When planning a trade fair appearance, the cost of an exhibition stand is a major decision-making factor. The Association of the German Trade Fair Industry (AUMA) puts the expenditure for exhibitors at 7.79 billion euros for an average trade fair year in Germany. AUMA has broken down the expenditure for the individual items:
- Stand construction and assembly, transportation, insurance, cleaning, security, other services, etc.: 30.8%
- Stand rent (incl. charges): 20,7%
- Company-internal personnel costs for the preparation, implementation and follow-up of trade fair participations: 16.3%
- Accommodation and meals: 12.6%
- Travel expenses (incl. local transportation): 10,2%
- Other expenses (e.g. advertising, hospitality): 6.7%
- Shopping, leisure, entertainment: 2.7%
The cost of an exhibition stand is therefore made up of many different components. The second largest item, the stand rental, is considerably higher at large trade fairs such as Bauma or IFA than at smaller, regional trade fairs. The guideline for B2B trade fairs is around 150 to 200 square meters of stand space. The larger the stand, the higher the costs for stand construction and equipment. Larger stands also increase personnel costs, as more staff are needed to look after them.
Let’s calculate the average cost of an exhibition stand with 40 square meters of stand space. We assume that you already have your own stand.
With a stand rental of 200 euros per square meter, 8,000 euros are due. Energy supply and other basic costs of around 1,000 euros are added to this. We calculate around 2,000 euros each for stand equipment and design. If 4 hosts are also hired for the stand, the average cost is around 600 euros. In addition, each stand requires advertising materials such as flyers, cloth bags and pens worth 3,000 euros. Personnel costs amount to around 5,500 euros, plus hotel and travel costs of 3,000 euros and catering of 400 euros.
All in all, a 40 square meter stand costs the company an average of 25,500 euros.
This is a sum that the company first has to raise. However, no company can guarantee that the costs will be offset by new orders concluded at the trade fair. Other costs may also be incurred, for example if catering is also offered to visitors.
