Tips for Trade Show Rentals


Trade show rentals allow you more flexibility and the opportunity to change your booth with every expo if you wish. You can rent nearly any booth components, from portable pop-ups to completely custom looks.

Why is it advantageous to change your displays frequently? Your customers will visit you at more than one expo to see what's new. It's important to be able to show new products or services and an updated look. If you always have the same old thing for them to see, why should they keep stopping by?

Renting trade show structures lends your company the flexibility to change often, showing customers that you keep up with the latest innovations. It's simply not cost effective to purchase new booth components for every show.

Rentals cost approximately 10 to 20 percent of the price of purchasing new exhibits outright. Renting your exhibit also removes costs of cleaning, repairing, and storing your booth components.

You don't have to refurbish your displays after each show if you're renting them. The exhibits come fresh from the vendor, in ready to use condition.

And you don't have the expense and hassle of storing bulky trade show booth exhibits if you're renting them. Instead, the vendor ships your rental displays before the show, and you ship them back afterward.

However, if you rent exhibits more than three or four times per year, it may be more cost effective for you to purchase a portable booth setup and re-use it for each show. Map out your costs for each option to find out whether renting exhibits several times a year is less costly for you than purchasing portable displays.

Another good reason for opting in favor of trade show rentals is the flexibility of signing up for different booth spaces, sizes or configurations at different shows. If this flexibility suits your business, then using a different rental exhibit that's appropriate for each expo is the best solution.

Also, if two groups from your company exhibit at more than one trade show on the same dates, leased exhibits are the answer for at least one of the shows.

Renting your booth components also means that less of your budget needs to be used for the purchase and maintenance of displays. Instead, you can increase your allotment for promotional trade show giveaways, entertaining customers, hosting a hospitality event after hours at a trade show, and contacting customers before and after the expo.

However, there are a few disadvantages to using trade show rentals. If you aren't purchasing your displays, you're restricted to the rental components available. And you aren't free to have the entire exhibit customized.

When renting trade show exhibits, check with the display leasing company for any hidden fees, or penalties if the show falls through and you don't need the rental after all.

Rena Klingenberg shares trade show success secrets in her website, Trade Show Booth Display Tips, where you can find further tips on trade show exhibit rentals.