Skip to content
What it really costs to exhibit in Las Vegas
Pick your show: we load the official floor-space rate and, where the show publishes them, the official service rates. Add your own quotes for the rest. No invented averages: every number is either sourced or yours.
Show services
Team, hotel and your own quotes
Three Vegas lines first-timers miss
- Material handling. Moving freight from the dock to your booth is done by the official contractor and billed by weight. Some shows fold it into the space rate (PACK EXPO) or bill it per square foot (NAB): check your show’s rule.
- Labor rules. Installation and dismantle follow the show’s labor rules, and overtime costs far more than straight time (at CES 2027, $157.85 against $98.50 an hour). Plan setup inside straight-time hours.
- Late orders. Order forms show an advance rate and a higher standard rate: at IMEX America 2026, a 500-watt outlet costs $113 in advance and $226 after the deadline.
Your most controllable cost
Space and services are set by the show. Your hotel bill is not: compare live rates near your venue and lock in a free-cancellation room early.
Space rates, fees and service rates come from each show’s official documents, checked October 1-2, 2026. Hotel averages come from LasVegasTrade Price Watch: Google Hotels listed prices, taxes and resort fees included, measured September 27, 2026. Budget shares: EXHIBITOR Magazine, “Budget Breakdown”, August-September 2025, survey of nearly 200 event marketers. Rates and deadlines change: confirm with show management and the official contractor before you order. This is an estimate, not a quote.
One cost this estimate leaves out: EAC fees
If you bring your own installation crew, AV team, or exhibit house instead of the show’s official contractor, expect an Exhibitor Appointed Contractor (EAC) fee on top of the numbers above — for example $300 per booth location at HD Expo 2026 (Mandalay Bay) and at MJBizCon 2025 (LVCC), according to their exhibitor services manuals, so it is often charged for every booth the contractor serves rather than once. For a contractor covering several booths, that can stack into the thousands, and the cost is passed back to you. Check the exhibitor services manual for the EAC line before you assume an outside vendor is the cheaper option.
Hotel is the one cost you can actually control
Drayage and union labor are fixed — but your hotel bill isn’t. Booking early, near your venue, is the single biggest lever on your Vegas trip budget. Compare rates now and lock in a free-cancellation room before show-season prices climb.
Compare hotels on Hotels.com→See how rates swing by month and show in our Las Vegas Hotel Price Index.