6/11/2009 - The Trade Show Exhibitors Association (TSEA) announced today a formal position statement urging show organizers that changes should be made to many trade shows’ housing guidelines and rules. Exhibitions are setting rules that put pressure on exhibiting companies to stay in show housing or otherwise face penalties and fines. These rules are placing additional burdens on exhibitors that increase the difficulty with which exhibitors justify their continued participation in the convention.
“TSEA has had a high level of concern from its members and the exhibition industry as a whole with reference to the subject of convention housing,“ said Margit Weisgal, CME, President and CEO of TSEA, “and show management, meeting organizers, hotels, housing bureaus and ‘housing brokers’ need to realize that they are partners in the success of their exhibitors and not a hurdle they need to overcome.”
“It is becoming apparent that most attendees and exhibitors want to find the most budget-friendly place to stay while at a show. When you demand that exhibitors stay at a high-priced hotel with no alternative options, the increase to their housing costs squeezes the budget for the show. They may have to cut back on the number of booth personnel, promotion, size of the booth, sponsorships or other tools that will enable them to generate new revenue and exposure and would actually help show organizers’ bottom line. This practice needs to come to an end.”
TSEA also opposes any housing policy that burdens exhibitors more than other attendees, i.e., attrition policies, which require deposit payments from exhibitors, especially when such deposits are greater than what other attendees are asked to pay. Certain shows have no housing requirements for attendees but do require exhibitors to stay in the trade show’s headquarters hotel and pay in full for all rooms and taxes three months in advance of the show for all their personal.
While TSEA recognizes the need for show management to have a system to ensure housing requirements are fulfilled, TSEA recommends a workable system of guarantees for exhibitors (e.g., credit cards, letters of credit). This position is in agreement with PCMA’s Housing Best Practices, which states in part: “Determine a mutually acceptable system for guaranteeing sub-blocks, such as the acceptance of exhibitors' credit cards or letters of credit rather than deposits from groups.”
A member of TSEA, from a healthcare company, recently comment that: “The money that is being waste on hotel blocks is taking away from the customer experience on our tradeshows. Housing blocks have always been an issue at certain shows where full room and tax or large deposits are required. This cannot continue. Show management needs to realize that this is not just an issue for exhibitors during economically down times but an appalling policy that offends their clients at all times.”
TSEA’s position additionally opposes housing policies that tie into exhibition issues. TSEA opposes, for example, policies such as penalizing exhibitors for poor room pickup by reducing exhibit hall priority points, and limiting an exhibitor's room allocation on the basis of the exhibitor’s booth space. The exhibitor representative and the housing manager should work together to develop a mutually satisfactory room allotment for the exhibitor.
To view the full position statement please visit: www.tsea.org.
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