Selling exhibition booths without the spreadsheet

Why booth sales get messy

Booth sales usually start in a spreadsheet: a list of booth numbers, a column for the exhibitor, a column for the price. It works for the first dozen sales. Then a sponsor asks you to hold three corner booths while they decide, two exhibitors want to be far apart, a company upgrades from a small booth to a large one, and someone sells booth 14 twice because two people edited the sheet on the same afternoon.

A calm booth sale rests on a measured floor plan, clear products, a rule for holds, and a single record of who has what. This guide works for trade fairs, conference exhibitions, art fairs, pop-up markets and showcases alike.

Start with a measured floor plan

Everything begins with an accurate plan of the hall: dimensions, columns, entrances and exits, fire routes, service points for power and water, loading doors, catering areas and restrooms. Work from the venue’s drawings and confirm the dimensions that matter on site.

Lay out booths within the rules the venue and local authorities set, such as aisle widths, emergency exits and maximum occupancy. Plan aisles wide enough for crowds and for wheelchair users to pass comfortably, and keep the step-free route clear of booth overhangs and displays. Distinguish clearly between your own estimates and the layout the venue has approved, and sell only what has been approved.

• Hall dimensions, columns and ceiling height
• Entrances, exits and emergency routes
• Power, water and internet service points
• Loading doors and build-up access
• Catering, seating and restroom areas
• Aisle widths and the step-free route through the hall

Define booth types and packages

Decide what you are selling before you price it. Booth types usually differ by size, shape (inline, corner, peninsula, island) and what is included: shell walls, a fascia name board, furniture, power, internet and exhibitor passes. Write each type down with its inclusions so that every exhibitor buying the same type gets the same thing.

Location matters as much as size. Booths near entrances, catering or main aisles see more visitors. Many organisers price by both size and location, in a few clear tiers, rather than setting a unique price for every booth. Package sponsorship separately, with its own deliverables, and include booth space within it where relevant.

Holds that expire

Prospective exhibitors and sponsors often want time to decide. Holding booths for them is reasonable, but holds without limits quietly take the best space off the market. Give every hold an expiry date and a named owner, and release it automatically when it lapses.

A worked example. A sponsor asks you to hold three booths near the entrance for a fortnight while their budget is approved. You place a hold until a specific date. If the sponsor signs, the booths are allocated; if not, they return to sale on that date without anyone needing to remember. Meanwhile, other prospects can see that those booths are held, not sold, and you can offer them a waitlist.

Every hold needs an owner and an end date. A hold with neither is a booth you have stopped selling without deciding to.

How booths are allocated

Choose an allocation method and publish it. Some events let exhibitors choose from the floor plan directly, first come first served. Others collect preferences and allocate, giving priority to returning exhibitors, sponsors or early bookers. Some reserve areas for particular sectors so that related exhibitors cluster together.

Whatever you choose, apply it consistently and explain it. Exhibitors accept many arrangements if they understand them; they object to decisions that seem arbitrary. Allow exhibitors to state neighbours they would rather avoid, and respect those requests where the plan allows.

Contracts, deposits and payments

Each booth sale needs a written agreement: the booth, its inclusions, the price, the payment schedule, cancellation terms, and the exhibitor’s obligations such as insurance, build rules and deadlines. A deposit on booking with the balance due before the event is common, but state the dates clearly and stick to them.

Track each exhibitor’s payments against their agreement, and decide in advance what happens when a balance is not paid by its deadline: a reminder, then release of the booth. When an exhibitor cancels, the booth should go back on sale or to the waitlist promptly, with any refund following the terms you published.

Exhibitor deadlines and the manual

Exhibitors have a lot to arrange: booth design approval, furniture and power orders, shipping, staff passes, insurance certificates and catalogue entries. Give them one place to see every deadline and what they have and have not submitted, rather than a long manual and a series of reminder emails.

Set staff pass quotas per booth type, and let each exhibitor name their own staff within that quota. Named passes make check-in faster and security simpler during build-up and the show days.

1. Booth design approval, where custom builds are allowed
2. Furniture, power, internet and cleaning orders
3. Shipping and delivery slots for build-up
4. Insurance and safety documents
5. Catalogue entry and logo
6. Named staff passes within the quota

Build-up, show days and breakdown

The days around the show are as important as the show itself. Publish build-up slots so that deliveries arrive in an orderly sequence rather than all at once, and allocate loading bay times to the largest stands first. Tell exhibitors when the hall opens and closes on each build day, when power is switched on, and when their stand must be finished.

During the show, keep a point of contact for exhibitors with problems: a power fault, a missing delivery, a neighbour whose display blocks the aisle. After the show, publish breakdown times and the order in which stands can be dismantled, and inspect the hall with the venue before you leave, so any damage is recorded fairly.

Leads, with consent

Many exhibitors measure success by the conversations they have and the contacts they collect. If exhibitors scan visitors’ badges to capture leads, visitors should know what scanning means and agree to it. A visitor who lets an exhibitor scan their badge has agreed to share their details with that exhibitor, not with every exhibitor in the hall.

Never sell or hand over the full visitor list. Give exhibitors the leads that visitors chose to share with them, and make it easy for a visitor to withdraw consent later.

One record of who has what

The single biggest improvement over the spreadsheet is having one live record of every booth: available, held until a date, sold, or reserved for a sponsor. When the floor plan, the contract and the payment status all read from that one record, booths are not double-sold and everyone sees the same picture.

Attergo’s exhibition tools show booth availability on the floor plan, place holds that expire on their own, and connect each booth to its exhibitor, payments and staff passes. The principles in this guide stand on their own: plan the floor accurately, define what you sell, put limits on holds, and keep one record.

After the show

Share results with exhibitors, such as visitor numbers and their own lead counts, and ask for feedback while the show is fresh. Offer returning exhibitors the chance to rebook, often with priority on their current location, and record what they would change. The next show’s floor plan begins with what you learned on this one.