The usual advice is to chase foot traffic. For a snack machine, that’s fine. For a photo booth, though, it will steer you wrong. I’ve pitched hundreds of venues. As a result, here’s my short answer on best locations for vending machines in Florida: pick rooms where groups arrive in a good mood. So that means bars and taprooms, hotel lobbies, campus centers, museums and arcades. Busy hallways where people rush past alone don’t make the list.
I’m Thomas, founder of SmileMore. Here’s how I actually judge a space, including the places that told me no.
Foot traffic is the wrong first filter
A snack machine sells to a need. Someone gets hungry, so they buy chips. A photo booth sells to a mood instead. Nobody needs a photo strip, yet people with the right energy can’t resist one.
That flips the usual ranking. A hospital corridor, a laundromat or a bus station has steady traffic, and a snack machine can do well there. However, I’d never put a photo booth in any of them. The people walking through are tired, alone, or in a hurry.
Meanwhile, a taproom with half the traffic can beat them easily. Its guests arrive in groups and stay a while. They’re also ready to celebrate something, even if it’s only Thursday.
Here’s what I look for, in order:
- Groups. A booth is a group activity. Solo visitors rarely use one.
- Mood. Birthdays, vacations, game days, graduations, date nights.
- A visible corner. Guests have to see it from where they gather.
- Repeat visits. Regulars come back and make new strips with new friends.
- Room and power. About 5 x 5 ft and one outlet. Also, a standard door it can roll through.
How I score a Florida venue type
This table is my opinion, built from one live booth and hundreds of conversations. Still, it’s the same lens I use on every first call.
| Venue type | Groups, mood and repeat visits | My verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Bar or taproom | Groups every night, a celebratory mood, and regulars who return weekly | Strong fit |
| Hotel lobby | Groups on vacation, so the mood is high, but repeat visits are low | Strong fit |
| University center | Friends in packs, plus the same students all semester | Strong fit, proven at NSU |
| Museum or attraction | Families and school groups who want to remember the visit | Strong fit |
| Arcade or family entertainment center | Birthday parties and kids in a mood to win something | Strong fit |
| Mall common area | Mixed: some groups, yet many solo errand runners | Depends on the spot |
| Restaurant | Celebrations happen, though guests are mostly seated | Depends on the layout |
| Apartment clubhouse | Loyal residents, but small crowds outside events | Case by case |
| Gym | Regulars arrive alone and leave sweaty | Usually no |
| Laundromat or hospital hallway | Steady traffic, yet nobody is in a party mood | Snack machine instead |
Does your venue sit in the top half? Then send me your space for a straight read.
Best locations for vending machines in Florida, by venue type
Florida helps here, because so much of its economy runs on people having a good time. In fact, my picks for best locations for vending machines in Florida that sell fun mostly fall into four groups.
Bars and taprooms
The Brewers Association counts 379 craft breweries in Florida, which ranks the state 10th nationally. Then stack every cocktail bar and sports bar on top, and you get thousands of rooms full of groups. Those guests also come back weekly, which keeps the booth fresh for them.
Campus centers
Our NSU booth went live in August 2026 in a Davie student center, and its weekly rhythm taught me plenty. Fridays crushed every other weekday, and it wasn’t close. Wednesdays came in a distant second. That pattern makes sense, because students plan their weekends on Friday and their midweek breaks on Wednesday. If your venue has a predictable weekly peak, the booth will ride it too.
Hotel lobbies
Florida drew 143.3 million visitors in 2025. Nearly all of them want proof they were here. So a strip printed in your lobby is a souvenir they make themselves.
Museums and arcades
Once, I pitched inside a museum devoted entirely to jellyfish. Weirdest walk-through of my life, and also the moment I put museums near the top of my list. People come in groups, they’re curious, and they want to remember the visit, too. Arcades work for a similar reason, because a strip is the prize everyone wins. I wrote more about that in why museums suit a photo booth.
Hundreds of pitches, one first yes
I’ll be honest about the scoreboard, though. I’ve pitched hundreds of locations, and NSU was the first yes.
Plenty of smaller, plainer spots than a university turned me down before that. A science museum passed as well, and I still plan to circle back. Some owners also see a 22-year-old founder and quietly decide the pitch isn’t serious.
I get it, honestly. Statistically, most people my age are still figuring out their path, so skepticism is a reasonable default. My answer isn’t to argue. Instead, I just outwork the doubt.
Besides, a no often teaches me something. Some rooms simply aren’t right, and my whole job is to place booths only where they’ll earn their keep. If I put a booth in the wrong room, nobody wins. The guests don’t use it, the venue gets nothing, and I’ve tied up a machine I built by hand.
Think your room scores high? Prove me right.
Send a photo of the corner, your hours and a feel for your crowd. I’ll tell you honestly whether it’s a fit, even if the answer is no.
What the Florida calendar does to a location
Location isn’t only about where. It’s also about when, of course.
Here’s my hunch so far: July and August could be the quiet months for a lot of rooms, while the back-to-school rush runs hot. NSU backed up the second half fast, since volume clustered around move-in week. I’ll know more about summer after a full year.
Meanwhile, the rest of the year has clear peaks. Snowbirds fill the state from about November through April. The boat show lands in Fort Lauderdale in October or November. Art Basel fills Miami Beach in December, and spring break follows a few months later. Holiday party decisions get made in September and October, too.
Then there’s weather. Summer afternoons in South Florida bring a thunderstorm almost on schedule. An indoor booth benefits, because a sudden downpour turns a quick drink into a long one, and bored groups go looking for something to do.
Where a booth goes inside the venue
Yet even a great venue can bury a booth in a bad corner. At NSU, the booth stands against an elevator column in the main lobby, so everyone passes it and many stop.
So look for a spot that people see from where they naturally gather. Near the bar works. Likewise, the stretch between the entrance and the main room works. A back hallway by the restrooms usually doesn’t.
Also, plan for flexibility. Your floor plan will change for a holiday party or a renovation, and the booth should never be in the way. It sits on wheels, and if you need it shifted, my team shows up and does it. That flexibility comes standard with every booth we place. More about the program sits on our venue partners page.
Frequently asked questions
Does my venue have to be open late to qualify?
No. Our NSU booth lives in a campus building that runs mostly on daytime hours, and it still logged its strongest days on weekdays. What matters more is groups and mood, not closing time.
Why would you turn a venue down?
Because a booth in the wrong room helps nobody. If guests arrive alone or in a hurry, then the booth sits idle. So we’d rather say no early than waste your corner and our machine.
Is a strip-mall storefront a good spot?
It depends on what the storefront is, rather than the plaza. A busy taproom in a strip center can be a great fit, whereas the dry cleaner next door is not. In short, the business inside matters far more than the building.
Do you place booths outside South Florida?
Mostly we stay within the tri-county area around our Davie shop. If your venue sits farther up the state, message me anyway. I’ll give you a realistic install estimate instead of a vague promise.
I’ll concede the obvious. My scoring table is opinion, and some venue I’d rate “case by case” will probably prove me wrong one day. But that’s exactly why I review every space one at a time. If yours looks like the top of the table, send me the corner and let’s find out together.
