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Every city guide on this site has its own venue rules, but a lot of exhibitor logistics work the same way in most buildings. Shipping to the advance warehouse or direct to show site, material handling (drayage), targeted move-in, forced freight, hotel blocks, booth internet and sales tax follow the same basic pattern. I've put those basics in one place here, so each city guide can stick to what's different about that venue.
Please note: Venue rules, rates, labor requirements, and deadlines change often and vary by show. Always confirm details in your show’s exhibitor manual and with the show’s general contractor before you plan or budget.
Advance warehouse or direct to show?
Your show will almost always give you two choices. You can ship to the general contractor’s advance warehouse, which takes freight during a set window before the show and has it in your booth when you arrive. Or you can ship direct to show site, timed to arrive on your targeted move-in date. I use the advance warehouse for anything I can’t afford to have show up late, because a direct shipment that misses its window leaves you standing in an empty booth. Direct makes sense when your carrier can promise a tight delivery time. Either way, use the show’s shipping labels and put your company name and booth number on every piece.
Material handling (drayage) and how to cut it
Material handling, which a lot of us still call drayage, is what the general contractor charges to move your freight from the dock or warehouse to your booth, store your empty crates during the show and bring them back at move-out. It’s usually billed by weight, per 100 pounds (CWT), with a minimum charge per shipment. Expect extra charges for special handling (loose, uncrated or blanket-wrapped freight), for overtime and for freight that misses its target window. Your exhibitor manual has the actual rates. Here’s how I keep it down:
- Consolidate into fewer, heavier shipments, since every shipment hits the minimum.
- Crate or palletize. Loose boxes and padded pieces usually cost more to handle.
- Weigh your freight before you ship and keep the weight ticket, so you can check the bill.
- Hit your targeted date so you don’t pay overtime or late charges.
- Hand-carry small items when the building allows it, and print literature locally instead of paying to move boxes of it.
Move-in and move-out
Most big shows use targeted move-in. Each exhibitor gets a date and time window, often based on booth location or size, and trucks check in at a marshaling yard before they’re sent to the docks. Give your carrier the targeted window and the marshaling address from your manual, and warn the driver there may be a wait. If your freight is running late, call the general contractor’s service desk before it arrives, not after. At move-out, turn in your outbound bill of lading and make sure your carrier checks in on time. If it doesn’t, the contractor can send your freight with its own carrier at your expense, which is called forced freight.
Local labor rules and EACs
My advice: Rules vary by show, even inside the same building. Before you book labor or tell your exhibit house to show up, read your show’s exhibitor manual front to back, find the EAC form and its deadline, and ask your insurance agent for the certificate of insurance early. If something in the manual isn’t clear, ask the general contractor’s exhibitor services desk before you ship, not on the show floor.
Hotel strategy
Book through your show’s official housing link and stay in the room block. It helps your show meet its hotel commitments, and block hotels are usually the ones on the shuttle routes. Watch out for “housing pirates,” companies that call or email exhibitors pretending to be the show’s housing bureau. If the offer didn’t come from the link in your exhibitor manual, don’t book it.
Last-minute printing and supplies
For anything big, like a banner or a replacement graphic, send the files before you travel and have it waiting for you. Bring a small kit of your own too: tape, scissors, zip ties, a power strip, phone chargers, business cards and a few printed copies of your order confirmations.
Wi-Fi and internet
My rule is simple: if a demo or your lead scanners depend on the internet, order a wired connection and order it before the advance deadline. Booth Wi-Fi and phone hotspots share the air with thousands of other devices, so they’re less dependable than a wired line when the hall fills up.
Sales tax on show services
Whether a particular show service, like labor, furniture rental, material handling or internet, gets taxed depends on state and local rules. Look for the tax lines on your general contractor’s and the venue’s order forms, and put them in your budget. If you plan to sell product on the show floor, check whether you need to register to collect sales tax.
Hiring local booth staff
If you need extra hands, local staffing agencies can supply booth hosts, lead-capture help, product demonstrators and bilingual staff. Book early for big shows. Brief them before the doors open, give them a one-page cheat sheet on your products and your qualifying questions, and register them through the show so they have exhibitor badges. Temporary staff aren’t your full-time employees, so in buildings where only full-time employees can set up without union labor, they can’t help build the booth.
Some rules change from building to building, like who can set up your booth and what the venue charges for internet. The guide for your city covers those, plus how to get there:
Sources
These are the venue documents behind the shipping, material handling and move-in basics on this page. Each city guide lists its own sources too.
- McCormick Place (Chicago), freight and truck marshalling: https://www.mccormickplace.com/exhibitors/freight-truck-marshalling/
- McCormick Place (Chicago), drayage and freight (PDF): https://www.mccormickplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/14_drayage_freight-1023.pdf
- Orange County Convention Center (Orlando), event planning guide (PDF): https://www.occc.net/Portals/0/Library/docs/Orange%20County%20Convention%20Center%20-%20Event%20Planning%20Guide.pdf
- America's Center (St. Louis), event guide (PDF): https://explorestlouis.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/AC-Event-Guide-compressed.pdf
- Georgia World Congress Center (Atlanta), planning guide (PDF): https://www.gwcca.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/GWCCA-Planning-Guide-1.24.25.pdf
- Javits Center (New York City), freight: https://www.javitscenter.com/plan/freight/
- San Diego Convention Center, exhibitor regulations: https://www.visitsandiego.com/exhibitors/regulations
- Music City Center (Nashville), planning guide (PDF): https://nashvillemcc.com/assets/3049/mcc_planning_guide.pdf