Your trade show booth in San Diego – rent or buy.

Yes. We offer high-quality rental booths for shows at the San Diego Convention Center. You pay only for use during the show – including planning, build-up, dismantling and disposal. Purchasing a custom booth is also possible on request.

Yes. Standbuilder International, Inc. supports German and European exhibitors with German-speaking contacts and an on-site team in the USA.

On request we handle the entire process: concept and design, booth construction, logistics, transport, build-up and dismantling, furnishing, technology and coordination with the San Diego Convention Center.

Design, planning and production are handled by our local team directly in San Diego. This shortens distances, saves transport costs and enables fast responses to last-minute changes during build-up and the show.

Book a free, non-binding online consultation. We discuss your show, booth size and goals and create a tailored quote.

Drayage is the union-handled transport of your freight from the loading dock to your booth and back after the show, organized by the show's General Service Contractor (GSC). It is billed per 100 lb (cwt). In San Diego, typical rates are USD 1.30 to 2.20 per cwt, plus minimum charges and surcharges for oversized, weekend, or after-hours delivery. We include drayage transparently in our quotes and coordinate the delivery window with the GSC so you don't get surprised by add-on invoices.

An ATA Carnet makes sense when you temporarily import your own exhibits, tools, or demo equipment into the USA and re-export them after the show. It saves you US customs duties and taxes on re-entry and speeds up clearance. In Germany, Chambers of Industry and Commerce (IHK Munich, IHK Berlin, etc.) issue carnets – plan for 5 to 10 business days of lead time. Consumables such as giveaways and brochures do not belong on the carnet; they are handled separately as a regular import. On request we manage the carnet process together with our freight forwarder.

Pure business activity at the booth – meetings, sales, lead capture – is normally covered by ESTA (Visa Waiver Program), assuming a German biometric passport and a stay under 90 days. Hands-on technical work such as booth construction, installation, or repairs typically requires a B1 visa "in Lieu of H1B," applied for at the US embassy with several weeks of lead time. We recommend letting our US team handle build-up and dismantling, so that your own staff travels purely as business visitors.

Power, internet/Wi-Fi, compressed air, water, and furniture at the San Diego Convention Center are ordered exclusively through the official service contractors – typically Edlen Electrical for power, Smart City Networks for internet, and GES or Freeman for furniture, depending on the show. Order deadlines are tight and early-bird discounts usually end 30 days before move-in. We submit all orders for you, coordinate with the Convention Center, and consolidate the invoices into a single proposal.

At the San Diego Convention Center there are clear union jurisdictions: Carpenters, Decorators, Electricians, and Riggers each cover specific scopes of work. Certain tasks must be performed by the General Service Contractor's union labor, while others may be done by exhibitor staff – generally if no power tools are involved and the work is performed by full-time employees of the exhibiting company. We know the boundaries and plan your build-up so that you neither violate the rules nor pay for union labor you don't actually need.

The San Diego Convention Center requires General Liability insurance, typically with USD 1 million per occurrence, naming the Convention Center and the GSC as "Additional Insured." Marine cargo insurance covers your goods from the factory through return shipment. We provide a template for the Certificate of Insurance and can broker short-term show insurance through US partners if your German policy does not cover the United States.

Rule of thumb: A custom-built booth needs 12 to 16 weeks from the initial brief, because design, engineering, production, and logistics must run in sequence. Aluvision system booths are modular and can be planned at shorter notice – 6 to 8 weeks are usually enough for a full booth including branding and LED integration. For last-minute requests under four weeks we openly discuss trade-offs: feasible, but with rush surcharges on materials and logistics.

A realistic indication without yet knowing your requirements: a 10 × 10 ft (~9 sqm) Aluvision rental booth with graphics and basic furniture in San Diego typically runs USD 8,000 to 14,000 all-in. A 20 × 20 ft (~36 sqm) custom-built rental booth with hanging banner, lounge, and LED wall typically runs USD 45,000 to 90,000, depending on materials, technology, and drayage. On top come exhibitor services (power, internet) and rigging where applicable. After a 30-minute call we send a concrete quote that breaks out every cost block transparently.

Key segments are Medical and Life Sciences (Anesthesiology / ASA Annual Meeting, TCT, Cell Bio, Advanced Therapies Week, SCCM Critical Care, CROI, ASCRS, AANS), IT and geospatial technology (ESRI User Conference), Optics and Photonics (SPIE Optics + Photonics), Entertainment (Comic-Con International), Biotech manufacturing (Biomanufacturing World Summit, BioProcess International US West), Renewables (Intersolar & Energy Storage North America), and Defense (WEST). We maintain the current calendar of relevant shows in our llms.txt and on the per-city pages.

Yes, that is possible. We review in advance which parts are worth shipping to the US – branding graphics, small furniture, exhibits – and which are better sourced locally to save on carnet, drayage, and storage. US power (120 V / 60 Hz) and the different plug system often require adjustments or adapters for electrical components; hazardous or special goods need their own permits. Before shipping, we send you a packing list with a feasibility recommendation.