Determining your I&D budget is by far the most difficult of any of the event service elements. This is mainly due to the massive amount of variation in rates throughout the US.
In this section, we’ll do our best to help guide you in the right direction.
First, and most importantly, you’ll need to consider the city and state that your show is being held in. Labor rates in certain cities are significantly more than others. You’ll find the highest rates in New York, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, and Los Angeles. You’ll find the lowest rates in Atlanta, Orlando, Denver, and New Orleans.
Next to factor in is the available straight time you have to install and dismantle your exhibit. In your show manual, there should be dates and times listed for exhibitor move-ins and moveouts, or a targeted map with various dates and times based on your exhibit’s location. If you find your move-in times to be on weekends, holidays, or after normal business hours, then unfortunately you are in a mandatory overtime situation, and you will find your I&D cost running anywhere from 40%-100% more than straight time costs.
Last to factor in would be the complexity of your exhibit. Are you simply setting up a 10’ x 20’ exhibit with a back wall over show provided carpet? Or are you installing a 100’ x 50’ exhibit with a double deck? Obviously, the larger and more complex the exhibit, the more hours it will take to assemble.
Taking these all into consideration, we’ve put together some ballpark costs to factor in for
your I&D budget, based on average industry labor rates.
IMPORTANTLY TO NOTE – Although we’ve done our best to give you rough guides, it is important to understand that labor prices vary greatly based on your specific project needs.
Your Producer may very well disagree with our figures. We do strongly recommend that you discuss the budget you came to with the Producers bidding on your work to determine whether or not the range you’ve decided on works with your needs. This is especially true if your exhibit is very elaborate and large.
