Choosing your space: why position beats price

8 stand types

types distinguished by number of open sides

Stand types

Open sides change everything

An in-line plot has one open side and the whole story is told from it; the back wall doubles as storage and graphic surface. A corner plot opens two sides, visitors arrive from two directions and storage becomes harder to hide. An island has four open sides, so no direction is the back and the store and technical space move into the middle of the plan.

The difference shows in the price. Organisers charge a supplement per open side, so an island costs more than an in-line plot of the same area. In return its visibility is in another class altogether.

The decision follows the job. If the stand is there for meetings, closed surface is valuable; if it is there for display, open sides are. We set out that comparison on the stand types page. The number of open sides also fixes where storage and services go; on a four-sided plot that volume sits in the middle of the plan and eats into usable display area. Compare usable square metres rather than gross ones when you decide.

Reading the aisle flow

On the hall plan every plot looks equal; on the floor they are not. Visitors come through the main door, walk the first aisle and usually drift right. Plots near the entrance take heavy but hurried traffic; the middle of the hall sees slower, better-qualified movement. Being near catering, seminar rooms or toilets means constant motion, though part of that motion is only passing through.

Look for three markers on the plan: the main doors, the width of the primary aisles, and where the large exhibitors sit. Big stands pull visitors into their orbit, and sitting near one can work in a small stand’s favour.

Columns and service points read off the plan too. A column inside the plot binds the design, but used well it becomes a store wall or the support behind a screen. Take a printed hall plan and mark it up yourself: the direction of the doors, the size of neighbouring stands, the width of the aisles. That single page is the most useful document in the space selection meeting.

Ask before you sign

Before signing the space contract, four things should be requested in writing: the exact dimensions and number of open sides, the position of columns and services inside the plot, any height restriction relative to neighbouring stands, and where the power and water connections are taken from. These vary by venue and are all published in the technical manual.

Height restrictions matter most. At in-line plots, the height and finish of the surface facing a neighbour is a rule at most venues. Learning that rule after the design has frozen is the most expensive kind of revision.

Once the space is confirmed, design can start. The order we work in is set out on the stand design page. It also helps to confirm the plot on site with a member of the organiser’s team before signing; the number on the plan and the position in the hall do not always agree. Asking who has taken the neighbouring plots lets you see the competitive layout early, and it can change the direction of the design. Keep watching for updated versions of the hall plan after your number is confirmed.

Is a plot near the entrance always better?

No. Entrance traffic is heavy but hurried; visitors rarely stop before they have seen the hall. For meeting-led participation, deeper in the hall works better.

How much of a problem is a column in the plot?

Not a problem if you know early. It becomes a store wall, the back of a screen or a product niche. The problem is a column that appears after the design has frozen.