In part one of this article I mentioned some simple methods for keeping your trade show costs down; and I also did mention that drayage is one of the major sources, if not the major source of several unforeseen costs. Once more, drayage is the cost that is charged by the show contractor to remove and transport your booth from their dock to your show space on the floor and vice versa. Do not get this confused with the labor set up or dismantling and/or the shipping cost. To reiterate, drayage is the cost just to move your booth from the convention dock to your booth space. Some conventions cost more than others depending one whether its in Las Vegas, New York or some other state; costs differ from state to state.  Make sure to make allowance in your overall budget to accommodate these costs, it is not uncommon to be surprised by this cost at the end of the show.  My previous article mentioned  the use light weight material in the construction of your booth as a source of keeping drayage costs in check. Drayage is calculated by the hundred pound weight.  

Another mention was the high labor cost charged by the show contractor to set up and dismantle your trade show booth.   Most cities are controlled by union cost. This means that you will have to pay a minimum amount per one hour labor cost.   Trade show differs in cost from city to city. It is best to have your exhibit manufacturer (exhibit house) go through your booth completely before shipping your booth out to the show. Include in your preshow set a full set of set up plans, electrical floor plan and a crate content list.  The main reason for this is because what you pay for with your exhibit house; it’s going to be twice as much on the show floor. The perfect example is the old light bulb situation.  Let’s say your booth need a light bulb; you wait until you reach the convention hall. You now have to get one of your laborers to go out (if they do not have it in stock) to get this bulb _ this person is called a runner. The labor rate for the show is let’s say $80 hour. You now have to pay $80 dollars to get this light bulb.  Now it’s time to replace this light bulb. Depending on the show regulations, you may have to have a show electrician to install this bulb. Electricians do not come cheap, as a matter of fact they usually cost more than the shows labor rate, let’s say they charge $95 hour.  Now you have just paid $175 for a light bulb, Oh by the way the light bulb cost still has to be added in.   Word of advice make sure your booth is well prepared before you get to the convention floor,  never cut cost by not setting up or checking out your booth before the show.

A client of mine decided to cut his trade show cost by storing his own booth,   He had the booth shipped directly to the convention hall. I was on site. The client never checked his booth before shipping it out. On the convention hall floor, we noticed this client had no bolts to set up his booth. He was now in a panic.  We fortunately were on the set up floor and happened to have the exact bolts he needed. He was basically saved by us being on the floor and having the bolts he needed. I say this to emphasize that an exhibitor should not be in this situation by trying the do-it-yourself method. The question is - what if we did not have those special bolts? Those bolts would have cost him a lot more than storage would have cost. 

 Part 3 of this article deals with - shipping and keeping costs down

Part #1 of this articles