By Kathryn Deen, PAR

When it comes to expo and sponsorship programs, cost-cutting is part art and part science — and you can conquer both. PAR has tapped the experts to break it down into manageable steps.

Rich Vallaster, CEM, QAS, AAiP, of A2Z Events/Momentive Software and Michelle Mobley of the American Society of Landscape Architects share six cost-cutting solutions below. You can glean even more of their knowledge during PAR's free upcoming virtual workshop on Feb. 18, “Cash In, Cut Costs: Winning Revenue Tactics for Your Expo and Sponsorship Programs.”

“Revenue growth doesn’t start with new ideas — it starts with researching the old ones,” says Vallaster, senior director of industry relations and community engagement for A2Z.

Mobley, exhibits and sponsorship manager for ASLA, adds, “A truly successful program isn't just about driving top-line revenue; it’s about the strategic optimization of the bottom line by identifying and eliminating invisible cost inefficiencies."

Here they share six ideas to reduce expenses, giving you a taste of their valuable session to come.

6 Money-Saving Ideas

1. Review your contracts before selecting or renewing vendor partners. Negotiate as you renew contracts with fairness to your vendor partner while advocating for your organization and your exhibitor fees. Make success fees achievable for exhibitor services ordered based on your year-over-year history so that you can receive discounted services.

2. Ask about discounts for certain patterns/scheduling dates of your show. Proactively ask for gap dates or distressed inventory discounts, which occur when a facility has a short window between two larger city-wide events that they are eager to fill at a lower rate.

Additionally, scheduling your show to run over a weekend or during a city’s shoulder season can unlock significant savings on room rental and food and beverage minimums, as hotels and convention centers are often looking to offset the mid-week business travel slump. In addition to helping you lower facility costs, by hosting an event on the weekend, you incur “straight time” with labor onsite versus weekend load-in and load-out rates. This will save show management and your exhibitors money.

3. Consider an online payment processing service for associations that allows you to pass along credit card fees to the purchaser. These fees can add up fast for you but will be barely felt by the exhibitors.

4. Review your pre-event workflow for sponsorship deliverables. By aligning production schedules with standard lead times, you can bypass the steep surcharges associated with rush printing, last-minute freight shipping, and emergency labor calls that often double the cost of a single asset.

5. Explore where you gain savings in your food and beverage program. About 20–30% is the average waste margin typically found in standard catering contracts. It is key to reduce this cost without sacrificing the attendee experience. Focus on strategic menu planning and precise consumption tracking rather than simply reducing portions.

6. Look first at the "invisible" infrastructure of the facility, specifically rigging and electrical placement. One of the most effective strategies is to design your floor layout around the venue’s existing utility ports and structural hang points to avoid exorbitant costs. By requesting the facility’s technical floor plan early, you can position aisle signage and overhead directionals with established service points, which significantly reduces labor hours and material rental fees.

 

Attend the Workshop
Learn more from Vallaster and Mobley by signing up today for PAR's “Cash In, Cut Costs” virtual workshop on Feb. 18. You’ll learn about sponsorship modeling, sponsorship and expo revenue tips, forecasting revenue and analyzing trends, and tools to support your efforts. Attendees will receive access to complimentary planning documents, including event-related AI guides and prompts. Stick around after their 45-minute presentation for PAR’s new Mic Drop MeetUP, giving you 15 minutes of direct access to the presenters and fellow attendees.