Planning tools for Las Vegas exhibitors | Las Vegas Convention Guide

Show countdown

Pick your show to see how many days you have and what to have done by each point.

Your show

Exhibits open Nov 3, 2026

26 weeks outMay 5, 2026Confirm booth space, budget and goals. Book hotel rooms through the show's official housing vendor.
16 weeks outJul 14, 2026Download the exhibitor manual. List every deadline it gives and copy them into your calendar.
12 weeks outAug 11, 2026Choose outside vendors and register them as exhibitor appointed contractors if the show requires it.
8 weeks outSep 8, 2026Order show services before the advance discount deadline in your manual: electrical, furniture, cleaning, internet.
6 weeks outSep 22, 2026Book booth staff and local rentals. Confirm what you can hand-carry and what goes through the docks.
4 weeks outOct 6, 2026Ship to the advance warehouse if your manual offers one. Register badges for everyone working the booth.
2 weeks outOct 20, 2026Confirm every delivery window, vendor contact and move-in time in writing.
Show weekNov 3, 2026Move in on your assigned day. Keep receipts and settle service issues at the service desk before you leave.

These are typical planning milestones, not the show's deadlines. Your exhibitor manual sets the real dates. See the SEMA Show 2026 guide or the organizer's exhibitor resources.

Date clash checker

Planning your own event? See which Las Vegas shows overlap your dates or land within three days. Big shows fill hotels, docks and crews, and push prices up.

First day of your event

Last day (optional)

Event go or no-go

Thinking about launching an event? Put in your booth, ticket and sponsorship targets and your costs to see the surplus or shortfall, and how many booths or tickets you need to break even.

Booths sold

Your realistic target, not capacity

Average booth price ($)

After discounts

Paying attendees

Leave 0 for a free event

Average ticket ($)

Net of fees

Sponsorship ($)

Signed or very likely only

Fixed costs ($)

Venue, production, marketing, insurance, staff

Cost per attendee ($)

Badges, food and drink, materials

Cost per booth ($)

Anything you include in the booth package

Contingency (%)

Cushion on all costs

Enter at least one source of revenue and your fixed costs to see whether the event pays for itself.

Exhibit budget

Enter the amounts from your quotes and exhibitor manual. The list includes the costs first-time exhibitors in Las Vegas most often leave out.

Space and booth

Booth spaceFrom your booth contract

Exhibit build or rentalBooth builder quote

Graphics and signsPrinter quote

Furniture and carpetOften ordered through the show contractor

Show services

Material handling (drayage)Rate per weight in your manual. Applies to anything through the docks.

ElectricalOrdered through the show. Advance rates are lower.

Install and dismantle laborUnion labor rates in your manual

Screens and AVShow AV or a local rental quote

InternetVenue internet order form

Booth cleaningShow contractor order form

People

Booth staff and ambassadorsAgencies quote hourly, all-in

Extra badgesExhibitor services kit

Flights and ground transportYour team's travel

Meals and client dinnersBook group dinners ahead in show weeks

Freight and after the show

Shipping in and outCarrier quote, both directions

Storage or disposalWhat happens to leftover materials

Hotel

People

Nights

Rate per night

For scale: Navan's data put the median hotel rate near the LVCC at $439 a night during CES week 2026, against $269 in a quieter January week. Use the rate your official housing vendor quotes.

Estimated total

$0

Line items: $0
Hotel: $0

Leads you expect

Nothing you type here is saved or sent anywhere.

Show ROI

Will the show pay for itself? Put in your own numbers to see the return and how many qualified leads you need to break even.

All-in show cost ($)

Space, booth, services, travel, staff time

Qualified leads

Expected, or from last year's show

Close rate (%)

Share of show leads that become customers

Average first-year deal ($)

Revenue from one new customer

Gross margin (%)

Profit share of that revenue

Enter your cost, close rate, deal size and margin to see the return.

Drayage and labor estimate

The two show-site bills that surprise first-time exhibitors most. Put in the rates from your own exhibitor manual to see what your freight and crew will cost, and how much you save by shipping in fewer, larger loads.

Material handling (drayage)

Shipment weights in pounds

One number per shipment, separated by spaces. Each carton or crate that arrives separately counts.

Rate per 100 lb ($)

From your manual's material handling form

Minimum per shipment (lb)

Also on that form

Surcharge (%)

Overtime, late or special handling, if any

Billed in whole 100 lb units

Enter the rate per 100 lb from your exhibitor manual to see the estimate.

Drayage applies to most freight that goes through the docks, even from a local vendor. Ask your show contractor what counts. See the drayage guide.

Install and dismantle labor

Workers

Hourly rate per worker ($)

Straight-time rate in your manual

Install hours per worker

Dismantle hours per worker

Minimum hours per call

Many labor forms bill a minimum per worker

Hours on overtime (%)

Evenings, weekends, holidays

Overtime multiplier

Supervision charge (%)

If the show contractor supervises; 0 if you do

Enter the hourly rate from your exhibitor manual to see the estimate.

Check whether your labor form prices advance orders lower than orders placed at the show. Union rules decide what you can do yourself. See the union labor guide.

Is this offer a scam?

Got an email or call about your show? Check it against the warning signs organizers publish.

Tick everything that's true about the offerIt offers to sell the show's attendee or exhibitor list.It offers hotel rooms but isn't the housing vendor named on the show's website.It wants a prepaid deposit with strict cancellation penalties.It uses the show's name or logo but isn't on the official vendor list in your manual.It asks you to confirm a "free" listing in a show guide or directory.It arrived unexpectedly, from an address you've never dealt with.

No warning signs ticked

Still confirm the company against the official vendor list in your exhibitor manual before paying.

How each scam works Report this offer

Room block attrition

Running a hotel block for your event? See how many room nights you still need to fill before the hotel can bill you for the gap.

Room nights in the block

Rooms per night times nights

Room nights picked up so far

Allowed shortfall (%)

Often 10 to 20%

Group rate per night ($)

Share of the rate you owe (%)

Check your contract; often 100%

You need at least

240 room nights

Picked up: 70% of the block. You're 30 room nights short.

About $8,670 owed

An estimate. Contracts differ on how they count pickup, credit resold rooms and charge for the gap. Your contract's formula decides.

Banquet and bar estimate

Hosting a dinner or reception? Service charge and tax go on top of the menu price. See the all-in cost per guest, and whether you'll fall short of the food and beverage minimum in your contract.

Guests

Food per person ($)

Menu price from the banquet menu

Bar per person ($)

Package price, or your estimate on consumption

Flat fees ($)

Bartenders, attendants, chef fees

Service charge (%)

From your contract

Sales tax (%)

Ask the venue which rate applies

Food and beverage minimum ($)

Before service charge and tax

Room rental ($)

Tax applies to the service charge too (check your contract)

Enter the per-person food or bar price from your banquet menu to see the estimate.

An estimate. Contracts differ on what counts toward the minimum, whether the service charge is taxed, and when the final guest count is due. Your banquet event order decides.