumed in-house commission, but the planner books the room block.
On this worked example the planner saves $14,338. The hotel takes $1,510 in rev-share instead of the assumed commission, but the planner books the room block.
For hotels
Why replace Encore with HPS.
Planners are shopping for alternatives
In-house AV pricing is a recurring complaint in planner forums and industry press. Planners who book several events a year tend to have already done the comparison math. The hotels that win those bookings are the ones that name the alternative.
Less commission cash, a cheaper event for your planner
Be clear-eyed about the trade: on the worked example above, the venue takes $1,510 as a 10% rev-share instead of the commission baked into a $30K in-house invoice. That is less cash per event. What the venue gets back is a planner whose AV bill dropped by roughly half — and a reason to book the room block here rather than somewhere else. We will model both scenarios against your actual event calendar before you sign anything.
We hire your current in-house techs
We think the best in-house techs are undervalued by the commission model. We bring them on at a higher base plus an event bonus. The hotel keeps continuity; we keep the institutional knowledge of your venue.
The technology gap is the killer
Self-service ordering. Automated event outreach 27 to 29 days out. White-label portals branded as your venue, not ours. Stripe checkout. Real-time dashboards. All of it ships in 60 days with HPS.
FAQ
The questions planners ask.
How big is Encore?
Per Encore's 2026 SEC Form S-1, it serves under a preferred contract designation for on-site event production across approximately 2,200 venues globally, with more than 13,000 team members and $3.4 billion of revenue in 2025. The same filing states that "event planners retain the option to use outside providers."
Why is Encore so much more expensive than an outside AV company?
Two things stack: the commission Encore pays back to the hotel, and Encore's own margin on top. Encore's SEC filing confirms the commission model — it records "revenue-based commissions" in cost of revenue and states the rate "is established in our contract with the venue" and varies by venue — but it does not publish the rate. An outside provider has neither of those costs and can pass the savings to the planner.
Can a hotel replace Encore entirely?
Yes. Most in-house contracts have a termination clause with cause (90 days) or a 30-day cure period for service failures. We help you build the case. Alternatively, we can run as a parallel option for planners who explicitly ask for an outside quote — the SEC filing confirms planners retain that right.
Can a planner bring you as the outside AV into a hotel that has Encore?
Yes. Encore's own SEC filing says planners "retain the option to use outside providers." You may face a small outside-vendor liaison fee; we help you negotiate that down or eliminate it as part of the room block.
What about hotels that have an exclusive contract with Encore?
Exclusivity is for being permanently installed in the venue, not for your specific event. Encore's own filing says so. The most common workaround: the planner brings HPS as the preferred outside vendor with a waived or capped liaison fee. We model the savings and bring the proposal to the hotel sales team.
Get a quote
See the savings on your event.
Email your event date, venue, and headcount. We come back within the same business day with a quote you can put side-by-side with the in-house number.