Soft neutral tailoring
An oatmeal or cream suit with a plain top. It sits quietly inside a room set and lets your fabrics and finishes lead.
Best for: Room sets, lighting zonesHD Expo 2027 staffing for furniture, lighting and finish brands: vignette hosts, sample library hosts, meeting hosts and camera-ready models. Every one of them lives in Las Vegas and bills a flat $85 an hour, so nobody flies in on your budget.
ST-01Real Purple eventSources: hdexpo.hospitalitydesign.com About page (500+ product suppliers across 25+ categories) and Why Exhibit page (attendees from all 50 states and 34 countries); “HD Expo 2027: We’re Listening. Here’s What’s Changing.” news post of July 6, 2026 (event May 3–5, 2027 at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas; pre-conference education day May 3; expo hall open May 4 and 5 only). Figures as published by the organizer, checked October 27, 2026.
HD Expo + Conference is the hospitality design show: hotel, restaurant and resort designers come to Las Vegas to find the furniture, lighting and finishes they will specify next. Purple Exhibits supplies HD Expo booth staff who make your room set feel like a working hotel: vignette hosts, sample library hosts, lighting presenters, buyer meeting hosts, booth reps and trade show models for your photo moments. The rate is one number for all of them: $85 per person per hour, booked in blocks of at least four hours. Our crew lives in Las Vegas, so flights, rooms and travel fees never reach your bill. The 2027 edition runs May 3–5 at Mandalay Bay, with an education day on May 3 and the expo hall open May 4 and 5 only. The show returns every spring. Two hall days leave no time to warm up, so we rehearse with you while the classes run on day one. March bookings get the deepest bench; a short-notice crew is still possible if you call 72 hours ahead.
FF-01 | ShowHD Expo + Conference 2027, run by Emerald with Hospitality Design magazine |
|---|---|
FF-02 | DatesMay 3–5, 2027. Expo hall open Tuesday May 4 and Wednesday May 5 |
FF-03 | VenueMandalay Bay Convention Center, Las Vegas |
FF-04 | VisitorsHospitality designers, architects, purchasers, owners and brand teams |
FF-05 | Official scale500+ suppliers across 25+ product categories |
FF-06 | Our rate$85 per hour per person, 4-hour minimum, no travel fees |
Hosts and greeters from real Purple Exhibits booths, shown as spec sheets: the look, the job and where each one works best in a hospitality room set.
Two hosts in tailored blazers stand behind a white counter lined with product. Warm, composed and ready to hand a sample across the table.
Three hostesses in matching black suits and periwinkle scarves. A concierge-desk look that reads well in any lobby-style booth.
ST-01 · Booth rep with tablet (top of page). A booth rep in a crisp white shirt walks a visitor through a collection on a tablet, under woven pendants and rattan seating. Relaxed, informed and easy to talk to. That is the tone designers expect at HD Expo: quiet confidence, real product knowledge and a clear hand-off to your sales team.
Book HD Expo staffReal Purple Exhibits events.
Four outfits that suit a hospitality design floor. Match the crew to your palette, or give each job its own look.
An oatmeal or cream suit with a plain top. It sits quietly inside a room set and lets your fabrics and finishes lead.
Best for: Room sets, lighting zonesA black suit, white shirt and a scarf in your brand color. The classic front-desk look, sharp from the first hour.
Best for: Aisle welcome, meeting seatsA pressed white shirt with dark trousers and flat shoes. Practical for kneeling at a sample drawer all day.
Best for: Sample library, spec tableA simple floor-length or midi dress in one color from your palette. Right for a reveal, a press visit or a dinner.
Best for: Photo moments, eveningsShare your finish palette and any uniform pieces when you book. We agree hair, shoes and badge placement with each staffer, and pick soles that are quiet on a showroom floor and kind on long days.
Choose your product category, booth size and how many room sets you build. The schedule lists each role with an item tag and prices it at $85 per hour.
Six places that most furniture, lighting and finish booths at this show share, and who covers each one. Pick a spot to read the job.
Example 20×20 island, not to scale. Once you book, we mark positions like these on your own floor plan.
The vignette is your product as a finished room. A vignette host invites designers to sit, touch and open things, names the collection and keeps the bed, chairs and cushions styled between visits.
Fixtures look their best in a darker corner. A presenter switches scenes, explains the output and color temperature you approve, and never lets a visitor swap lamps on their own.
The greeter reads the badge and asks what the visitor is working on: a hotel, a restaurant, a cruise ship or a renovation. The answer decides who in the booth they meet next.
Hand samples sorted by collection. The library host logs every sample a designer asks for, with the project name, so your team can ship the right chips after the show.
A booth rep with a tablet notes project stage, quantities and timing for purchasers. Pricing and lead-time promises stay with your sales team.
Facilitated one-to-one meetings run on a schedule. A meeting host checks names against your list, seats the buyer and tells your sales lead who is waiting.
Brands that have booked Purple
For 2027 the organizer moved to a tighter schedule: the event runs May 3–5, but the expo hall opens on May 4 and 5 only. Here is how we use each day.
