Production and materials
Stand furniture: hire or build
Lokman Türkoğlu · Founder & Head of Design · 3 min read · Last updated:
Short answer
Should stand furniture be hired or built?
For a company doing one fair a year with no store, hiring is almost always right: freight, storage and wear all disappear. For a company doing three or more, staying in one country and wanting its brand to show in the furniture too, building pulls ahead from the third show. Counters, reception desks and branded units are usually built; seating, chairs, bar stools and fridges are hired. The hybrid is the most common answer.
The hidden side of hiring
Hire quotes look cheap line by line, yet the total usually lands above expectations. The reason is the number of lines: sofa, coffee table, chairs, stools, coat rack, bin, fridge, coffee machine. Delivery and collection are a separate charge at some venues on top.
The real gain from hiring is logistical. The furniture is waiting on site, takes no room on the lorry, needs no customs declaration and is collected at the end. On fairs abroad those three usually cancel out the price difference.
The second gain is paperwork. Upholstery hired from the venue or an approved supplier arrives with its fire certificate. Why that matters is set out on our exhibition stand services page.
The weakness of hiring is choice. Catalogues are limited and the popular models go early, and a sofa that fights the colours of the stand can pull the whole space out of tune.
Where building takes the lead
Building is beyond argument in two cases. First, when the furniture is part of the brand: reception counters, product benches and units carrying a logo cannot be hired, because no catalogue holds them. Second, when the exhibit is not a standard size; a plinth carrying heavy machinery or a display wall with unusual shelf spacing has to be made.
The economic threshold sits around the third fair. Build cost happens once; hire repeats at every show. Add storage and haulage to the build side, then compare. When you do, remember that furniture wears too and may need renewing after three shows.
Anything built must come apart. A one-piece counter takes three times the lorry space; the same counter made demountable travels in half the volume.
Build the furniture from the stand’s own material and the gain doubles. The same board, the same facing, the same edge banding gives visual continuity and uses up offcuts at the same time.
The hybrid, and store discipline
In practice the common answer is this: build the branded units, hire the comfort furniture. Only the pieces carrying the stand’s identity go on the lorry, while seating waits on site. Choose the colours and materials of the hired items early; opening the catalogue in show week means taking whatever stock is left.
Built furniture demands store discipline. Every piece needs a cover, a list entry and a place. A counter stored without a cover is replaced two fairs later, and that is the most common way the economics of building are ruined.
Where the furniture stands is a design decision as well. How many seats a meeting area needs, and how far back from the aisle it should start, is covered on our stand design page.
One more item: how much furniture. A stand filled so that it does not look empty is a stand people find hard to walk into. Fewer pieces, correctly placed, are more inviting than a crowded layout.
When should hired furniture be booked?
Straight after the space contract is signed. Popular models sell out as the show nears, and late orders are usually filled at a higher rate.
Does bringing furniture from the office make sense?
Rarely. Beyond transport and damage risk, upholstered office furniture usually has no fire certificate and can fail inspection.
Sources
- German trade fair industry association — AUMA
- Exhibitor information — Koelnmesse
- Istanbul Chamber of Commerce — İTO