One of the major lessons exhibition organizers took away from last year is that the way exhibitors and attendees are engaging at conferences and trade shows is moving in a new direction. At a recent IAEE Show Organizer Insights Hour, participants explored critical trends and innovative solutions that are reshaping how they plan, execute and maximize the value of live events.
Let’s examine four key takeaways that every event planner should consider as we move into 2026.
The Late Registration Challenge Requires Strategic Solutions
The trend toward last-minute registration has become one of the most significant challenges facing event organizers today. Where attendees once registered months in advance, the majority now wait until just before the event, creating cascading pressures across multiple aspects of event planning. This shift is particularly impacting hotel room-block performance, with venues becoming increasingly inflexible about minimum pickup requirements and making negotiations more difficult.
To address this challenge, organizers are implementing several creative strategies:
- Diversify hotel partnerships by securing smaller room blocks across a greater number of hotels, giving attendees more lodging options while making it easier to manage and fill blocks.
- Introduce a three-tier registration model with an “early early” rate that includes additional incentives and discounts to encourage earlier commitment from attendees.
- Collaborate with housing managers to compare attendee lists against hotel reservations (using only names without private information) to determine if enough attendees have booked to meet attrition thresholds.
These tactical adjustments help organizers maintain better control over logistics while accommodating the reality of changing attendee behavior patterns.
Exhibitor Education Demands Multi-Channel Communication
Ensuring exhibitors understand rules, requirements and event information is critical to a smooth event experience. The most successful organizers are moving beyond traditional email blasts to create comprehensive, accessible educational ecosystems that meet exhibitors where they are and in formats that work for their busy schedules.
Effective exhibitor education strategies include:
- Create on-demand resources such as static presentation decks or recorded webinars available on the show website, supplemented by monthly newsletters starting about four months before the event.
- Host weekly virtual office hours approximately six to eight weeks before the event where exhibitors and speakers can drop in to ask questions, reducing individual calls and emails through efficient breakout room support.
- Develop bite-sized video content in TikTok or Reels style focusing on single topics like team registration or lead retrieval device pickup, housed in the exhibitor portal for quick reference.
Building a centralized app using platforms like Glide to store all exhibitor forms and information in one mobile-friendly location can dramatically reduce routine inquiries. Some organizers are even feeding documents into ChatGPT to create bots that answer common questions, significantly decreasing the support burden on their teams.
Creative Engagement Tactics Drive Meaningful Exhibitor-Attendee Connections
Moving beyond passive booth visits requires innovative strategies that transform the exhibition floor into an interactive, experiential environment. The most successful events are incorporating gamification and structured engagement opportunities that benefit both exhibitors and attendees by creating memorable interactions and genuine business connections.
Proven engagement strategies include:
- Host bag sponsorships where exhibitors include drawing entry tickets that attendees must submit at their booth, driving foot traffic especially for exhibitors without physical giveaways.
- Scratch-to-win programs featuring a certain number of branded business cards per participating exhibitor with scratch-off components, creating fun interactive moments after lead retrieval scanning.
- Digital gamification such as scavenger hunts where exhibitors display assigned words that attendees must find, or influencer challenges where attendees post social media content from designated booths with live leaderboards tracking engagement.
These tactics shift booths from informational to experiential – encouraging attendees to participate, compete and play rather than simply collecting brochures. The result is deeper engagement and more qualified leads for exhibitors.
Smart AV Management Controls Rising Costs
Audiovisual expenses represent one of the fastest-growing line items in event budgets, making cost management increasingly critical. However, organizers who take a strategic approach to AV procurement and venue partnerships are finding significant opportunities for savings without compromising the attendee experience.
Cost-effective AV strategies include:
- Request multiple installation quotes comparing overhead rigging versus ground installation, as the distinction can significantly impact both venue rigging fees and overall labor costs.
- Coordinate with venues to combine complimentary in-house AV with external provider services, ensuring both teams are aligned to consolidate communication and improve efficiency.
- Leverage AI transcription tools like Snapside, Rosie AI or Note Affect to transcribe and summarize sessions in real time, creating valuable content for your learning management system at a fraction of traditional production costs.
By approaching AV as a strategic partnership rather than a simple vendor relationship, organizers can maximize value while controlling one of their largest expense categories.
Exhibitions and events continue to evolve, demanding flexibility, creativity and strategic thinking from organizers. By embracing these insights and adapting to changing behaviors, industry professionals can create more valuable experiences for both exhibitors and attendees while maintaining operational efficiency and financial sustainability.
