How a wind booth works at a corporate event

At a trade show or a company dinner, almost everyone ends up doing the same thing: looking at their phone. Few games can turn that around in under a minute, and the wind booth is one of them. Someone steps in, the airflow lifts a cloud of coupons, and for a few seconds the whole crowd looks up from their screens.

If you are considering it for a stand, a brand activation or your end-of-year party, this guide explains how a wind booth works at a real event: what you can send flying inside, how much room it needs, how it gets branded and when another prize game will serve you better.

What a wind booth is and why it draws such a crowd

It is a transparent booth where a powerful airflow lifts banknotes, coupons or prize cards. The player steps in and has a few seconds to grab as many as possible. You will also see it called a money booth, and either way it is the same game.

What sets it apart from other promotional games is that a wind booth turns the player into the show. Because it is transparent, everyone sees what happens inside: the grabbing, the paper slipping away, the race against the clock. That builds a queue, and a queue is exactly what you want in a trade show aisle.

It is also a generous game for social media, because a few seconds of footage work on their own, with no editing and no explanation needed. If you want material to post after the event, it is one of the safest bets in our catalogue of games for events.

How a wind booth works, step by step

The setup is straightforward: the wind booth sits on level ground, plugs into a power socket and is loaded with the printed material you have prepared. From there, the same cycle repeats all day long.

1. The player leaves their belongings outside and steps into the booth.
2. The airflow kicks in and the material starts flying.
3. For a few seconds they grab every coupon or card they can.
4. They step out, the haul is counted and redeemed at the counter.
5. The material is collected, the booth is reloaded and the next player goes in.

That very short round is the key to its throughput: a lot of people play per hour without the queue dragging on. To keep the rhythm, split it into two posts: the booth itself, where someone from the team manages turns, and the prize counter a little further away, so that whoever is celebrating a win does not block the entrance.

If your event has clear peaks, split the day’s material into batches instead of letting it run out in the first hour.

What you can send flying inside: coupons, cards and prizes

Inside you use light printed material that cannot hurt anyone: cards, coupons, vouchers and raffle tickets. Real cash is the classic image of the game, but at a corporate event flying redeemable coupons beats flying banknotes, because you control exactly how much you give away and the prize is collected at your counter, which is where you want the conversation to end up.

These are the mechanics that work best at trade shows and activations:

• Discount coupons for your shop or your website, with a short expiry date that encourages people to use them.
• Instant-win cards mixed with runner-up cards, so nobody walks away empty-handed.
• Merchandise vouchers redeemable at the stand itself.
• Raffle tickets that enter players into a bigger draw at the end of the day.
• Cards with a code or a QR on the back leading to a page of yours.

The cost of the activation is not just the game rental: it depends on what you decide to give away. A handful of big prizes plus plenty of small ones feels better than a flat giveaway. We work that out with you when we put the quote together.

Where it fits: trade shows, stands, company dinners and activations

At a trade show, a wind booth works as a magnet towards your stand, but it asks for floor space and headroom, so it suits medium and large stands and the common areas you book with the organiser. If your stand is small, a vertical game takes up far less and gets a similar result.

At company dinners, galas and sales conventions it plays a different role: the prize-giving moment. You slot it into the run of show, the award winners or the winning teams take their turn in the booth and the rest of the room watches. It is a way of handing out gifts without it feeling like a handout.

And at street activations, shopping centres or summer events it is pure attraction: people stop to watch, and whoever stops, plays. We work across Spain from Barcelona, so it suits an activation in Barcelona just as well as a tour through several cities.

Branding the wind booth as your own

An unbranded booth is just a game; a branded one is an activation. We brand the wind booth with your identity on the outside — vinyls, corporate colours, logo — and above all on the inside: the material that flies is yours, with your design, your prizes and your message. You can see every option on our custom branded games page.

On top of that you can add screens playing your video next to the booth, prizes from your own catalogue and staff uniforms in your colours, so that whoever manages the turns looks like part of your team.

If what you are after is contacts, the round can be tied to a short form: the visitor leaves their details, gets a turn and steps in. Ask for few fields, explain what you will use them for and store the consent, exactly as you would with any other data capture at a show.

Wind booth or another prize game: which one to choose

The booth is not always the best answer. If you are short on space or hosting a very formal audience, there are alternatives that hand out prizes just as well with a different kind of show.

• Giant plinko: a vertical board that takes up little room, with everyone following the chip until it lands. The easiest alternative for small stands.
• LED ball claw machine: a prize crane with a joystick where we set the grip strength and the win rate so you give away prizes at your own pace.
• Human claw machine: the fairground crane at full scale, with the player strapped into a harness. The one that generates the most videos.
• Promotional prize wheels and the digital prize wheel: for handing out a lot of merchandise quickly, with configurable prizes and odds.
• Capsule prize dispenser: quiet and elegant, the best fit for conferences and formal audiences.

One combination that works really well is the wind booth as the main attraction with a smaller game beside it, so that whoever is waiting for a turn does not walk off. The queue stops being a problem and becomes part of the activation.

Frequently asked questions about the wind booth

How long does each round last?

A few seconds per person. It is a game of very short rounds, designed so that plenty of people play and the queue keeps moving.

What does it need to run?

Level ground, enough headroom and a power socket nearby. Transport, setup and takedown are on us.

Can you fly real banknotes?

You can, but hardly anyone does: redeemable coupons and cards give the same visual effect and let you control what you give away.

Can it be set up outdoors?

Yes, on firm ground and in an area sheltered from rain. Since the game runs on paper material, the sensible option is a marquee or a roof if the weather looks unsettled.

If you already have a date and a venue, tell us how many people you expect and what you would like to give away: we will tell you whether a wind booth is the right game for that space and, if it is not, which alternative fits better. Write to us from the contact page and we will put together a quote with setup included.