# Buy or hire lockers for your venue: two models

> Buy or hire lockers for your venue: revenue share and outright purchase compared on upfront cost, power, support, maintenance, off-season use and revenue.

Canonical page: https://venueora.com/compare/revenue-share-vs-buying-lockers

A venue that wants lockers can buy and run them, or take them from LockVault, our smart-locker service, on revenue share at no upfront cost. Below, the two models side by side, to help you decide whether to buy or hire lockers for your venue.

Buying lockers outright means the venue chooses a supplier, pays for the locker bank, the locks or payment kiosk, delivery and installation, arranges power and connectivity, and then runs the service: taking payments, handling refunds, fixing faults, insuring the hardware and replacing it when it wears out. Every pound of rental revenue is the venue’s, less card fees and running costs. Purchase prices vary widely by format, size and payment hardware, so we do not quote them here; ask suppliers for itemised quotes that include installation, software and support.

Revenue share means LockVault funds, installs, powers, connects, runs and maintains the lockers, and the venue provides a pitch or floor space and footfall. The venue receives a share of gross rental revenue; a typical venue share is 40%, with the final split agreed after a site survey. Revenue figures are estimates from footfall and typical conversion. The final split and forecast come from a site survey. An itemised statement arrives on the 1st of each month and the payout by the 15th, with an annual pricing review. The lockers are self-powered by a solar roof and on-board battery and connected by Starlink, so most sites need no mains power or Wi-Fi from the venue.

Neither model suits every venue. A permanent indoor site with high, steady footfall and an operations team may earn more by owning. A seasonal, outdoor or multi-site operator usually prefers no capital and no running burden. A consultation and site review come first, and LockVault returns a proposal within 48 hours of an enquiry.

The ownership column describes buying lockers outright in general terms, as at October 2026.

## Side by side

| Feature | VenueOra | Buying lockers outright |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Upfront cost | None. LockVault funds the lockers, kiosk, delivery and installation. The venue provides a pitch or floor space and footfall. Proposal within 48 hours of an enquiry. | The venue pays for the locker bank, locks or payment kiosk, delivery, installation and any groundworks before the first rental. |
| Who installs | LockVault. Fitted banks of 24 to 240 lockers are installed on site; container hubs of up to 180 lockers arrive on a lorry and run within hours. | The supplier or a contractor the venue hires, to a programme the venue manages and signs off. |
| Power and connectivity | Self-powered by a solar roof and on-board battery and connected by Starlink, so most sites need no mains power or Wi-Fi from the venue. | The venue provides mains power and a network connection at the locker location, or pays to have them run there, and keeps them working. |
| Support and refunds | LockVault handles guest support and refunds. Lockers are monitored 24/7 from a remote operations dashboard, with an uptime service level of 99.9%. | Venue staff take guest queries, open stuck doors and process refunds, or the venue pays a supplier for a support contract. |
| Maintenance and insurance | LockVault handles maintenance, software updates and insurance. | The venue arranges repairs, spare parts, software updates and insurance cover, and carries the cost of damage and vandalism. |
| Off-season flexibility | Container hubs can be deployed for a season or an event and taken away afterwards. The venue has no operating cost at any time of year. | Owned lockers stay on site and keep depreciating whether or not they earn. Moving or storing them is the venue’s cost. |
| Hardware refresh | LockVault owns and maintains the hardware and keeps the software updated. The venue does not own or depreciate the lockers. | The venue replaces worn or outdated lockers, locks and kiosks at its own cost, usually as a new capital purchase. |
| Reporting | Itemised statement on the 1st of each month showing rentals and the venue’s share, payout by the 15th, and an annual pricing review. | Reporting depends on the lock or kiosk software bought. The venue reconciles rentals, refunds and card settlements itself. |
| Payment handling and PCI | Guests pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay at the kiosk, or pre-book by phone with a QR code on arrival. Card data goes to a PCI DSS Level 1 acquiring partner and never touches the venue’s tills or systems. | The venue holds the merchant account, pays card fees, handles chargebacks and keeps the payment hardware within its own PCI DSS scope. |
| Revenue to the venue | A share of gross rental revenue, with the split agreed after a site survey and reviewed annually. No operating cost to the venue. | 100% of rental revenue, less card fees, power, connectivity, staff time, repairs, insurance and the purchase cost spread over the life of the hardware. |

