Exhibition costs keep climbing and organizers often take the blame for expenses they never set. Exhibitors weigh the full price of attending – from flights and hotel rooms to meals, ground transport and booth space – and when the total feels too high, they start questioning whether a show is worth the trip. At the same time, destinations around the globe are competing harder than ever to host events, and many are willing to offer real support to the organizers who ask.
A recent IAEE Executive Insights Hour featuring Matthias “Tesi” Baur of MBB Consulting Group explored how cities and authorities worldwide back the shows they host, and what organizers can do to tap into that support, whether they’re running a small regional gathering or a global flagship. Four lessons are worth borrowing.
Spend Your Influence Where It Counts
Space rates and registration fees make up less than a third of what exhibitors spend to show up. The rest goes to flights, hotels, meals and taxis, and hotel prices tend to spike just when your show arrives. You can’t set those prices, but you can shape the conversation around them.
- Compare cities on price. One benchmark tracked 3-, 4- and 5-star rates during exhibition periods across the United Kingdom, finding Glasgow relatively affordable and London steep, with Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool in between.
- Publish your negotiated rates next to the public ones. Visible savings show exhibitors you’re working for them.
- Pair a modest registration fee with discounted rooms to ease the pressure on the costs you can’t control.
Exhibitors notice who’s advocating for them, and that goodwill carries into renewal season.
Let Competition Work in Your Favor
Destinations that need to win events often build the boldest support. After COVID and political unrest, Hong Kong covered venue costs for shows above a certain size. Thailand and the Gulf states followed with aggressive programs of their own, and Saudi Arabia has committed billions.
- Study what rival cities offer. Hong Kong coordinates its program across three government departments, a structure worth investigating even if you never host there.
- Remember that venue costs can be negotiated. Fiera Barcelona offered a year of free venue costs to pull an exhibition away from Madrid.
- Don’t write off smaller markets. Qatar competes with its larger neighbors thanks to a modern airport hub and a modern exhibition venue.
Programs have cooled a little since their post-COVID peak, but rivalry between destinations keeps the offers coming.
Make Your Case at City Hall
Plenty of officials don’t realize how much revenue exhibitions bring until someone puts a number in front of them. Even in Germany, a country with a well-established exhibitions industry, a thoughtful briefing convinced a mayor and a state president to speak at a show they may have overlooked otherwise.
- Commission economic impact studies on a regular schedule. One organizer uses Atlanta’s annual study to negotiate hotel blocks and strengthen the city relationship.
- Join forces with neighbors. Five modest events in one city went to their mayor as a group and showed a combined footprint none could achieve individually.
- Ask outright. Some large U.S. organizers simply ask what a city can offer and walk away with customized deals worth up to $1 million.
Leverage grows with scale and evidence, so start gathering both.
Think Beyond the Check
The most valuable support isn’t always cash. Thailand’s Convention and Exhibition Bureau gave Money 2020 Bangkok a fast track to government leaders, including a Ministry of Finance meeting within a week of launch. Atlanta’s Convention and Visitors Bureau swapped promotion with one show, offering signage and newsletter features in exchange for destination exposure.
- Request concierge services that open doors to ministries, associations and local suppliers, especially when entering a new country.
- Trade promotion for promotion with your bureau. It costs little and benefits both sides.
- Scrutinize every term and condition. Very generous offers can come with requirements that tie your hands as an organizer.
Keep appeal in mind as well: a survey of 40 exhibition directors ranked destination as the second most important factor when choosing a venue.
Ask Early, Ask Often
Support rarely arrives unprompted. Whether you run a regional gathering or a global flagship, the organizers who get results approach their cities with data, creativity and a clear sense of what they need.
These insights came straight from fellow industry professionals at an IAEE Community Insights Hour. Come be part of the conversation! Not an IAEE member? Conversations like this one are just one of many benefits. Get in on the action here.
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