Fair preparation
Hospitality on the stand
Uğur Yılmaz · Brand & Visual Communications Manager · 3 min read · Last updated:
Short answer
How should hospitality on a stand be organised?
Hospitality exists to keep a visitor on the stand, which is why the counter belongs beside the meeting area rather than at the entrance. A coffee machine at the front gathers aisle traffic in front of the stand and blocks the way in. Choose the format from the goal: something taken standing for short contact, something served seated for a long meeting. At most venues food and drink service is regulated, and some allow it only through an approved supplier; the conditions are published in the technical manual and should be read before design starts.
Where the counter goes
Where the counter sits decides how long visitors stay. A counter at the entrance creates a queue in front of the stand, and the person holding the coffee usually walks on without coming in. Move the same counter beside the meeting area and hospitality becomes a reason to sit down.
A preparation area is needed behind it: water connection, waste, glassware and stock. It should not be visible, but it has to be large enough for service to work. This is usually where a stand’s invisible square metres go.
Water and waste connections are not available at every point in every hall. The connection points appear on the plot plan and the pantry position follows them, which is why hospitality is decided at the design stage rather than added later. Fitting the service into the stand’s material palette is design work too: the counter top, the glassware and the serving pieces should speak the same language as everything around them. A different piece of furniture wheeled in afterwards undoes a well-built surface. Choose a counter height that lets whoever stands behind it meet a visitor’s eye.
What to serve
The choice follows the goal. A stand built for short contact needs a drink that can be made quickly and held standing. A stand built for long meetings needs service that follows the rhythm of the conversation; a drink arriving after people sit down lengthens the meeting.
Local context helps. At a fair abroad, Turkish coffee or a regional product makes the stand memorable and starts a conversation. For that to work, the serving arrangement has to sit inside the stand’s material palette; boxes placed on the counter afterwards undo the design.
Rules on alcohol vary by venue and by country. Some venues license it, some prohibit it outright. The rule appears in each venue’s own manual and should be passed on to the team. Plan the hours as well. Rather than serving at the same rate all day, a programme built around the busy hours protects both the stock and the staff. Around midday visitors head for the catering areas anyway; that hour is better spent tidying the stand than serving on it.
Cleaning, waste, responsibility
A stand that serves gets dirty. Cups, napkins and empty boxes accumulate within half a day, and left uncleared they spoil the look of the stand faster than the hospitality improves it. Name the person responsible for clearing in the shift plan; when the job belongs to everyone, nobody does it.
The organiser’s cleaning service is usually daily and aimed at the halls; cleaning inside the stand is ordered separately. Waste points and refuse collection times vary by venue.
Decide early who runs the service: your own team, hired staff, or the venue’s approved supplier. That decision changes the size of the pantry, and with it the stand budget. The service must not wear the team out either. The moment sales staff start collecting cups, conversations stop; that job belongs to somebody else. On a small stand it can be covered by hired half-day shifts, at a cost well below the meeting time otherwise lost. Handled properly, hospitality is the cheapest way a stand has of lengthening a conversation.
Can we bring our own coffee machine?
At most venues yes, but the load must be declared and certification may be requested. Some venues allow food and drink only through an approved supplier.
How much space does a pantry need?
It depends on the service. Drinks only need a narrow back-of-counter; food service needs separate room for preparation, refrigeration and waste.
Sources
- Venue technical regulations — Messe Frankfurt
- Exhibitor information — Koelnmesse
- Fair and Congress Center — Tüyap