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The Las Vegas Exhibitor's Playbook

Straight answers on booth costs, drayage, union labor, design and standing out on the Vegas floor — from the team that builds it.

Costs & Logistics
Costs & Logistics

Trade Show Drayage Fees in Las Vegas, Explained

The single biggest surprise on your show invoice, decoded — and how to shrink it.

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Costs & Logistics

Union Labor Rules at the Las Vegas Convention Center

The LVCC leans union, but how much you can do yourself is largely up to each show's rules — here's what you (or your display partner) can typically set up without union labor, and where union trades are genuinely required.

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Costs & Logistics

What Does a Trade Show Booth Actually Cost in Las Vegas?

Real numbers: all-in booth ranges by size, what our LED actually rents for, and how drayage, electrical and union labor are really billed in Las Vegas.

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Costs & Logistics

Shipping and Storing Your Booth Between Las Vegas Shows

The real cost of owning a booth isn't the build — it's everything that happens to it between shows.

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Costs & Logistics

Electrical, Rigging & Internet Orders at Vegas Venues

The services that sink budgets aren't your booth — they're power, rigging, and internet ordered through the venue.

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Costs & Logistics

Trade Show Labor Costs by City: Union vs. Right-to-Work

The same booth can cost wildly different amounts to install depending on the city. Here's how union vs. right-to-work labor and drayage compare across the major U.S. convention markets.

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Costs & Logistics

McCormick Place Survival Guide: Union Labor & Drayage (Chicago)

North America's largest convention center is also its priciest to exhibit at. Here's how McCormick Place union labor and drayage really work - and how to plan around them.

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Costs & Logistics

Javits Center Survival Guide: Union Labor & Drayage (NYC)

Exhibiting at the Javits Center? Here's how its strict union labor and drayage really work, and how an out-of-town exhibitor plans around them.

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Costs & Logistics

Washington DC Convention Center: Union Labor & Drayage Guide

Exhibiting in DC? The Walter E. Washington Convention Center is heavily union. Here's how the labor and drayage work - and when right-to-work Northern Virginia is the cheaper play.

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Booth Strategy
Getting Started
Design
LED Video Walls
LED Video Walls

How Much Does an LED Video Wall Cost to Rent for a Trade Show?

The honest answer is “it depends” — but here's exactly what moves the number, so you can budget before you ask for a quote.

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LED Video Walls

LED Wall Pricing: Screen Only vs. the Full System You Actually Need

That low per-panel number you found online isn't what it costs to put a working wall on the show floor. Here's everything a real quote includes.

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LED Video Walls

Renting vs. Buying an LED Video Wall for Trade Shows

Renting wins for most exhibitors. Here's the honest break-even math, plus the ownership costs nobody mentions.

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LED Video Walls

LED Wall Pixel Pitch Explained (and How to Pick It by Viewing Distance)

P1.5, P2.5, P3.9 — what the number means, and the simple rule for choosing it so you don't overpay or buy a fuzzy wall.

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LED Video Walls

LED Video Wall Specs Decoded: Nits, Refresh Rate, and What Actually Matters

Brightness, refresh rate, and the spec-sheet jargon — in plain English, so you can tell a real difference from a marketing number.

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LED Video Walls

How to Vet an LED Video Wall Supplier (Without Getting Burned)

The questions to ask and the red flags to watch for — so you can judge any LED vendor on the things that actually matter.

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LED Video Walls

The Hidden Cost of Owning an LED Wall: Service, Support & Total Cost

If you're thinking of buying, these are the ongoing costs that turn a one-time price into a long-term commitment.

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LED Video Walls

Can You Add LED Panels Later? The Batch-Matching Problem, Explained

The honest answer most vendors won't give you before you buy — and how to plan around it.

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LED Video Walls

How to Run Content on Your Booth LED Wall (Connecting Laptops + Fixing Black Screens)

How an LED wall is actually driven, how to connect a laptop / Apple TV / Firestick, and the quick fixes for a black or stretched screen.

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LED Video Walls

What Size LED Wall Do I Need? Sizing by Audience, Room, and Content

First LED wall? Two measurements decide almost everything: how far away your farthest viewer sits, and what you'll put on screen. Here's the sizing logic we use, so you can sanity-check any quote.

