Trade shows are an expensive investment. Every stage of a business’ participation incurs costs such as accommodation and lodging, allocated budget for the design and the craft of the booth, and sometimes, pre-trade show marketing to let the public know of your inclusion in the convention’s list. There are also small added expenses afterward.
On the other hand, there are expenses that are beyond your control. Unforeseen circumstances that as much as you try to avoid, you could not. Other times, this is because of the protocols and policies set in place by the organizers themselves. That is why it is vital that you give a little leeway to these expenses.
What are these unexpected expenses?
This normally happens with the stands for events in Paris, for example, or anywhere in the world. You normally have your booth delivered by freight, especially the more complex ones. You can determine when you arrange for the delivery, but, it is not in your hands what happens in between.
Sometimes, in a panic, when you find out that one of your displays is missing, you book for an overnight delivery only to find out sometimes that it was delivered. However, the money you spent is oftentimes, not refunded.
There are also times when one package, which was a part of the whole, did not arrive. As a result, this becomes another delivery for the day after, and that will incur you added expenses, something, again, that is beyond your control.
This happens because of how large your exhibit can be, and the hands that you were relying on to arrive did not. As a result, you end up relying on union labor to take your exhibit down. However, not everything goes according to plan and sometimes, more work is needed. At that point, you go into overtime with workers that you are paying separately, but you have to get home and you had to pay extra now because you will be leaving the job to dismantlers which may cost you twice than what you intended to pay.
The problem only happens when the carpet does not arrive because that means the contractors you hired to put the padding and the carpet on will have to wait. However, the clock is already ticking at that point. Basically, you are paying for them to be sitting around, and when the carpet does arrive, you pay for more that what you intended.
Unfortunately, most conventions do not allow the use of extension cords. To compromise, you end up buying 500 watts of power that you can use in front of your booth and not to mention the power needed to run it.
These unforeseen expenses should always be at the back of your mind when you are participating in a trade show. These are the circumstances that ends up with more expenses, which, unfortunately, cannot be avoided. You can only prepare for them.
