← All insightsThe starting figure, and what it assumes
Beauty Sky quotes custom exhibition stands in Dubai from AED 1,000 per square metre, with a 24 m² minimum. At that level you are buying a purpose-built structure: design, engineering, fabrication, graphics, lighting, installation and dismantling, delivered by one team under one contract.
Per-square-metre pricing is a useful sanity check and a poor substitute for a quotation. A 100 m² stand with one meeting room, a product wall and a coffee point is a different building from a 100 m² stand carrying a double-deck, a live demonstration rig and a kitchen, even though the floor area is identical.
The honest way to read any rate is as a starting point that rises with complexity. Ask what it includes, then ask what it excludes. The second answer is usually more revealing.
What sits inside a builder's price
Concept and 3D design, technical drawings and the structural calculations that support them. In Dubai these are not optional: the venue will not approve a stand without them.
Fabrication of walls, joinery, counters, storage and any bespoke elements, plus the graphics that clad them.
Lighting, power distribution inside the stand, and the integration of any screens or LED.
Flooring, furniture, planting and the finishing that makes a structure feel complete rather than assembled.
Transport, installation during the build-up window, supervision through the show, and dismantling afterwards.
What the organiser charges separately
Space rental, which is priced per square metre by the organiser and is often the largest single line in an exhibitor's budget. It is not part of a builder's quotation.
Venue services: electrical supply and connection, water and drainage, compressed air, internet, and rigging points if anything hangs from the roof.
Organiser fees that attach to custom builds, such as stand-design submission charges, contractor passes, waste deposits and performance bonds.
Cleaning, security and catering, where these are bought through the venue rather than the builder.
An exhibitor comparing two quotations should first confirm both sit on the same side of this line. A cheaper proposal that quietly excludes electrics and rigging is not cheaper.
The six decisions that move the figure
Single or double-deck. A second storey adds structural steel, stairs, balustrades, extra engineering and a heavier approval process. It buys meeting space on a constrained footprint, which is often worth it, but it is the single biggest step change in cost.
How much is built new. Reusing a structure across shows spreads the cost of fabrication over several editions. Perm Region exhibited at ADIPEC in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025, developing one architectural language rather than starting again each year.
Finish level. Sprayed and lacquered joinery, real stone, mirror and bespoke metalwork sit far above laminate and fabric panels. The difference is visible at arm's length and invisible from the aisle, so it should follow how close your visitors actually get.
How much of the stand has to work. Meeting rooms, storage, kitchens, demonstration rigs, heavy machinery and refrigeration all carry structural, power and ventilation consequences. Beauty Sky's 450 m² Karl Mayer stand at ITM carried live textile machinery; that is a different engineering problem from a 450 m² display.
Technology. LED walls, interactive screens, AR and video mapping are priced per square metre or per unit, and they bring cabling, cooling and content costs with them.
Time. A stand designed and approved comfortably before the organiser's submission deadline is built in normal working hours by a planned crew. A late appointment is built with overtime and expedited materials, and the exhibitor pays for both.
What different sizes tend to buy
Under 50 m² the question is what to leave out. ENOC's 40 m² stand at EBACE had to carry brand, product and conversation in a footprint smaller than a meeting room, so every element earned its place.
Between 80 and 150 m² a stand can hold a display route and one or two meeting areas. Perm's ADIPEC stands ran 70 to 90 m²; Invixium at Intersec used 90 m²; ESTEL at Beautyworld 102 m²; Fragrance Science 150 m².
Between 200 and 400 m² the plan becomes architecture: public frontage, semi-private hospitality and private rooms in sequence. Wintershall Dea at ADIPEC used 200 m², the Czech Republic Pavilion at Arab Health 230 m², Novatek at Gastech 400 m².
Above 400 m² you are building a small venue. The Italy Pavilion's Atomic Clock environment at Expo 2020 ran to 654 m², and the Spain Pavilion at Beautyworld Middle East 2021 to 1,200 m² with many exhibitors inside one structure.
How to get a real number quickly
Send the show and the stand number, the area and the open sides, the organiser's technical manual, what has to happen inside the stand, and your decision date. That is enough for a costed proposal rather than a range.
If a budget bracket already exists, say so. It does not raise the price; it decides which version of the stand gets designed, and saves a redesign cycle that costs time nobody has.