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Trade Show Booths
Research
Research

RE+ 2026 by the Floor Plan: What 1,424 Booths Reveal About Who Actually Exhibits

Original analysis of all 1,424 booths at RE+ 2026 - 664,683 sq ft measured from the show's own published floor plan. The industry writes about giant islands; the median exhibitor is in 200 square feet and cannot hang a sign.

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Research

SEMA Show 2026 by the Floor Plan: 2,320 Stands, Measured

Original analysis of 2,320 stands and 1,253,268 sq ft at SEMA Show 2026, measured from the show's own published floor plan - and the first side-by-side comparison of two Las Vegas shows measured the same way.

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Research

AHR Expo 2027 by the Floor Plan: 1,592 Stands at McCormick Place, Measured

Original analysis of 1,592 stands and 555,049 sq ft at AHR Expo 2027, measured from the show's own published floor plan - and the first time the same show has been measured in two different cities, because we measured the 2026 Las Vegas edition the same way.

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Research

IMTS 2026 Floor Plan, Measured: 1,638 Stands and a 73% No-Sign Floor

Original analysis of 1,638 stands and 1,175,085 sq ft at IMTS 2026 (September 14-19, McCormick Place), measured from the show's own published floor plan - the largest floor we have measured, and the one where overhead signage is rarest.

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Research

InfoComm 2026 by the Floor Plan: 890 Stands Where Islands Held 80% of the Floor

Original analysis of 890 stands and 558,763 sq ft at InfoComm 2026 (Las Vegas Convention Center), measured from the show's own published floor plan - the most island-dominated floor we have measured, on the show where the demo IS the booth.

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Research

NAB Show 2026 by the Floor Plan: 1,133 Stands, Measured - and Blackmagic Out-Floored Sony

Original analysis of 1,133 stands and 488,778 sq ft at NAB Show 2026 (Las Vegas Convention Center), measured from the show's own published floor plan - with hotel hospitality suites deliberately excluded, so these numbers describe the real exhibit floor.

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Research

PACK EXPO International 2026 by the Floor Plan: 2,572 Stands, Measured

Original analysis of 2,572 stands and 1,322,309 sq ft at PACK EXPO International 2026 (October 18-21, McCormick Place, Chicago) - the most stands we have ever measured on one plan, on the floor with the least concentration at the top.

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Research

AAPEX 2026 Floor Plan, Measured: 2,315 Stands, and Half the Show Is a 10x10

Original analysis of the AAPEX 2026 floor plan (November 3-5, The Venetian Expo): 2,315 stands measured from the show's own published plan - the flattest big floor we have measured, where the median exhibitor is in a 10x10 and even Bosch tops out at 3,000 sq ft.

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Research

NADA Show 2027 Floor Plan, Measured: 492 Stands and a Floor That's Already Full

Original analysis of the NADA Show 2027 floor plan (expo February 18-20, Orange County Convention Center, Orlando): 492 stands measured from the show's own published plan - a floor with one stand left in August, where islands hold 92% of the area and the median booth is 400 sq ft.

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Research

PRINTING United Expo 2026 Floor Plan, Measured: 884 Stands, 95% Booked Three Weeks Out

Original analysis of the PRINTING United Expo 2026 floor plan (September 23-25, Las Vegas Convention Center): every stand measured from the show's own published plan three weeks before doors open - a floor that is 93% reserved, half 10x10s and corners by count, and three-quarters island by area.

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Research

World of Concrete 2027 Floor Plan, Measured: 1,490 Stands, Three Halls, and an Outdoor Lot Where the Median Stand Is 1,000 sq ft

Original analysis of the World of Concrete 2027 floor plan (January 19-21, Las Vegas Convention Center): every stand measured from the show's own published plan on September 1, 2026 - a floor that is 75% reserved, island-dominated by area, and split into three halls with three different budgets.

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Research

NAB Show 2027 Floor Plan, Seven Months Out: 650 Stands Booked, the Median Is Twice Last Year's, and 320 Are Open

Original analysis of the NAB Show 2027 floor plan (April 4-7, Las Vegas Convention Center) as it stood seven months out, measured from the show's own published plan and compared with the 2026 floor on the same basis: the early bookers are bigger, the West Hall front is still open, and a third of last year's floor exhibitors have not yet appeared.

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