Trade Show Flooring Guideline

There is a lot to consider when it comes to planning your trade show booth – from your display designs to giveaways to what type of flooring you should have. Several exhibition centers, event venues and even the events themselves require exhibitors to have flooring for their trade show booths. But treating trade show flooring as just a requirement where you must meet the bare minimum is a mistake.

Spending money reserving a booth at a trade show is a significant investment. Will your company see an ROI from having a presence at that trade show if your booth just meets the bare minimum requirements? The potential for that ROI is probably not as great as it could be.

If you can afford the car, you can afford the gas and if you can afford to book a space a trade show, you probably can, or should be able to afford to build a quality trade show booth that’s going to increase your ROI. Every company exhibiting at a trade show operates and plans on a budget and may not be able to afford every booth luxury, but flooring is not somewhere you should cut corners.

Don’t think about trade show flooring as a requirement you must meet, but consider it part of your booth and look at it from several different factors when choosing your options. You should consider functionality and fashion in addition to cost when weighing your choices.

Functionality

What questions should you ask about the functionality of a trade show flooring option? Here are some to start with:

Can you assemble, lay it out and store it yourself?

By choosing a flooring option that you and your staff can put together and later store potentially saves your budget from costs on shipping, drayage and storage.

Do you plan to re-use this flooring option?

Purchasing re-usable trade show flooring can obviously be a budget saver. There are plenty of options for this type of flooring that don’t require you to stretch your budget to purchase them and don’t force you to choose lower quality because of that price.

Interlocking Trade Show Tiles satisfy all the requirements in those questions. It doesn’t take many staffers to set them up, they don’t need to be shipped and they are easy enough to store. The foam rubber material of interlocking wood and trade show carpet tiles also make them durable enough to be used at multiple trade shows.

As an additional feature of functionality, portable trade show flooring like interlocking tiles also add extra comfort within your booth. The soft foam rubber is not only durable but is comfortable to stand on compared to other options. The added layer of comfort that this option provides is good for both attendees visiting your booth as well as your staffers working the booth all show long.

Does it cover the whole booth?

When you are choosing a trade show flooring option, how much coverage each option provides will affect your decision because the larger your booth is the more each option will cost. The same logic applies as before – if you can afford larger than the standard 10’ x 10’ trade show booth, your budget, in theory should allow you to purchase a flooring option that covers that size of that booth as well.

One carton of portable interlocking trade show tiles covers a 10’ x 10’ booth. A second order would be needed for a bigger booth but would still be potentially cheaper than other options to fill such a large space.

Fashion

Adding a professional finishing touch that looks great can also be considered a function of trade show flooring. Evaluate how each option completes and compliments your booth and the displays you are using. You can find the carpet tiles and interlocking wood-look flooring in several colors that can match and compliment any style of trade show booth.

Choosing a color of flooring that matches your brand’s color scheme and logo is usually a strong way to reinforce its effectiveness and visibility. The wood-finish option provides a more classic, office style look. One tried and true approach to designing a trade show booth is to create an extension of your store or office and the wood-finish tiles are perfect for that design concept.

Trade shows are all about furthering your brand’s reach into specific markets and there are trade show flooring options available to allow you to do just that.

Options like Custom Printed Flooring allow you to fill your trade show booth with a flooring option to represent your brands message. While printed flooring options may be a little more labor intensive to transport, layout and store, they are still portable and durable enough to be used at several trade shows. Branded trade show flooring will obviously be more expensive than utilizing carpet tiles or wood patterns, but if your goal is to grow the awareness of your brand through trade shows, this is the best flooring option for you.

Other Trade Show Flooring Notes and Tips

• One of the reasons trade show flooring tends to be a show or venue requirement is to cover up cords and cables that run through your trade show booth from your electronics, so be mindful of how your flooring option affects this.
• If you plan on exhibiting at more than one trade show, the cost of purchasing your own flooring option is the smart plan for your budget, but you may consider renting flooring if you only exhibit at one show a year or less.
• Some venues have rental trade show flooring options available but you’re likely to get better quality (and pricing) by renting from an actual company that produces trade show flooring.
• Check show and venue guidelines before purchasing trade show flooring to make sure your option meets specific rules and regulations so you’re not spending money on something you may not be able to use.
• Raised trade show flooring is often a popular option but can be more expensive, may require professional installation and you must check with ADA guidelines to ensure it is compliant with its regulations.