As the Trump Administration introduces new tariffs impacting a wide range of imported goods and raw materials, businesses across industries are feeling the pinch — and the trade show world is no exception. Increased costs for materials like aluminum, steel, and electronics are creating challenges for many industries, including those like us, who design and build custom exhibits for our clients.

We understand how important it is to maintain a strong presence on the trade show floor without breaking your marketing budget. That’s why we’re encouraging our clients to consider rental exhibits as a smart, flexible, and cost-effective solution during this period of economic uncertainty.

The new wave of tariffs affects many of the materials and components that go into custom-built trade show exhibits — from structural framing and lighting to digital displays and furnishings. This means:

Higher Production Costs

Longer Lead Times due to possible Supply chain disruptions

Unexpected budget overruns

The Case for Rental Exhibits

Rental exhibits offer a timely solution to the challenges created by rising material costs. Here’s how:

1. Immediate Cost Savings

Renting an exhibit can cost 30–50% less than building a custom one — even more when material prices are inflated by tariffs. With rentals, you pay for usage, not ownership. Rentals are mostly insulated from any potential changes in cost due to tariffs.

2. No Long-Term Storage or Maintenance Fees

Avoid the added expenses of storing and maintaining your exhibit between shows. Rental exhibits are turnkey — they arrive ready to go and are removed when the show ends. The assets used in your rental are then made available for the next project, with no client-associated storage costs.

3. Design Flexibility

Think rentals can’t look custom? Think again. Our modular rental inventory includes modern, customizable components that allow your brand to stand out — with high-end finishes, digital integrations, and tailored layouts.

4. Scalability for Multiple Events

Need different booth sizes or configurations for various shows? Rentals make it easy to scale your presence without re-investing in new hardware each time.

5. Faster Turnaround Times

With tariffs slowing down supply chains, rental options reduce risk and improve speed-to-show. Our ready-to-go inventory helps you meet deadlines — no matter how tight.

Cost Saving Tips (beyond rentals)

Reuse Graphics: Design modular graphic panels that work across multiple shows and booth sizes.

Bundle Services: Work with a single provider for design, logistics, and show services to consolidate costs.

Plan Ahead: Early planning can help you avoid rush fees and lock in favorable rates before tariff impacts escalate.

Let us help you stay ahead

Tariffs may be outside your control, but how you respond to them is not. Whether you’re looking to pivot to rentals, refresh your design, or strategize for your full event calendar, Apogee Exhibits is here to guide you.

Let’s talk about how to make your next event more cost-effective — without compromising on impact.

For more information on rentals see our recent blog post about them!

The post Navigating Tariffs: How to Manage Trade Show Costs appeared first on Apogee Exhibits.

Cost:

As a general rule of thumb, a rental exhibit will run about 30-50% of the cost of owning the same exhibit (not including design services, show site and other ancillary services common to any exhibit whether it’s rented or purchased).  Generally if you’re going to use the same rental properties more than three times you’d likely consider ownership.  However it goes deeper than that!

With any rental exhibit there are virtually no other “cost of ownership” fees such as storage, booth prep, inventory management and more.  The exhibit house is doing this all for you at no added cost (in most cases) because you actually don’t own anything but the branding/graphics that were developed for the rental exhibit.

Additionally and more importantly your exhibit dollar goes quite a lot further with a rental than a purchased exhibit.  Companies with strict or limited marketing budgets can stretch their dollar a bit further with rental.  You can project the same eye-catching look in a rental for a fraction of the cost.  On the show floor your rental can project your companies branding and image as equally as “the big guys”, who may have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on their booth.  Other savings are realized through reduced (or zero) repair or refurbishment costs, and in some cases transportation costs as your rental exhibit may come from a strategically located facility near your show venue.

Flexibility

If your exhibit house is looking out for your long-term interests and (hopefully they are) and overall effective program management, then they should be designing your rental exhibit to fit your changing space needs as well as your budget.  Rentals offer the added flexibility of not being tied to any one particular layout for a given show.  Exhibit designers can see future needs with you and drive the design to meet different show layouts and needs, and even re-purpose graphics and branding to be re-configured for those needs.

Another great use of rental is “duplication” of shows.  From time to time many exhibitors have events occurring simultaneously and their owned exhibit properties aren’t available for both events.  Rental solves that problem easily and also reduces the risk and wear and tear of cross-shipping exhibits from show to show without proper care and inspection.

• Adapt to Market Changes: Inflationary periods are often marked by market volatility. As already mentioned above, Renting allows you to adapt more easily to changing market conditions or business needs without the commitment of a large investment.
• Customization Opportunities: Renting enables you to tailor the design, layout, and features of your booth to different audiences or trade shows without the cost of owning multiple setups.

Capital One Rental Exhibit at NADA 2024

Risk Mitigation

• Trial and Error: Experiment with different booth sizes and layouts across various events without the commitment of purchase. This can be particularly useful in finding what works best for your brand without the long-term risk.
• Economic Uncertainty: In uncertain economic times, the flexibility of renting over buying can be a significant advantage, allowing businesses to react more dynamically to economic conditions.

Ease of use

Making the decision to rent versus buy is one that can only be determined through due diligence to see what fits the best for many organizations.  Many exhibit manager’s want to hand off their show site responsibilities and let their exhibit house manage the details.  With any exhibit, show site logistics are just as important as the booth itself.  Rental furniture, A/V, lead gathering are all integral to a successful event.  Your exhibit house should be offering to handle all related logistics so you can focus on your real job, growing and promoting your companies brand in other areas that most marketing folks are responsible for.  After all trade shows are only a part of the picture, but an important part! In conclusion, renting a trade show booth can offer significant economic benefits, particularly during inflationary periods. It provides cost savings, flexibility, and the opportunity to maintain a dynamic and engaging presence at trade shows without the financial burden and risks associated with ownership.

The post Why Rent my Trade Show Exhibit? appeared first on Apogee Exhibits.