The cost of exhibiting at the IPCPR Convention & Trade Show will be increasing for 2018.

Next year, the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) will charge exhibitors an additional $3 per square foot for all booth spaces.

This means, pricing for the 2018 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show breaks down as follows:

  • 100-999 square feet — $21.50 per square foot
  • 1,000-1,499 square feet — $20.50 per square foot
  • 1,500-3,999 square feet — $18.50 per square foot
  • 4,000+ square feet — $16.50 per square foot

Interestingly, the across the board $3 increase means that it will have a greater impact on larger booths, who will see prices increase as much as 22 percent compared to the smallest booths where the change only represents a 16 percent increase.

Mark Pursell, ceo of IPCPR, told halfwheel the organization made the change due to a variety of factors including the increased expenses the organization is facing as part of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA) deeming regulations and increased cost of the facility.

This year marked the first year the trade show was hosted at the Las Vegas Convention Center, after the Sands Expo Center cancelled the IPCPR’s contract for the 2017 and 2018 trade shows.

The 2018 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show takes place July 13-17, 2018 with the trade show portion beginning July 14, a Saturday. It will once again be at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Because the Sands Expo Center is part of The Venetian/Palazzo hotel complex, the cost of the trade show facility is reduced as the property is able to make additional revenue off attendees spending money on hotel rooms and meals within The Venetian and Palazzo. The Las Vegas Convention Center is owned by a public-private partnership, which does not own a hotel. As such, everything from the space itself, the food, labor for transporting and setting up booths and other costs are generally higher.

Pursell also pointed out that the rates are cheaper than other trade shows cigar companies attend. Tobacco Plus Expo (TPE) charges $22-24 per square foot and the NACS show, a convenience store-oriented trade show, charges $35-49 per square foot.

According to Trade Show Executive Magazine, the average per square foot price of trade shows in 2015 was $30.72 per square foot. Pursell estimates the 2018 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show will average around $18 per square foot.

It’s part of a number of changes the IPCPR Convention & Trade Show has experienced since Pursell, who previously ran the National Association of Home Builders trade show, took over as IPCPR’s ceo.

Amongst those changes, the organization stopped selling booths in a 10 x 10 grid, began charging companies for aisles, reduced the space in between booths and added events like lunchtime seminars and an annual concert.

Davidoff is the official sponsor of halfwheel's coverage of the 2018 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show.
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Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.