An expanded HD University, talks and networking before the hall opens. For your booth it is the quiet day: we walk the room set, sort the sample library and rehearse the pitch with your team.
Crew: rehearsal block, 4-hour minimumDesigners arrive with live projects and short lists. Vignette hosts invite them to sit, library hosts pull finishes, and reps log project stage and timing.
Crew: full shiftThe last chance to meet buyers who planned to come back. The sample log goes to your team before pack-down so follow-up starts the next morning.
Crew: full shift, then hand-overDates from the organizer’s July 2026 announcement. Hall hours for 2027 are not published yet; we set call times about an hour before doors once they are.
The organizer describes its audience as designers, architects, owners, purchasers and brand leaders working on hotels, restaurants, resorts and cruise ships. Each group wants something different, so the briefing changes for each. Booth reps work like our lead capture staff who qualify every badge, and presenters follow the same method as our product demonstrators for live showings.
They judge proportion, comfort and finish together. Let them sit, open drawers and see the fabric in the room light. Names of collections matter more than prices.
Often looking at code, durability and how pieces fit a floor plan. Staff hand over the spec sheet you approve and pass deeper questions to your specialist.
Quantities, lead times and contract data. A booth rep notes the project and timing, then books a call with your sales lead.
They want to know what a product does for a guestroom, lobby or restaurant. Short answers, a comfortable seat and a clear next step.
The organizer runs a hosted buyer program and, for 2027, facilitated one-to-one meetings. A meeting host keeps those times on track.
At a hospitality show, a sample is often the first step toward a specification. Our library hosts follow five steps so none of those requests get lost.
Seven jobs we fill again and again for hospitality brands, with headcount guidance and the date to lock each one in.
| Role | What they do at HD Expo | How many | Book by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vignette host | Welcomes designers into the room set, names the collection, keeps it styled | One per room setting | Early March |
| Sample library host | Finds finishes by collection, logs each sample request with the project name | One per library wall | Early March |
| Lighting presenter | Runs scene changes in the dim zone and explains approved fixture specs | One per lighting zone | Mid-March |
| Booth rep | Notes project stage, quantities and timing on a tablet, scans badges | One per spec table | Mid-March |
| Meeting host | Keeps the facilitated meeting list, seats buyers, alerts your sales lead | One for 10+ meetings a day | Late March |
| Aisle greeter | Reads badges and routes designers, purchasers and owners to the right person | One for 20×20 and up | Late March |
| Trade show model | Poses in the vignette for your photographer and press visits | One per photo block | Early April |
What hospitality exhibitors ask us for, all billed at the one flat hourly rate of $85 a head. The same people work every major hall in town; see our Las Vegas trade show models and booth staff overview for the full local picture.
Models sit or stand in your vignette for your photographer, press and social team, so the room photographs as a lived-in space.
Hosts invite designers into the room, name each piece and its collection, and reset cushions, bedding and accessories between visitors.
In a dimmed zone, presenters change scenes and describe the output and color temperature you have approved, word for word.
Hosts find finishes by collection, record each request with the project name and keep the wall stocked.
Reps scan badges and capture project stage, quantities and timing, so sales calls start with facts.
For facilitated meetings and hosted buyers: names on a list, a seat ready and a quiet word to your sales lead.
Ambassadors work the aisle edge with a lookbook card and invite designers who slow down at the room set.
Useful with buyers from Mexico and Latin America, who the organizer is working to attract. Ask for Spanish and we confirm who is free.
Calm, well dressed and fluent in your collection. These five roles cover most furniture, lighting and finish booths at HD Expo.
Presenters with a headset mic who walk a small group through a new lighting or furniture collection.
Ambassadors who scan a designer’s badge at the aisle and note the project they are working on.
Hosts at a finish and material station who pull swatches by collection and log every request.
Hostesses who greet buyers in a client lounge and keep booked meetings running on time.
Reps with a tablet who talk project stage, quantities and timing with a hospitality buyer.
Send the collection briefNames, approved specs and the sample list.
Dress the room before doorsVignette styled, library sorted, scripts rehearsed.
Every request loggedBadge, project and samples handed to your team.
From February to late April, one step at a time. Tick items off as you go; this browser keeps your progress.
The hall sits inside the Mandalay Bay complex at the south end of the Strip. Our Mandalay Bay Convention Center venue guide covers docks, freight and labor, and the HD Expo 2027 exhibitor guide lists booth sizes, costs and deadlines. Interiors brands often book the same local crew for IBS + KBIS booth staff in February, and a few weeks after HD Expo the same halls host Licensing Expo staffing.
Rehearsal at the booth while the education day runs. Room styled, library sorted, scripts checked.
Full crews in the Mandalay Bay Convention Center halls, plus hosts for suite meetings nearby.
Design firm dinners and receptions along the Strip and across Las Vegas.
