What You Get With IMEX Shell Scheme—and What Changes With Space Only
For IMEX America 2026, Shell Scheme is listed at $163 per sq ft with a 100-sq-ft minimum. The current package includes essential furniture and a choice of carpet and wall colors, while wall graphics, lighting, and electricity are booked separately.
Space Only is listed at $140 per sq ft, also from 100 sq ft, and gives exhibitors more freedom to shape the finished booth. Because current package inclusions affect what still needs to be supplied, Space Only should not automatically be treated as simply an empty floor area.
Shell Scheme can work well when the booth needs a straightforward meeting setup, simple branding, and only limited changes to the starting configuration.
IMEX America 2026 Booth Options at a Glance
Planning Point | Shell Scheme | Space Only | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|---|
2026 space rate | $163 / sq ft | $140 / sq ft | The rate is only one part of the finished booth decision |
Minimum size | 100 sq ft | 100 sq ft | Both can begin from a compact footprint |
Starting approach | More of the setup is predefined | More freedom to shape the booth | Changes how much configuration still needs to be resolved |
Graphics / utilities | Graphics, lighting and electricity booked separately | Depends on the final configuration and current package | These needs should be checked before the booth is finalized |
Decision test | Can the starting setup support the required meetings and branding? | Does the booth need more control over layout, presentation, or reuse? | Choose by finished booth function, not package name alone |
The current package details should be confirmed before a rental or custom configuration is finalized.
A Booked Booth Still Needs a Working Plan
Booking the booth establishes the starting package and footprint. It does not answer how buyers will meet, where presentation content will appear, or how staff will use the space during the show.
Before comparing the two options, define:
how many buyer conversations may need to run at once;
whether reception also needs concealed storage;
where screens and presentation content need to sit;
how many brands or partners need visible representation;
whether hospitality needs counter space, power, or storage;
whether key booth elements may be reused or adapted later.
Once those requirements are clear, the package decision becomes easier because the comparison is based on what the booth needs to do rather than what the option is called.
Space Only gives exhibitors more control over how counters, storage, screens, meeting furniture, and partner presentation work together inside the finished booth.
Compare the Finished Booth Scope, Not Just the Space Rate
A lower floor-space rate does not by itself show which option will produce the more economical finished exhibit.
The booth may still need graphics, lighting, screens, counters, storage, meeting furniture, utilities, hospitality equipment, or other working elements. Some of those requirements may already be partly addressed by the starting package; others still need to be configured around the exhibitor’s plan.
The more useful comparison is the scope required to reach the same working booth. That keeps the decision focused on IMEX booth cost and configuration without turning it into a broader calculation of travel, hotels, sponsorship, staffing, or total event ROI.
Which Option Fits the Way Your IMEX Booth Will Work?
Shell Scheme can be practical when the booth revolves around one straightforward meeting area, simple branding, and only minor changes to the starting configuration.
A compact IMEX planning scenario can become more demanding very quickly. A 10x10 booth may need to support several appointment schedules, open sides, gift storage, reception, a screen, and hospitality equipment. In that situation, one counter may need to handle reception, storage, and hospitality while furniture and equipment still leave enough room for buyer conversations.
The real question is whether the starting package allows those functions to work together without reducing usable meeting space.
If the supplied setup already supports the required meeting format, branding, reception, and basic presentation needs, moving to a more flexible option may add project scope without solving a meaningful problem.
In a 10x10 booth, meeting space, storage, screen placement, reception, and circulation all have to work inside the same 100-sq-ft footprint. Those constraints should be understood before a more flexible booth package is chosen.
In a compact IMEX booth, meeting space, storage, screens, reception, and hospitality often need to share the same footprint, which can make rental configuration more practical than relying on a standard package alone.
When Space Only Is Better Paired With Rental or Custom
More control over the booth does not automatically mean a fully custom build.
When the plan mainly needs a different wall system, counter, concealed storage, screen position, meeting furniture, or branded presentation, rental can fill the gap between the starting package and a full custom exhibit. In a 10x10 rental booth design, those elements usually need to work as one configuration rather than as separate additions.
When several partners need distinct presentation areas, a stronger architectural identity, or reusable structural elements, the project starts to behave more like custom trade show booth design in Las Vegas than a standard rental configuration.
When the starting package is too limiting but a full custom build is unnecessary, a Las Vegas trade show booth rental can provide more control over walls, counters, storage, screens, and meeting furniture without moving the entire project into a custom-build scope.
Shell Scheme and Space Only FAQs
What is included in an IMEX America Shell Scheme booth?
For 2026, IMEX lists essential furniture plus a choice of carpet and wall colors with Shell Scheme. Wall graphics, lighting, and electricity are booked separately. Current package details should be confirmed before production is finalized.
What does Space Only mean at IMEX America?
Space Only gives exhibitors more freedom to shape the finished booth around their own design and operating requirements. The exact current package scope should be checked before deciding what still needs to come from a rental or custom exhibit.
When does Space Only with a rental booth make more sense?
It becomes worth comparing when the starting configuration does not support the required counter, concealed storage, screen position, meeting layout, partner presentation, or branding. Rental can add more control without automatically moving the project into a fully custom build.
