Kicking Exhibitors While They’re Down – Kamikaze Regulations

There’s a problem in the exhibition industry, and it needs to be addressed. As exhibition stand contractors, we often feel we are the economic “canary in the coalmine”. When businesses feel confident in the economy, sales are steady. When faith is shaken, marketing budgets are the first to tighten, and it becomes more challenging to get business over the line. It’s the nature of working in an industry that relies on confidence and forward-thinking, and with 26 years behind us, we’ve become accustomed to seeing patterns.

Since Covid, demand in the exhibition industry has fluctuated. Sales were steadily increasing from 2022, in response to the relaunch of events and a range of risk-management and operational schemes that rebuilt trust among businesses. But last year, the industry took a lull again. With ongoing cost inflation, squeezed profit margins and unpredictable demand, confidence has dropped, and in its tow, investment. This lull is harsh on the industry and the events sector in general, and it usually sparks Organisers to take action. Incentives, such as sponsorship deals and all-inclusive packages, are not uncommon to encourage businesses to keep showing up.

However, this time, it feels as though the sector has quite literally gone mad. Between increasing costs and restrictive regulations, Venues and Organisers are steadily disincentivising businesses from participating, rather than encouraging them. It was only in February that ESSA published an open letter to the industry, on behalf of its members, raising concerns about the rising cost of venue-tied services such as power and rigging, which it said now represent a “disproportionate share of overall exhibitor budgets”. We hear it first-hand from our clients more often than we’d like to admit – floor space is so expensive that budgets for stands have to be cut and cut and cut again. Until eventually, it is the number of shows that is cut down to loosen room in the budget. Some businesses are even turning to their own in-house events, or alternative lead generation routes.

We can’t help but feel that, in light of the existing economic pressures, these prices are a mistake. If exhibitors cannot invest in a professional-looking stand, then it’s not long before the show loses its wow-factor. And what happens when visitor rates drop? It’s a death spiral. If visitors drop, exhibitors drop, and if exhibitors drop, more visitors drop, until eventually Organisers have to reduce ticket and stand prices to salvage and reboot the event. We have already seen shows shrinking from three down to one hall, shows co-locating to keep numbers looking high. It’s in everybody’s best interests to look after exhibitors and keep all of these events thriving year after year.

But costs are only part of the problem. A less discussed and arguably greater issue is regulation changes. Trade show regulations are strict; there’s no doubt about it. And while some are necessary, in response to rising venue insurance costs and government standards, many feel misplaced and selectively applied, harming the very businesses that keep the show running.

Height restrictions, in particular, have become an increasingly prevalent issue, particularly for those using modular, reusable stands.

In our experience, most businesses exhibit at the same one or two trade shows each year. With a modular solution, a stand will be designed in line with the regulations for this event, or a collection of shows, to be reused across each. This is the exact type of forward-planning and consideration that Organisers say they want to see.

The problem lies in the fact that exhibitors invest in a stand at one permitted height, in line with the exhibitor handbooks, only to be informed the following year (if at all) that their stand is now capped at another lower height. If you’re using a custom-build, there’s no issue; you just design a new stand. But for those using the modular systems, these changes are not possible, leaving businesses that are already struggling to keep exhibiting with an investment that no longer works.

What we find most frustrating is that modular stands are actively encouraged by Organisers. Under initiatives like Better Stands, the industry-backed scheme promoting reusable, low-waste stand design, modular stands are held up as the “gold standard” of sustainability. Not to mention, with the ongoing cost pressures, they offer significant savings. For some businesses, this is the only reason why they can exhibit at all. So we have to ask, why are exhibitors being punished for making a sustainable and economic choice, and why are sustainable stands being disincentivised in the process? Unless, of course, these claims are superficial.

In our experience, most of these stand height caps are being applied to the perimeter of the hall to keep sightlines clear. Limiting smaller stands to 3m allows larger, central stands built at 4m to maintain visual weight. It is a layout that suits industry leaders, who can absorb the cost of a bespoke stand built to order, while SMEs are capped regardless of what they have already invested in.

The height itself is not the only issue. The real issue is the timing and lack of consideration behind the changes. Had Organisers set this rule when events rebooted after Covid, or accounted for the fact that standard modular stands are built to 2.5m, 3.3m or 4m, exhibitors wouldn’t be as frustrated. Just applying a little common sense and setting the cap at one of these heights, Organisers could have eased the blow. Instead, those who cannot build to 3m are left sitting at 2.5m, below their competitors, and forced to dress the gap with unsightly fabrics or makeshift add-ons that leave their professional stand looking patched together.

It’s the rate of change that makes these regulations feel arbitrary. Rules shift from one event edition to the next, and in some cases between different shows in the same hall just days apart. Health and safety alone doesn’t explain that. Rather, it feels like another way to keep industry leaders sweet, at the cost of the trust of smaller businesses.

The changes haven’t been helped by communication. In many cases, our clients have found out that the regulations have changed from our own design consultants, when really they should have been informed by the Organisers. Exhibitors expect more, especially when they’re paying

thousands of pounds to have a presence at the show. Last-minute direction changes are disruptive enough when you’re in the loop, but when the changes are simply added to the small print, it feels like the wool has been pulled over your eyes.

We don’t want to have this conversation, and frankly, it’s not a comfortable one to start. But between the rising costs, last-minute changes and lack of communication, we fear that the events industry is pushing away SMEs, forgetting that they, too, have great value, even when the stands cost less. Decision-makers don’t just attend for the leading brands that they already know. They attend to discover new partnerships and to find the gems driving innovation within their industry. What happened to Innovation Alley, Startup Zone or similar initiatives? If we foster these businesses, rather than driving them away, they could very well become the industry leaders in the centre of the hall. But that can only happen if the industry stops treating them like an afterthought.

When you combine exorbitant exhibition stand costs with a shaky economy and shifting regulations, it’s little wonder businesses are struggling to justify exhibiting at all. Cost pressures and regulatory changes are not separate problems. An exhibitor already absorbing rising rigging, floor space and electrics fees has far less room to also absorb the cost of an unexpected new stand. And when smaller businesses feel that these rules are applied more stringently to some than others, it creates resentment.

From where we stand, SMEs lose out twice, sidelined to the perimeter, and penalised for choosing modular stands that the industry’s own sustainability schemes hold as the gold standard. Organisers can’t ask exhibitors to be sustainable, loyal and forward-planning while treating the businesses that do exactly that as second-rate. We cannot forget that exhibitors are resourceful and they find new ways to generate leads. Unless something changes, Organisers will be trapped in a cycle, driving away the very exhibitors and the future revenue that their shows depend on.