How many booth staff do I need?
Five inputs. One staffing plan by role, a shift plan you can hand to your team, and an estimate range. Send it to us and it becomes a quote.
20x20 booth, 3 days
Shift plan: two overlapping shifts per day with a rotation of 2 so breaks never empty the booth. Heaviest coverage on opening morning and keynote breaks.
ESTIMATE: [FORMULA TO CONFIRM] · EXACT QUOTE WITHIN 24 HOURS
How the calculator decides.
Hosts scale with frontage
Every open side of the booth needs someone greeting and qualifying. A 10x10 has one open side, an island has four.
One lead per station
Each demo station gets a dedicated technical lead, because a demo left unattended turns into a crowd with no one to talk to.
Specialists scale with the goal
A specialist can hold roughly qualified conversations an hour. Higher lead goals add specialists. Long days add a rotation so breaks don't empty the booth.
How staffing changes by booth type.
Demo booths
Tech and product launches live and die at the demo station. Plan one technical demo lead per station for every open hour, then add hosts so the lead never has to stop mid-demo to greet someone new. A 20x20 at CES with one demo station and a 300 lead goal usually lands at six on the floor at peak: two hosts, one demo lead, two product specialists and a team lead.
Sampling booths
Food and beverage booths move faster. Each ambassador can serve and talk to far more people per hour than a demo lead, so the headcount leans toward sampling ambassadors, with one person dedicated to buyer conversations and meeting booking.
Meeting-driven booths
Enterprise shows like re:Invent and NRF are built around booked meetings. Keep the aisle staff lean and add a meeting coordinator who keeps the calendar on time and fills no-shows with walk-ups.
When to add a second shift
Once show days run past eight hours, a single crew loses energy by the third afternoon. Split into two overlapping shifts and keep a rotation of one or two people so breaks never leave an open side of the booth uncovered. Evening receptions are always a separate shift.
Booth staffing math, answered.
How many booth staff do I need for a 10x10 booth?
Usually two per shift: one host in the aisle and one person in the booth. Add a third if you run a live demo, and rotate so no one works a full show day without a break.
How many staff for a 20x20 booth?
Four to six on the floor at peak, depending on demo stations and your lead goal. The calculator shows the split by role.
Should I staff differently on each show day?
Yes. Opening morning and keynote breaks are the busiest. The last afternoon is quiet, so trim hosts there.
How accurate is this calculator?
It's a planning estimate built from the booth size, demo stations and lead goal. [FORMULA TO CONFIRM] Send us the plan and we'll check it against the show's traffic patterns.
Can you send me the plan as a quote?
Yes. Use "Send me this plan" and your answers pre-fill the quote form. A human replies within 24 hours.