How Much Does a Booth at IMEX America Cost?

Budgeting a booth for IMEX America at Mandalay Bay Convention Center comes down to three things: booth size, how much custom build and LED you want, and the Las Vegas show costs that catch first-timers off guard (drayage, labor, electrical). Here are realistic 2026 ranges for an exhibit rental at IMEX America.

That band covers the booth, graphics and show services below. It excludes the floor space itself, which you buy from the IMEX America organiser.

What our LED costs at IMEX America

Most companies quoting IMEX America are reselling somebody else's panels and will not put a number in writing. We own and install ours, so here is the actual price list.

Posters join together into walls and the tower's panels build walls too, so an IMEX America LED budget often starts as a poster count rather than a square-footage quote. On these rates buying pays back in roughly two shows — see the LED cost guide for the full rent-versus-buy arithmetic.

What IMEX America exhibitors actually spend it on

IMEX America is a meetings & events industry show with roughly 3000 exhibitors, and that changes where the money goes. Destination and venue booths, LED walls and hosted-buyer meeting lounges.

Sell the experience — destination LED visuals, a hosted-buyer lounge, and a welcoming, conversation-friendly layout.

Timing: IMEX America runs each October, and October is the densest month in Las Vegas; overlapping shows mean drayage crews and riggers are stretched, and rush fees climb.

• Custom vs. modular — a rental modular system costs far less than a fully custom build.
• LED video wall — fine-pitch LED is the biggest single upgrade (and the biggest traffic driver).
• Show services at Mandalay Bay Convention Center — Mandalay Bay routes freight through the show's general contractor with standard CWT drayage; the south-Strip location keeps trucking simple from the I-15 and the airport.
• Labor — Union labor handles rigging and electrical; smaller inline booths can often be hand-carried and self-built within the rules.

The Mandalay Bay Convention Center line items exhibitors miss

These land on the official contractor's invoice rather than your booth vendor's, and they are where IMEX America budgets break.

• Drayage is billed by weight, round trip — per hundredweight, with a minimum per shipment that is usually 200 lbs. Three 150 lb boxes bill as 600 lbs, not 450. The same freight on one pallet bills about 25% less, which is why everything we ship goes in rolling flight cases. Full breakdown in the drayage guide.
• Electrical is priced by your deadline — advance ordering typically runs 30–50% under floor pricing for the identical drop. Get your LED power draw in writing and order early.
• Docks and routing at Mandalay Bay Convention Center — Ground-level docks feed the convention center directly, making move-in efficient for mid-size islands.
• Plan ahead — It's a long walk from some halls to the docks — stage your crates and tools to avoid mid-show runs.

Ways to cut your IMEX America bill

• Consolidate freight into one shipment. Minimums are charged per shipment, so this costs nothing and is decided before anything leaves your building.
• Design for hand assembly. If your own staff is setting up, the working limit is no power tools and no ladders — a booth built to that rule is one you can install yourself. Posters, SEG lightboxes, backwalls and AV placement are generally yours to do; electrical beyond plug-in and anything hanging or ceiling-mounted is not. See the union labor guide.
• Rent the structure, own the LED. If IMEX America is one of three or more shows you do a year, the LED pays for itself faster than the booth does.
• Lock graphics early. Artwork is the real clock on every rush job.

Want an exact number for your booth size at IMEX America? We'll send a free, itemized quote — usually same day. For the full line-by-line breakdown see our Las Vegas booth cost guide.

What it really costs to exhibit at IMEX America: the landed total

Your booth vendor’s quote is one line of the bill. The rest lands on the organiser’s and the official contractor’s invoices, and it is where IMEX America budgets break. Below is the whole bill by booth size, built only from figures the organiser or contractor has published; anything they have not published says so and is left out of the total rather than guessed.

10x10: 100 sq ft, 500 lb of freight, 6 labour hours, 1 outlet

10x20: 200 sq ft, 1,000 lb of freight, 12 labour hours, 2 outlets

20x20: 400 sq ft, 2,500 lb of freight, 32 labour hours, 3 outlets

20x30: 600 sq ft, 4,000 lb of freight, 48 labour hours, 4 outlets

What the sources say about those figures:

• Floor space: Space only, $140 per sq ft with a 100 sq ft minimum ($14,000); shell scheme $163 per sq ft ($16,300 minimum) including an essential furniture package and choice of carpet and wall colours, with wall graphics, lighting and electricity booked separately.
• Material handling (not published): GES has been the official service contractor since 2011; the 2026 Expresso kit is login-gated.
• Electrical (not published): Booked separately from the GES kit: electricity at Mandalay Bay comes from the venue's exclusive contractor, Edlen Electrical, through mandalaybayexhibitorservices.com (up to 30% off online); the rate is not published.
• Labour (venue range): install and dismantle labour range published on our labour-cost guide for Las Vegas; the show's kit sets the exact straight-time rate and window

Assumptions are ours, not the show’s: Freight weight is the crated weight of a rental modular SEG or LED kit of that size, including counters and cases; your crate manifest governs and the drayage minimum applies per shipment. Labour hours are total install plus dismantle at straight time for a vendor-installed booth of that size; overtime and double-time premiums apply outside the contractor's straight-time window. Electrical is one 5-amp/120-volt outlet per lit element at the advance-order rate; an LED wall or tower needs its own circuit, which the kit prices separately. Change any of them in the landed-cost estimator. Rates marked as a range are the published range across recent shows at Mandalay Bay Convention Center; your exhibitor service kit governs.

Frequently asked

What is the total cost to exhibit at IMEX America including drayage and labor?

For a 10x20 at IMEX America, the published figures add up to roughly $35,900–$49,680: floor space from the organiser $28,000, exhibit rental $7,000–$20,000, install and dismantle labour $900–$1,680. It excludes material handling (drayage), round trip and electrical, which are not published. The full line-by-line table and the assumptions behind it are in the landed-cost section above.

How much is a booth at IMEX America?

A 10x10 rental at IMEX America typically runs $3,000–$9,000, a 10x20 $7,000–$20,000, and a 20x20 island $18,000–$45,000 — before show services like drayage and labor at Mandalay Bay Convention Center. We'll send an exact quote for your size.

Does the price include design?

Yes — design and renderings are included in your quote before you commit.

Is renting cheaper than buying?

For one or two shows, renting is almost always cheaper and simpler. If you exhibit often, owning a modular system can pay off — we'll show you both numbers.