How to Choose a Trade Show Booth Builder in Las Vegas

Pick a builder that has set up on your floor before, can tell you who will be standing in your space at move-in, and gives you a quote that separates their work from what the show bills. In Las Vegas those three things matter more than anywhere else we work, because the halls are huge, the labor rules are strict, and the show's own invoice (electrical, drayage, rigging, cleaning) can be a large part of the total.

We're a builder, and Las Vegas is where most of our booths go up. Here's what we'd want to know if we were hiring one.

Where the booth is built, and how far it travels

There are builders in Las Vegas itself, builders in Southern California, and national companies that build in one city and ship everywhere. None of these is wrong. What changes is freight, how quickly a fix can reach the floor, and where the booth sits between shows.

Our shop is a 41,000-square-foot building in La Puente, California, about four hours from the Las Vegas halls by truck. A booth we build there goes out on our schedule, and if a graphic is damaged in transit or a client changes a headline two days before the show, a replacement can be on the road the same day. Between shows the booth goes back to La Puente and stays in storage until the next one.

Whoever you hire, ask where the booth will physically be built, by whose employees, and where it will live after the show. If a builder can't answer the first question with an address, they're probably brokering the work to someone else.

Las Vegas shows run on deadlines you don't control

Each show publishes an exhibitor manual with dates for the advance warehouse, direct-to-show freight, move-in by booth size, and service orders. Miss the advance warehouse window and your crates go direct to show, often at a higher rate and with less room for error. Miss the early order deadline for electrical or rigging and you pay the late price.

A good builder reads that manual for you and puts every date on one calendar. Ask to see it. For a custom booth we start 16 to 20 weeks before the show; 8 to 12 weeks is the shortest we'll take on a custom build, and a rental can be done in 4 to 6. Our planning timeline walks through it week by week.

CES deserves its own note. It opens in the first week of January, so the build, the graphics proofs and the freight all land in December, and move-in falls in the days around New Year's. Approvals that would take a day in October can take a week over the holidays. If you're exhibiting at CES, lock the design before Thanksgiving.

Ask who handles labor on the show floor

Labor is where Las Vegas surprises first-time exhibitors. The general contractor for most shows is Freeman or GES, and union jurisdiction decides who can unload a crate, build a wall, plug in a monitor or hang a sign. The exhibitor manual spells out what your own staff can do and what has to be hired. It varies by show and by venue.

The question for a builder is simple: on move-in day, whose people are in your booth, and who is supervising them? You want someone from the builder's side there, with the drawings, from the first crate to the last graphic. Ask the same about dismantle, which happens on the last night when everyone is tired and in a hurry.

Make sure they've worked your hall

The Las Vegas Convention Center, Mandalay Bay, the Venetian Expo and Caesars Forum each have their own loading docks, ceiling heights, floor load limits and hanging-sign rules. A double-deck or a hanging sign needs engineering drawings and rigging orders well ahead of time. A builder who has been in the hall will know where the problems are.

Ask for projects at your show, not just in your city. These are some of ours in Las Vegas:

Our first CES booth was a 40x50 for Delta and Vivitek in 2014. We were back in 2016, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2025 and 2026, including Cooler Master's booths in 2018 and 2020. The rest of the list is on our Las Vegas page.

Read the quote for what it leaves out

Two quotes for the same booth can be $20,000 apart and both be honest, because one includes freight, installation, dismantle and storage and the other doesn't. Ask each builder to list, line by line, what's in the price: design, fabrication, graphics, freight both ways, installation, dismantle, storage, and the project manager's time on site.

Then ask what the show will bill you directly. That list is usually the same no matter who builds the booth: booth space, electrical, drayage (material handling, billed by weight), rigging, cleaning, internet, lead retrieval. A builder can estimate it from the exhibitor manual, but it won't be on their invoice.

For reference, here's what we publish. Our rentals include custom graphics, installation and dismantle.

Show services are billed by the show in both columns. The cost guide has the larger sizes, and rent or buy does the break-even math if you'll be back next year.

If you'll be back next year

Some of our clients come back to the same Las Vegas show every year. Patchwork was at SuperZoo with us in 2025 and 2026. Lane Seven Apparel's 20x30 island has been set up at three shows so far. If that's your plan, ask the builder to design for it: crates sized for the trailer, graphics that can be swapped without rebuilding the frame, and a booth that can be reconfigured for a smaller space at a second show.

That's also the time to ask about storage cost per month, and what happens when a panel is damaged. You want the repair done in the builder's shop before the next show, not discovered at move-in.

Questions buyers ask us about Las Vegas

Which exhibit companies build booths for CES in Las Vegas?

Many do, from Las Vegas shops to national exhibit houses. We're one of them: AMG built AUO's 50x50 at CES 2026 and booths for Nippon TV, Kodenshi, KAGA FAI and Japan Tech at CES 2025. Whoever you hire, ask to see their CES projects and who will be on the floor at move-in.

Do I need a builder based in Las Vegas?

No. What matters is that the builder has worked your hall, sends its own people to supervise installation and dismantle, and can get a replacement part to the floor fast. Our shop in La Puente, California is about four hours away by truck.

How early should I hire a builder for a Las Vegas show?

16 to 20 weeks before the show for a custom booth, 8 to 12 at the very least. A rental needs 4 to 6 weeks. For CES, plan around the December holidays and lock the design before Thanksgiving.

Who installs the booth on a Las Vegas show floor?

Show labor works under union jurisdiction and the rules of the show's general contractor, usually Freeman or GES. The exhibitor manual says what your staff can do yourself. Your builder should supervise the crew with the drawings in hand.

What does a trade show booth cost in Las Vegas?

Our rentals run $10,000 to $14,000 for a 10x10 and $30,000 to $45,000 for a 20x20 island. Custom builds run $18,000 to $40,000 for a 10x10 and $80,000 to $200,000 for a 20x20 island. Booth space, electrical, drayage and other show services are billed by the show on top.