## When buying outright suits you

- You have a permanent indoor site with steady footfall all year and an operations team that already handles tills, refunds and maintenance.
- You already own lockers that work and need only a better payment or locking system.
- You want 100% of rental revenue and can fund the purchase and the running costs for several years.
- Your site has mains power and a network connection at the locker location, so self-powered units matter less.
- You want full control of the guest-facing design, pricing and branding without an annual review with a partner.

## When to choose VenueOra

- You want lockers without capital: no upfront cost and no operating cost to the venue.
- Your season is short or your events move. Container hubs arrive on a lorry and run within hours.
- The locker location has no mains power or Wi-Fi.
- You want someone else to take the guest calls, refunds, repairs, software updates and insurance.
- You want lockers tied to your ticketing and membership record, with cashless wristband integration.

## Questions

Q: Is it better to buy or hire lockers for a venue?
A: It depends on footfall, season and who will run them. Buying suits a permanent indoor site with steady footfall and staff who already handle tills, refunds and repairs, because the venue keeps all of the rental revenue. Revenue share suits seasonal, outdoor or multi-site operators who want no capital outlay and no running burden. Revenue figures are estimates from footfall and typical conversion. The final split and forecast come from a site survey.

Q: What does the venue pay under LockVault’s revenue share?
A: Nothing. There is no upfront cost and no operating cost to the venue. LockVault funds, installs, powers, connects, runs and maintains the lockers and handles support, refunds, software updates and insurance. The venue provides a pitch or floor space and footfall, and receives a share of gross rental revenue, with the final split agreed after a site survey and reviewed once a year. A proposal follows within 48 hours of an enquiry.

Q: How much does it cost to buy lockers outright?
A: We do not quote purchase prices, because they vary widely by format, locker count, size mix, locking system and payment hardware. When you ask suppliers for quotes, make sure each one itemises the locker bank, locks or payment kiosk, delivery, installation, electrical and network work, software licences, support contracts, insurance and the expected life of the hardware. Compare those totals with the revenue share you would receive from the same footfall.

Q: Who handles refunds and broken lockers under each model?
A: Under revenue share, LockVault does. Lockers are monitored 24/7 from a remote operations dashboard, and LockVault handles guest support, refunds, maintenance and software updates, with an uptime service level of 99.9%. Under ownership, venue staff take the guest queries, open stuck doors and process refunds, and the venue arranges repairs and spare parts itself or pays a supplier for a support contract.

Q: What happens to the lockers in the off-season?
A: Under revenue share, container hubs can be deployed for a season or an event and taken away afterwards, and fitted banks simply earn less while footfall is low; either way the venue has no operating cost. Under ownership, the lockers stay on site and keep depreciating whether or not they earn, and moving or storing them is the venue’s cost.

Q: How is the revenue share paid and reported?
A: LockVault sends an itemised statement on the 1st of each month showing rentals and the venue’s share, and pays out by the 15th. Pricing is reviewed annually. Guests pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay at the kiosk, or pre-book by phone, and card data goes to a PCI DSS Level 1 acquiring partner rather than through the venue’s systems. Guest prices are agreed with the venue at the site survey, by the hour, the four-hour block and the day.

## Related pages

- Smart lockers: https://venueora.com/smart-lockers
- Payments: https://venueora.com/payments
- How locker revenue share works: https://venueora.com/guides/locker-revenue-share-explained
- Lockers as a service: what is included: https://venueora.com/guides/lockers-as-a-service-what-is-included
- Pricing: https://venueora.com/pricing

Book a demo: https://venueora.com/pricing#request