EACA News
EACA and Exhibitor Advocate Publish Blog on Hidden Fees. The number one issue for exhibitors in the tradeshow and events industry is rising costs. There are numerous research reports highlighting this topic. The Exhibitor Advocate, in partnership with Explori and Exhibitor Group, recently published the Exhibit Leader Insights Report, confirming 2/3 of exhibitors cite rising cost as their primary concern. There are multiple ways to address the issue of cost in our industry and the simplest is to scrutinize expenses exhibitors are charged. There is a little fee, called the “EAC Fee,” often charged to exhibitors without them even knowing it. For some, it’s a drop in their bucket, but for most of us it’s a fee that provides no value, and exhibitors bear the burden.
As with any regulation that goes without regular review, the practice of charging EAC fees has spiraled out of control. Some defend the fee as a necessary levy, but it undeniably creates a new profit center for show management. In either case, there is no doubt that this practice results in an increased cost to exhibitors.
Shows charging an EAC fee base the costs on square footage and number of clients. For EACs that have multiple clients, the aggregate cost of the EAC fees can be as much as $15,000 for one show. If show management is trying to recoup administrative costs, wouldn’t they charge one fee for every EAC? Why is each Exhibitor paying the fee, and why is it based on net square footage?
Read more.
EAC Registration Schedule EACA is supporting the following events with our EAC registration services:
The Plastics Show May 6-10 Orlando
EBACE May 28-30 Geneva, Switzerland
BIO Int’l Show June 3-6 San Diego
Summer Fancy Foods June 23-25 New York
Check out the New EACA Job Board.There is a new Job Board on the EACA web site to assist members identify, locate and hire key personnel needed for company growth. Features of this new Job Board include email alerts to job seekers when new jobs are posted to the site. Employers can also have their listing prioritized and advertised.
One piece of important advice from our friends and EACA member, Employco USA. All job listings must begin to include pay ranges for the position posted.
Check out the new Job Board at https://eaca.careerwebsite.com/
EACA Member News
Expo Group Releases Exhibit Industry Video. It amps up my excitement for working in the exhibits and events industry and positions event professionals as the ‘Architects for Connecting Communities.”
On Location Welcomes Voss as New A.E. <Exhibit City News> On Location, a leading nationwide provider of labor and management services for exhibits, events, and environments, is proud to announce the addition of Kelly Voss to the team as an Account Executive. With over thirty years of experience in the tradeshow industry, Kelly brings a wealth of expertise and a strong track record of success across multiple verticals.
Eagle Management Adds CSR. Elinah Noriega joins the Eagle team as our newest Customer Service Representative (CSR). As a CSR, Elinah will be responsible for supporting the operations team in Northern California. She will act as a point of contact for clients, as well as distribute information to customers, while supporting the City Manager and staff.
Industry News
CEIR Releases 2023 Q4 Index Report The Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) announced that the U.S. business-to-business (B2B) exhibition industry continues to rebound, recording strong improvement in the fourth quarter of 2023. Extremely low cancellations and continued improvement in metrics outcomes for completed events boosted the Q4 2023 Index value to 92.0, as compared to the Index in 2019 which was 100.0
As expected, the CEIR Total Index – a measure of overall exhibition performance – continues to recover, surging 15.0% from a year ago.
Exhibitor Advocate Releases 2023 Survey of Exhibition Rates. Thanks to an exclusive collaboration between The Exhibitor Advocate and Trade Show Logic the game-changing 2023 Annual Survey of Exhibition Rates is here! Dive into unparalleled analysis of labor and equipment costs spread across 24 pivotal U.S. cities and learn actionable strategies for making informed financial decisions that will reign in expenses and elevate ROI.
TSA Unveils Self Screening in Las Vegas <Meetings & Conventions> Federal airport security officials unveiled passenger self-screening lanes Wednesday at busy Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, with plans to use the technology around the country.
Instead of a boxy belt-fed device using a stack of gray trays, the futuristic-looking baggage-and-personal belongings inspection system looks like a scaled-down starship medical MRI machine. It uses an automated bin return that sanitizes trays with germ-killing ultraviolet light between users.
Travelers step into a clear-glass body-scanning booth with a video display inside showing how to stand when being sensed with what officials said is the “millimeter wave technology” already in use around the country. A reporter found it sensitive enough to identify a forgotten handkerchief in a pocket. He did not have to remove his shoes. Nationally, nearly all passengers who pay to enroll in the TSA PreCheck program pass through screening in 10 minutes or less, agency spokesperson R. Carter Langston said, while regular traveler and carry-on screening takes about 30 minutes.
ECA Applauds Funding to Reduce Visa Wait Times The Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance (ECA), the unified advocacy voice of the business events industry, applauds the inclusion of supplemental funding for the U.S. Department of State to reduce visa wait times as part of a six-bill package of fiscal year 2024 government funding bills.
The legislation provides the U.S. Department of State $50 million in dedicated funds to reduce visa wait times and passport backlogs. ECA believes that this investment is critical to further decreasing the long visa wait times that have harmed American workers and businesses since 2021, including those in the business events industry.