MediaLive Embraces Fixed Drayage Fees

PACK EXPO Intl. offered fixed-rate drayage with good results, and so did The Super Show. Now, MediaLive Intl. is taking the step of being the first show organizer to offer fixed-rate pricing for all its shows.

"The material handling component of tradeshows has been a sore topic for years," said Media-Live CEO Robert Priest-Heck. "What we're trying to do is eliminate this issue of not knowing how much it's going to cost once you get to the back dock, and then back off the showfloor."

Priest-Heck said charging a fixed fee based on square footage will let exhibitors understand total costs beforehand, and thus help with their tradeshow budgeting. MediaLive has secured an agreement with Champion Exposition Services to offer fixed-rate drayage at all the company's events.

"We're trying to reduce the unknown. I think the costs will be reduced, but more importantly, companies can manage their budgets more effectively," Priest-Heck said.

MediaLive's move away from the longtime practice of charging for drayage by hundredweight was hailed by some. "I've been saying this is a good idea for a while," said Ray Pekowski, president and CEO of The Expo Group. "I think it's a step in the right direction. From a budgeting standpoint, it helps the exhibitors tremendously."

Pekowski said his company worked with the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute to institute per-square-foot fixed drayage fees for PACK EXPO Intl. "It was all-inclusive. There were no special handling fees and the exhibitors were ecstatic."

The Super Show, another of TEG's show management customers, also used a flat-rate system. Pekowski cautioned, however, that the system doesn't offer an advantage for every type of exhibitor. For example, one Super Show exhibit comprised only of a tennis court and a net foreseeably didn't come out ahead using the fixed-fee system.

"It has its positives and negatives. Overall, it is a big savings, especially for the big companies," said Hardy Katz, vice president of Communication & Show Management Inc., producer of The Super Show. "The exhibitor knows up front what the cost of the drayage is."

Katz said exhibitors had to be educated about the new system when it was rolled out in 2001. "When you explain it to them, it makes it very simple. It certainly saves the exhibitor money and that's something everybody wants to do these days," he said.

Andrew Dudek, chairman of the Trade Show Exhibitors Assn., also said fixed-rate drayage would be an improvement over hundredweight. Dudek, an exhibit manager for Telcordia Technologies, said he would reserve judgment, however, until he learned what kind of fixed rate MediaLive imposes for its shows.

Still, he said, "Even if it's a wash, it will make things easier for budgeting. When you rebook a show, you never know what a show will cost. You're making a commitment when you don't know the total price."

Seasoned exhibit managers learn to guesstimate what shipments will cost to move in and out, based on the hundredweight system. But even so, special handling and other fees can be tacked on, and prove baffling when bills arrive after the show.

Dudek cited his own experience with receiving many difficult-to-decipher charges on his credit card after exhibiting at eight events during a three-week period. Although he eventually straightens out the charges, tracking them down takes time.

"It would make my life a heck of a lot simpler if it was a single bill at the beginning based on my square footage," he said.

Pekowski said fixed-rate drayage could speed up move-in too. Instead of trucks having to be continually weighed, they could just pull up to the loading dock and unload.

"I think that is the direction the industry will be going. A lot of times, there are so many hidden charges on the form. If you don't read the fine print, you'll be stuck."

Priest-Heck said the move to fixed-rate drayage is part of a campaign to "raise the credibility and effectiveness of event marketing." MediaLive last year also started providing attendance audits at all its events.