Short answer: one company that sells tools to vending operators, VPlaced, puts the usual minimum at about 30-40 employees on site, fewer where foot traffic is high, and about 150-200+ units for apartment buildings with a shared common area. Operators weigh daily traffic more than square footage. If you are near those numbers, or have lots of visitors, you are worth a conversation.
This checklist is for managers in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia who want to know whether an operator is likely to say yes before they ask. It uses the same questions operators ask on a site visit.
The fit checklist
Work through these in order. The first three matter most.
- How many people are on site on a normal day? Count staff who are actually in the building, not headcount on paper, plus regular visitors, members, patients or residents.
- What are your hours? Long hours, evening or night shifts and weekend use all help, especially if nearby shops close early.
- Is there food or drink nearby? A site 10 minutes' walk from the nearest store is a better fit than one next to a café.
- Is there a common area where people pass or wait? A break room, lobby, waiting room, gym floor or laundry room. Machines tucked into a back corridor sell less.
- Is there a grounded power outlet close to that spot? Refrigerated machines need reliable power. Extension cords are a no. The power is the one cost on your side: about as much as a commercial fridge, roughly $15–20 a month.
- Is there floor space the machine can stand in without blocking an exit or path? A typical full-size machine needs roughly the footprint of a large fridge, plus room for the door to open.
- Can the machine get in? Doors, stairs and elevators need to fit a heavy machine on a dolly.
- Is there a phone or Wi-Fi signal? Card and phone-pay readers usually need one.
- Do you already have a machine, a cafeteria or a micro-market? If so, a second operator may not want to share the site.
- Who can approve it? If you lease, a machine in a shared area usually needs the landlord or property manager.
If you answered "yes" or "good" to most of these, your site is worth putting forward. One more question matters after install, not before: who will service the machine? A machine is only as good as whoever restocks and repairs it, so a site that fits on paper still needs an operator who shows up.
What do operators actually look for?
The single number operators care about is how many people will pass the machine every day. Staff count is a stand-in for that. So are units in a residential building, members at a gym and patients in a waiting room.
That's why the thresholds above bend. A 25-person office open 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. with a public counter can outperform a 50-person office where half the team works from home.
Which types of business do operators go after first?
VendBuddy, a company that sells tools to operators, calls small and mid-size businesses with 30-100 staff, such as offices, gyms and auto repair shops, the easiest sites to approach. Local Metro Vancouver operators also list clinics, warehouses, apartment buildings and industrial units among the sites they serve.
We have not found any source that measures how often each type of business actually ends up with a machine, so treat "easiest to approach" as an operator's opinion.
Some site types have their own quirks:
| Site type | Why it can fit | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Office | Staff on site all day, break room | How many people are in on a normal day |
| Warehouse or industrial unit | Shifts, early starts, often few food options nearby | Access for restocking outside office hours |
| Gym or fitness studio | Members want water and protein snacks, long hours | Product mix and whether the gym sells its own |
| Clinic | Waiting rooms, patients and staff | Space in the waiting area, healthy options |
| Auto service | Customers waiting while work is done | Whether customers wait on site or leave |
| Apartment or strata | Residents, often at all hours | A shared common area and council or PM approval |
For apartment buildings, see vending machines for apartment buildings and strata in BC.
What if my business is below the threshold?
You still have options to ask about. None of these is certain, and it's up to the operator:
- A smaller format, such as a compact snack machine, a drink-only machine or an honour-box style setup.
- A shared placement in a building lobby or common area that serves several tenants.
- A machine at a busier sister site if your organization has more than one location.
If you are well below the numbers and have no visitors, an operator may decline. That is normal: the machine has to cover its own restocking trips.
What happens after you ask
With VendFynd, the first step is a short site check: six questions online, then 5 minutes confirming traffic, space and the outlet. If your site fits, we match the operator that suits it, and you see the host terms before anything is signed. It's $0 to you: the operator covers the machine, install, stocking, service and removal, and you provide the spot and an outlet. After install, VendFynd stays your one contact and replies within 1 business day.
Our guide to free vending machines for businesses explains who pays for what, and vending machine commission in Canada covers whether you are likely to be paid. For local notes on two of the busiest cities for this, see vending machine service in Burnaby and Richmond.
Sources
- VPlaced, "How to find locations for vending machines" (a company that sells to operators): https://vplaced.com/how-to-find-locations-for-vending-machines/, accessed 2026-09-26
- VPlaced, "How to get vending machines in apartment complexes": https://vplaced.com/how-to-get-vending-machines-in-apartment-complexes/, accessed 2026-09-26
- VendBuddy, "How to find vending locations" (a company that sells to operators): https://vendbuddy.io/blog/how-to-find-vending-locations, accessed 2026-09-26
- Greater Vancouver Vending (Metro Vancouver operator): https://greatervancouvervending.ca/, accessed 2026-09-26
Last updated: September 26, 2026. This is general information, not a promise that any operator will place a machine.