The Exhibitor Communication Timeline: What to Send and When
Every show organizer has lived this moment. It's move-in morning, the dock is backing up, and an exhibitor is standing at the service desk asking why their freight isn't in the booth. They shipped it to the show site three weeks early. Nobody told them about the advance warehouse. Or someone did, in paragraph six of an email they never opened.
That isn't an exhibitor problem. It's a communication problem, and it lands on the organizer every time.
Exhibitors who have the right information at the right time show up prepared. They order services before discount deadlines, ship to the right address, and arrive in their assigned window. Your team spends move-in managing the floor instead of putting out fires. A good communication timeline is the cheapest way to buy yourself a calm show.
Here's what to send, and when.
120 to 90 Days Out: The Welcome Kit
This is the first real touchpoint after contract, and it sets the tone for everything after it. Send one clear email that includes:
Link to the exhibitor services manual
Booth number and dimensions
A one-page key dates calendar (every deadline in one place)
Your general services contractor (GSC) contact and ordering portal
Show rules and regulations, including booth height and line-of-sight restrictions
The key dates calendar is the most important attachment you'll send all cycle. Exhibitors will lose the manual. They'll keep the one-pager.
90 to 60 Days Out: Orders, Approvals, and Paperwork
Now you're asking exhibitors to act. Focus this round on the items with hard deadlines:
Discount deadline for GSC orders. Electrical, furniture, carpet, and cleaning cost significantly more after the cutoff. Exhibitors who miss it tend to blame the show.
Exhibitor-appointed contractor (EAC) forms. If they're bringing their own installer, you need to know now.
Certificate of insurance requirements. Spell out the coverage amounts and the additional insured language. Vague COI instructions create a pile of rejected certificates later.
Booth design approval for islands, double-decks, and anything requiring rigging.
60 to 30 Days Out: Shipping and Logistics
This is the round that prevents the move-in morning scenario above. Cover:
Advance warehouse address, receiving dates, and cutoff
Direct-to-show-site shipping dates
Shipping labels
A plain-language explanation of drayage (material handling), including how it's calculated
Badge registration and hotel block deadlines
Drayage deserves its own paragraph. It's the charge that surprises first-time exhibitors most, and a two-sentence explanation now saves an angry conversation at the service desk later.
30 to 14 Days Out: The Reminder Round
Most exhibitors won't act until a deadline is close. That's not a flaw to fix; it's a behavior to plan around. Resend the deadlines that matter most right now:
Advance warehouse closing date
Move-in schedule by booth number, including targeted move-in windows
Marshaling yard or parking instructions for carriers
Badge pickup location and hours
In Las Vegas especially, targeted move-in times and marshaling yard procedures at the major venues are strictly enforced. An exhibitor who doesn't know their window is an exhibitor whose truck is sitting in line.
7 Days Out: The Onsite Quick Reference
Send one short, mobile-friendly message exhibitors can pull up on their phone at the dock. Include move-in times, the service desk location, key contacts with cell numbers, and a floor plan. Nothing else. This is the message they'll actually use onsite.
Onsite: Short, Timely Updates
Daily briefings or text updates work well here. Keep them brief: aisle carpet timing, freight door changes, the final call for show-site orders. Onsite communication should confirm what exhibitors already know, not introduce new information.
Before Close: Move-Out Instructions
Send move-out details before the last show day, then repeat them the morning of. Cover the tear-down start time (no packing before the show closes), outbound shipping labels, carrier check-in deadlines, and forced freight. Exhibitors who don't know their freight will be rerouted at their expense if their carrier misses the deadline tend to find out the hard way.
Post-Show: Close the Loop
Within a week, send a thank-you, a short survey, and rebooking information. Exhibitors who had a smooth experience are your easiest renewals, and the survey tells you which messages in this timeline need work next year.
A Few Principles That Make the Timeline Work
One message, one purpose. An email covering ordering, shipping, badges, and hotels gets skimmed. Split it up.
Put the deadline in the subject line. "Advance Warehouse Closes October 14" gets opened. "Important Exhibitor Update" doesn't.
Repetition is a feature. Hearing a deadline three times isn't annoying to an exhibitor. Missing it is.
Know who owns each message. Decide upfront what comes from the organizer and what comes from the GSC, so exhibitors aren't getting conflicting instructions from two sources.
The Payoff
A prepared exhibitor is a quiet exhibitor. Fewer calls in the months before the show. Fewer surprises at the dock. Fewer disputes over late fees and forced freight. And a floor that opens on time because everyone knew exactly what to do.
The work of a great show happens long before the doors open. Most of it happens in the inbox.
Want the full timeline in a format you can plug your show dates into? Download the free Exhibitor Communications Calendar.