A great night out has always been about the people you share it with. The birthday crowd squeezed into the corner, the team celebrating a win, the friends who only see each other twice a year. For 50 years, SX Leisure has helped pubs and venues create those moments.

Today, guests want more than a drink and a seat. They want something to do, something to remember and something to share. That is why photobooths have become one of the most in-demand additions to nightclubs, bars and late-opening venues across the UK, and why we have partnered with Photobot to bring them to our venues.

Here is why late-night venues in particular stand to gain the most, and how a photobooth helps turn a busy room into a community.

Late-night venues need a reason to be chosen

The late-night trade has had a tough few years. According to the Night Time Industries Association and CGA by NIQ, around one in four late-night venues has closed since March 2020, leaving roughly 2,400 still trading. That is a sharper fall than across hospitality as a whole, with closures running at about three a week in 2025.

The venues still standing are competing harder than ever for every night out. Guests have more choice about where to go, and more reasons to stay in. The venues that win are the ones that give people a reason to come, a reason to stay and a reason to come back.

That is exactly what a photobooth is built to do.

What guests want from a night out has changed

The growth in pubs and bars is coming from experiences. Mintel’s 2025 market report puts the UK pubs and bars market at £30.5bn, with growth driven by evening occasions and experience-led formats. The same report highlights the need for pubs to offer value beyond price and act as community social hubs.

Younger guests are leading the shift. Mintel found that 64% of Gen Z had played a social entertainment game in the past month, compared with 60% who had been to the pub for a drink. They are drinking less, but they still want a great night out. What they look for is something to do together.

A photobooth answers several of these needs at once:

• It is an activity, not just a purchase. Groups pile in, pull faces and laugh at the results together.
• It creates content as people socialise. Every session produces photos guests actually want to share.
• It taps into nostalgia. Printed photo strips fit the same retro appeal as vinyl and film cameras, while older guests remember booths from their own nights out.
• It works for everyone. No skill, no rules, no age barrier. It brings the whole room in.

Your pub, your community, captured

A venue’s community is built one night at a time. It is the regulars who know the staff by name, the groups who make it their place, and the moments that become stories told for years.

A photobooth captures those moments and gives them back to your guests. The birthdays, the leaving dos, the league wins, the reunions and the first dates all end up in a photo with your venue’s name on it.

That changes how people feel about your venue. It stops being just somewhere they went and becomes somewhere their memories belong. Some venues take this further with a photo wall of printed strips, a living record of the people who make the place what it is.

At SX Leisure, this is how we have always worked. For 50 years we have been about more than machines. We help pubs and venues build the kind of community that keeps their doors open. Your pub, your community: a photobooth is one of the most visible ways to show it.

What a photobooth does for your venue

A new revenue stream

Your venue earns from every session from day one. Contactless payment means no cash handling and no staff time, so the booth earns while your team gets on with running the bar.

We only do well when your venue does well. That shared interest in a busy booth is how a real partnership should work.

Free advertising shared by your guests

Every session is a shareable moment. Guests post their photos to Instagram, TikTok and group chats that same night, and every one carries your venue’s branding. That is advertising you never had to pay for or create.

It also shows exactly what you want people to see: real guests having a brilliant time in your venue. When people see their friends laughing in your booth, they want to be there next weekend.

More reasons to stay

Guests queueing for, using and laughing over the booth are guests still in your venue. A photobooth gives groups something to do between rounds, which keeps the energy up and the night going.

Longer stays mean more spend at the bar, and that spend is all yours. For late-night venues, holding on to guests for that extra hour can make the difference to a night’s takings.

More reasons to come back

The software and photo modes keep evolving, so regulars always have something new to try. The booth stays fresh rather than becoming part of the furniture.

Printed photos go home in pockets, wallets and onto fridges. Every time a guest sees one, they are reminded of a great night in your venue and why they should go back.

A boost for events and private hire

Freeplay modes let you include the booth in birthday packages, Christmas parties and corporate bookings. Guests get unlimited photos and you get a function offer that stands out from the venue down the road.

It also gives you something extra to charge for. A booth built into a package adds value for the customer and margin for you.

Built to fit your venue

Choose from a range of booth styles to suit your décor and layout. Whether your venue is a traditional pub or a high-energy late-night bar, the booth should feel like it belongs.

Every booth is fully co-branded, with your identity carried through every step of the guest journey, from the start screen to the printed strip and the shared photo.

Results you can see

Live performance reporting shows how your booth is doing in real time. You can see your busiest nights, track usage and understand what your guests respond to.

That makes it easy to plan around. Use the data to time your promotions, themed nights and events for when they will have the most impact.

Support from real people

Rapid, human tech support keeps your booth running on the nights that matter most. If something needs attention, you speak to a person who can sort it quickly.

That means less downtime, fewer frustrated guests and a booth that is always ready for your busiest Friday and Saturday nights.

Bring the photobooth experience to your venue

SX Leisure has partnered with Photobot, which has spent over 15 years developing photobooth technology and experiences for venues across the UK. Together, we work closely with you to understand your audience and make sure the booth earns its place in your venue.

Every booth is fully co-branded, backed by constantly evolving technology, and supported by a team that has been helping pubs and venues thrive for 50 years.

Your pub, your community. Let’s capture it together.

Contact our team today to find out if a photobooth could work in your venue.