Exhibit rentals have changed significantly in the last five years. Modern rental inventory — Aluvision, BeMatrix, and comparable European-engineered modular systems — lets us build booths that read as custom on the floor while avoiding the capital commitment, warehouse footprint, and depreciation schedule of a purchased booth. For Orlando programs that run once a year at OCCC, or for clients piloting a new show, rental is almost always the right call.
Custom-printed fabric graphics, integrated LED walls, quality flooring, and branded counters make a rental booth look and feel like a custom build from the aisle. The difference is in ownership and reuse: rental frame systems and flooring return to the warehouse after strike, graphics either return for storage or ship to the next show, and the client's capital stays on other priorities.
This service covers when rental is the right call versus custom, how the three common rental models actually differ on the ground, what's included and what's not in a typical Orlando rental program, how we handle graphics ownership and reuse, and the real cost picture across a multi-show calendar.
When rental is the right call, and when it is not
Rental is the right answer when any of these are true: the client exhibits at one show per year, the client is testing a new show or market, the booth footprint changes across the calendar, the client does not want to carry the booth on the balance sheet, or the storage and re-kitting logistics for a custom booth would cost more than the annual rental delta.
Custom is the right answer when the client runs three or more shows per year at a consistent footprint, has strong brand consistency requirements that modular graphics cannot fully satisfy, wants permanent scenic features that do not exist in any rental catalog, or plans to run the booth for four or more years of amortization.
Hybrid is the right answer more often than either pure play — an owned structural shell (backwall, counters, signature scenic element) combined with rental accents (flooring, modular display towers, lounge furnishings) usually optimizes both cost and flexibility.
The three rental models in the Orlando market
Pure modular rental: built on Aluvision, BeMatrix, Octanorm, or a similar extrusion system. Fabric graphics, LED panels, and lighting integrate natively. Installs fast, strikes fast, visually clean. Best for inline and mid-size island booths up to about 30x30.
Custom rental: fabricated to the client's spec (or close to an existing design), held in the rental warehouse, and deployed across the client's calendar for a multi-year term. Visually identical to a custom build but on the rental house's balance sheet. Best for clients who want custom appearance without capital commitment.
Turnkey rental package: a fixed-price bundle of frame, graphics template, flooring, furniture, lighting, delivery, install, strike, and return freight. Fastest to spec and easiest to budget. Best for first-year shows, pilots, and sales teams that need a predictable number to pitch internally.
What's included in an Orlando rental program (and what isn't)
Included: the frame system, flooring, fabric graphics mounted to approved panels, lighting rigged to the frame, furniture pulled from our rental inventory, delivery to OCCC or the show venue, install during the show's I&D window, strike after close, and return freight to our warehouse. Client-facing account management through install and strike is included.
Not included by default: show utility orders (power, internet, water) — those go to the show's general service contractor. Hanging sign rigging fees at OCCC — rigging is separately billable by the venue. Floor-specific show services like drayage, mass mailing, and booth cleaning — also billed by the show. Overtime labor if the client's install or strike pushes outside the published window.
We quote the rental program clean, then quote show services separately with actual venue rates. Bundling them into a single fixed price masks the real costs and hurts the client when the show changes its own rates three weeks out.
Graphics are usually client-owned even in a rental
In almost all of our rental programs, the graphics are fabricated for the client and owned by the client, not us. The rental frame and hardware come back to our warehouse; the graphics either travel to the next show or ship to the client's storage.
This matters because graphics are the brand-specific element. A client rotating from Orlando to Vegas on the same show calendar should not re-print the hero panels — they should ship. A client whose brand identity evolves mid-year should not be locked into yesterday's graphics because the rental contract bundled them.
The real cost picture across a multi-year calendar
A typical 20x20 custom island for OCCC runs $60–100K in fabrication plus $8–15K per year in storage and re-kitting. A comparable 20x20 turnkey rental runs $30–55K per show, with graphics owned by the client and carried across shows.
For a one-show-per-year program, rental wins on total three-year cost, especially when storage and refurbishment for the custom build are honestly scoped. For a three-show-per-year program, custom starts to win in year two — but only if the booth actually stays intact across installs.
We run the math for the client's actual calendar during the rental quote conversation. If rental is the wrong call, we say so.
How we handle OCCC-specific rental logistics
For OCCC shows, we stage rental inventory in our central Florida warehouse and truck to the venue during the show's posted I&D window. That eliminates long-haul freight, drayage delays, and damage risk of cross-country transit for a local show.
On install: our team runs the entire setup — we don't subcontract the rental install to unfamiliar show-site labor. On strike: same team, same process, clean return. The frame system, flooring, and hardware re-enter inventory clean and ready for the next deployment. Any damage gets assessed and billed transparently against a deposit.