Every bar has a night that needs a reason to come out. A themed booth night gives regulars something to look forward to, and it gives newcomers a reason to stay for one more round. All it takes is an iPad on a stand, a printer, and a plan.
Pick a night
Choose the slowest night of the week, or the one you want to build up. Tuesday trivia crowds, Thursday after-work groups and Sunday afternoon regulars all work. Give it a name, such as “Booth Night,” and put it on the chalkboard so it feels like a ritual.
Consistency helps. If guests know the booth is out every Thursday, they will plan around it.
Set up the booth
Put an iPad on a stand near the end of the bar or by a cozy table. Open ZillaBooth, choose a 2×2 grid or a classic strip, and take a test session with a bartender. Guests tap, pose through the countdown, and get four photos in one finished picture.
Strips and grids are free in the core app, with no watermark and no account. That means you can test the idea for a night with no commitment.
Add the print moment
A printed picture is a souvenir that guests carry out the door and show to friends. Printing works on every tier through AirPrint, so an AirPrint printer behind the bar is enough, and Pro adds Simple Printing, a one-tap Print button. Keep a small stack of paper under the counter and check it at the start of each shift.
Put your venue on every grid
If you run booth night more than once, a venue overlay is worth the effort. With Pro, you can add your own PNG overlay to every grid, so your bar’s name or logo appears on each picture. Guests share the photos with their friends, and your bar gets a little free marketing each time.
Keep guests on the booth
Bars get busy, and a curious guest might open the settings by accident. Apple’s Guided Access locks the iPad to ZillaBooth, and with Pro, Hide Settings keeps the settings button out of sight. Together they keep the iPad on the booth screen, even when the room is full.
Promote it
A booth night works best when people know about it ahead of time:
- Post a short preview on your account the day before.
- Add a line to the chalkboard or menu.
- Ask guests to tag the bar when they post their grid.
- Share the best grid of the week the next morning.
If you want more ideas on how bars use the night out as a marketing moment, read our post on bar and nightclub marketing.
Staff notes
A booth should not slow down service. Give one person the job of checking paper and wiping the screen once an hour, and let everyone else focus on the bar. Put a “Tap to start” sign on the stand so staff do not have to explain it.
Is it worth it?
It costs very little to find out. Free ZillaBooth is enough to run a trial night, and an AirPrint printer is the only extra hardware. If it works, you can look at Pro for the overlay and the one-tap print button. The event photo booth app page explains how other venues use it.
Want to give it a try? See what ZillaBooth Pro adds for venues, or start free and run your first booth night this month.
