What the show organiser bills you for
Your builder quotes the stand. The show quotes everything around it. First-time exhibitors are usually surprised by the second invoice, not the first.
There are two invoices for every exhibition. The one from whoever builds your stand, and the one from the show. The first is easy to compare between suppliers. The second is set by the organiser and the venue, is not negotiable in any meaningful way, and catches people out.
The usual items
- Space. Charged per square metre, and priced differently for a corner, a peninsula or an island. The premium for an island is not only about size — it is about having four open sides.
- Drayage / material handling. Moving your crates from the loading dock to your space, taking the empties away, and bringing them back at the end. Usually charged by weight, and frequently the largest surprise on the list.
- Electrical. A supply drop to your stand, charged by load, plus a connection fee. Ordering after the deadline typically costs substantially more than ordering before it.
- Rigging. Anything suspended from the ceiling. Priced per point, and in many halls only the venue’s own crew may do it.
- Cleaning. Your stand is not cleaned unless you order it. Carpet after move-in, then daily during the show.
- Internet. Wired connections are ordered and charged separately, and demonstrations that depend on the hall’s public wifi tend to become demonstrations of the hall’s public wifi.
- Labour rules. Some venues restrict which tasks an exhibitor’s own crew may perform. Where that applies, the venue’s labour is an unavoidable line.
The deadline is the money
Nearly every one of these has an advance-order price and a late price, and the gap is large. The exhibitor manual arrives early and gets read late. Reading it the week it lands, and placing the orders you already know you need, is the single cheapest thing you can do for your budget.
Ask your builder to flag them
A good builder cannot quote these — they are not their charges. What they can do is tell you which ones your particular stand will trigger: how many rigging points that hanging sign needs, what load your lighting draws, how much your crates weigh for drayage. Ask for that list alongside the quotation.