Rentals - Rule #2 Manage the Variables

A Trade Show Displays Tip:

In my first post related to Display Rentals, I talked about the importance of renting a system, that when combined with the right graphic package, wouldn't "look like a rental." This piece of advise is still at the top of my list, but not far behind it is renting a system which allows you to economically manage the variables at trade shows. Here are perhaps the most important variables:

1) Shipping: Display rentals should ideally be shipped in as few containers as possible so you don't get clobbered by both shipping costs as well as show site drayage costs. The benefits of display rentals is renting a system that is primarily hardware that accommodates graphics, is that rather than shipping laminate panels or walls, you'll be shipping frame work that is covered by fabric which is very inexpensive to ship and very economical on the drayage side as well. For drayage you're paying 60-$110 per hundred weight just to get the freight to your booth; so this really matters! The cost of the dye sublimation graphic walls is pennies compared to hard wall systems which you have to still add graphics to.

2) Set Up Labor: Display Rentals that can be shipped as sub assembled parts will greatly impact the cost for set up labor. Most shows either set up or tear down on overtime, so on one one leg or perhaps even both you'll be paying from 1-$200 per man hour for labor; plus an additional 30% of the bill tacked on for supervision if you're not physically present. If the trade show displays you rent doesn't assemble quickly with few parts, then you'll most likely beat the system, but if every piece has been disassembled just to be put into a smaller crate, it will weight the same for drayage calculations and also take more labor to set up. It will cost a little less to ship, but that will pale in comparison to labor costs for an entire show. Therefore, although the Trade Show Displays you rent looks like a million dollars, if the construction and packaging isn't thoroughly thought out ahead of time, a rental can easily be quadruple of what it should be had some forethought be taken. Where does the trade show electrical come into the picture on rental displays? I'll cover that in my next blog post. Click here for additional information regarding Trade Show Displays.

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