Benefits and Costs of Renting Trade Show Furniture

Your company has designed and built an amazing exhibit for the big show this year, but have you thought about furnishing the booth?  Any furniture included in your booth space should directly correlate with the goals and objectives determined during the planning phase. If you are trying to get people to stay awhile, create an inviting space with comfortable furniture to entice attendees to come in and relax.  If you want to create an all business atmosphere, incorporate meeting room tables and chairs into the initial design.

While you can always buy furniture for your exhibit there are several benefits of renting it instead.

  • There are usually no up-front costs.
  • You won’t have to pay storage fees for the furniture.
  • There won’t be any warehouse handling fees to worry about.
  • Purchasing shipping crates and paying to ship the furniture is expensive. It can cost as much as the furniture does or more. When you rent you don’t have to worry about these expenses.
  • Renting furniture allows for more flexibility. You can change the feel of your exhibit as much as you want.
  • The options are limitless. You can rent almost anything from seating to ottomans, lamps, rugs, candlesticks, pillows and even greenery.
  • Renting is convenient and easy. Most places deliver and pick it up when the show is over.


There are two different types of rental furniture which come with varying price tags — standard or custom.
Your company can go with standard furniture that typically comes from the show’s general contracting service (decorators). Standard furniture has a cheaper price tag, but is very basic, with no frills or customization available. Renting custom allows you to shape the look and feel of your booth to make the exhibit inviting and memorable for attendees. Custom furniture has a myriad of trendy styles and options to choose from.

Costs of Furniture Rental

You will need to decide what type of furniture best fits your goals and include estimated pricing when setting your initial budget.

Renting this informal lounge area created with endless seating and two tables starts at $2,500.

Whether you are looking to fill your space with furniture for an informal lounge area, upscale meeting or simple café seating area, what you select makes difference in the look and feel of the design. Work with your display designer to select and incorporate furniture that matches the look, design, and feel of your display. Basic furnishings will stick out like a sore thumb, but furniture that has been selected to compliment your display will really embrace the branded look.