Per-sqm pricing (price per square meter)

Pricing by the square meter is the industry's shared language. It lets a sales team quote any booth from a rate card, lets exhibitors compare a 12 sqm corner at one show against an 18 sqm inline at another, and lets finance model the whole event's revenue as sellable area times expected rate times occupancy. That transparency is also its weakness: because the number is so comparable, exhibitors negotiate against it directly, and shows in the same sector watch each other's rate cards closely. In practice a single headline rate is rare — mature shows run a matrix: base rate by zone, uplifts for corners and peninsulas, a package premium for shell scheme, discounts by booking date or loyalty. The honest nuance is that the per-sqm rate is a fraction of an exhibitor's true cost once construction, staff, travel, and services are added, so a rate increase of 5% moves their total budget far less than it moves your revenue — useful context when you're nervous about raising prices. The common mistake is a rate card frozen for years out of fear, then a sudden painful correction. Small, regular, well-explained increases hold up better than one big jump after a decade of flat pricing.