Planning for Booth Restrictions
The good news is that most shows adopt the IAEE Guidelines for Display Rules and Regulations when it comes to individual booth spaces. This makes your planning for booth restrictions pretty straightforward and consistent from show to show. The show organizers ultimate goal is to create value for each exhibitor and insure that a booth doesn’t unfairly restrict the view of another.
Planning for booth restrictions and reading about these rules and regulations before you select a booth space and/or before you develop a booth design can help you leverage the advantages of your chosen booth space while helping you avoid problems during install.
This is particularity important if you’re coming from another country. U.S. booth restrictions can differ greatly from International venues.
International exhibitors may be more accustomed to being allowed full height return walls separating their space from neighboring spaces (shell schemes). In the U.S., the norm is to maintain visibility while approaching a booth from all sides, so height restrictions for walls and exhibits are more often enforced.
We design your Trade Show Rental Booth to fit your booth space!
With each new opportunity to participate in an upcoming show, it’s a good practice to first review the booth space guidelines for rules and planning booth restrictions that have been published by show management. This planning for booth restrictions will help you make better booth space selection and use your location to your BEST advantage in planning your new trade show exhibit design.
In case we haven’t been crystal clear, location is a BIG DEAL. It is one of the key advantages of rental, where we can tailor the booth design to fit your booth size and location within the exhibit hall; it’s one of the first things we look at when customizing your booth design. We work to develop a design that uses this resource to help increase traffic flow but also complies with the show’s display rules and regulations. On occasion, show management will grant exceptions if you are proactive. Ultimately, if the booth you design pushes the boundaries a bit, it comes down to properly submitting your request and keeping your neighbors happy.
Lastly, today with more concerns of health and safety from germs and viruses like Covid-19, most trade shows will implement new rules related to disinfecting and social distancing, so keep an eye out for those requirements and guidelines as well. They will likely be different for different trade shows in the short term, then eventually standardize after a few years.
Here’s what matters:
- Most inline spaces have a 8 foot height limit
- Most Island booths can be 16 feet tall without requiring special permissions and permits
- Beware of Peninsula booth spaces as they typically have extensive restrictions
- Don't overlook submitting your booth rental design for show approval when required
- Look for new Health and Safety rules and procedures on disinfecting and social distancing