Sample crews for different booth types across the two hall days, at the flat hourly rate.
| Booth | Typical crew per shift | People | Per day | Whole show |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10×10 with one room corner | A vignette host and a booth rep | 2 | $1,360 | $2,720 |
| 10×20 room setting | A vignette host, a library host and a rep | 3 | $2,040 | $4,080 |
| 20×20 island | Vignette host, library host, rep and greeter | 4 | $2,720 | $5,440 |
| 20×20 lighting brand | Lighting presenter, library host, rep and greeter | 4 | $2,720 | $5,440 |
| 20×30 with buyer meetings | Two vignette hosts, library host, rep, meeting host and greeter | 6 | $4,080 | $8,160 |
| Evening event only | Two hosts for a reception or dinner (4-hour minimum, one night) | 2 | $1,360 | $2,720 |
8-hour days × 2 show days × $85 per person per hour. No travel, hotel or agency markup.
A 20×20 island with a guestroom vignette, a sample wall and a spec table runs on four people per shift: a vignette host, a library host, a rep and a greeter. Here a local Las Vegas crew is set against flying the same four in from home.
| HD Expo 20×20, two hall days | Cost |
|---|---|
| Purple local staff | |
| Travel, hotel, per-diem | $0 |
| Your HD Expo total |
| Typical fly-in agency, same team | Cost |
|---|---|
| Staff hours at $85 | |
| Round-trip flights ~$360 each | |
| Hotel early-May Strip rates · ~$270/night | |
| Per-diem ~$89/day | |
| Fly-in total |
How the choices stack up for HD Expo exhibitors, row by row.
| Purple local crew | Fly-in staffing agency | General temp agency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly rate | $85 per person, every role | Agency rate plus travel markup | Low hourly, untrained for booths |
| Getting staff here | They commute in | Flights (~$360) and hotel nights (~$270) | Local, but unscreened |
| HD Expo venue know-how | Works these halls all year | Learns the venue on show day | Hit or miss |
| The HD Expo edge | Vignette styled, library sorted, scripts rehearsed. | Not local | Not specialised |
| Product briefing | Included before day one | Varies by agency | Rarely |
| Scanner and follow-up | Notes in the scanner for sales | Depends on the team | Untrained |
| No-show plan | Briefed local within two hours | Usually none mid-show | Next available temp |
Fly-in costs use the same typical HD Expo rates as the budget above. Other agencies’ pricing varies.
Short form, no payment needed to get a price.
We’ll email your quote within 24 hours, usually much sooner. Need it now? Call (800) 994-8030.
Prefer the phone? Dial (800) 994-8030 and mention HD Expo.
Every staffer is $85 an hour, booked for at least four hours. There is no premium for presenters or models. Because the people live in Las Vegas, your invoice shows hours only: no airfare, rooms or travel fees.
HD Expo + Conference 2027 runs May 3–5, 2027, at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. May 3 is an education day, and the expo hall is open on May 4 and 5 only. The show is held every spring.
HD Expo + Conference is run by Emerald together with Hospitality Design magazine. It brings hospitality designers, architects, purchasers, owners and brand teams together with product suppliers.
Count one host for each room setting, one for the sample wall and one rep for each spec table. Islands of 20×20 or more usually add a greeter, and ten or more booked meetings a day justify a dedicated meeting host. The crew schedule tool above does the arithmetic.
Yes. Staff learn collection names, materials and the specs you approve before the show, then introduce each piece in a sentence or two. Technical and pricing questions go to your own team.
Yes. A library host files your swatches by collection, records each request with the badge and project name, and hands you the full log at the end of the show.
Yes. A meeting host keeps your schedule, greets each buyer by name, seats them and lets your sales lead know who is waiting.
Yes, each staffer needs an exhibitor badge registered under your company. We give you the names weeks ahead so badges are waiting before the hall opens on May 4.
Aim for March, when the full roster is open. Later requests are fine too, and we can still put a team together on 72 hours’ notice.
Standby people are on call in town on May 4 and 5. A replacement who has already studied your brief reaches the booth within two hours, or you are not charged for that shift.
No. Exhibitors hire us on their own; the show does not appoint us. Purple Exhibits has no tie to HD Expo, Emerald or Hospitality Design magazine.
Ring (800) 994-8030 or fill in the request form above. Our people are based in Las Vegas and get to Mandalay Bay without any travel line on the bill.
Yes. A single hall day, one photo session or a single evening all work. The only rule is four hours per person at $85 an hour.
Models cost the same as any other staffer: $85 an hour. An eight-hour hall day comes to $680 per model, and travel is never added.
Yes. Purple designs and builds exhibits for furniture, lighting and finish brands, room vignettes and sample walls included, so the booth and the people come from one team.
Hospitality is a relationship business, and much of it happens after five. Same rate, same briefing.
Greeting, seating and a gift for each guest from a design studio.
We send: HostessesA private look at a new collection for brand teams and owners.
We send: Meeting hosts, booth repsA launch moment for press and specifiers.
We send: Models, product presentersCheck-in and seating for a talk or breakfast you host.
We send: Registration staffNames at the door, coats taken, a photo backdrop.
We send: Ambassadors and door hostsStaffing by show
Las Vegas and this show
Staffing by role
Purple Exhibits is an independent exhibit and staffing company. We staff exhibitors at HD Expo + Conference; we are not affiliated with Emerald or Hospitality Design magazine. Show names belong to their owners.
Send the floor plan and the collections you are bringing, and get a crew price back within a day.
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