Black Hat booth staff and trade show models for the 2027 show at Mandalay Bay: product presenters, lead reps who ask before they scan, meeting hosts and challenge station hosts. Hired locally at $85 an hour.
Sources: blackhat.com upcoming events page (2027 dates and venue), Black Hat press release of August 11, 2026 (attendance) and the Black Hat USA 2026 Business Hall page (exhibitors). The $85 hourly rate is set by Purple Exhibits.
Black Hat USA booth staff have one job that matters more than any other: earn the trust of a crowd that hates being sold to. Purple Exhibits books product presenters, lead capture reps, challenge station hosts, meeting hosts and trade show models for Black Hat exhibitors. Every person is $85 an hour, with a four-hour minimum per shift. Our crews already live in Las Vegas, so you never pay for their flights or hotel rooms. Black Hat USA 2027 runs July 31 to August 5 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Trainings fill the early days; the Business Hall opens later in the week, and we schedule your crew around its posted hours. Six weeks of lead time is ideal. We can still fill a rush order on 72 hours’ notice.
A security crowd trusts staff who look put together and talk like people, not brochures. These photos come from real Purple Exhibits jobs and show the standard we hold a Black Hat crew to.
Six ambassadors in matching black tees, each with a job: headphones for a listening demo, a tablet for sign-ups. One uniform, clear roles.
Real Purple Exhibits events.
Most Black Hat booths dress down on purpose, but down still has to look deliberate. Pick one look for everyone or mix by zone. You send branded pieces; we collect sizes and check every person before the shift.
Fitted black tees or long sleeves in your logo with black trousers. The default at Black Hat, and it reads as part of the community.
best for: Demo pods, challenge stationA logo polo in your brand color, dark trousers and a lanyard with a visible name, so visitors know who to ask.
best for: Scan desk, aisle greetingA charcoal or black blazer over a plain top for meetings with security leaders and press.
best for: Meeting pods, suitesSimple black dresses and dark suits for receptions and customer dinners once the hall is closed.
best for: Receptions, dinnersBlack Hat runs six days, but the Business Hall is open for only part of them. Choose your stations and the blocks you want covered. The crew changes with the traffic.
The 2027 program runs July 31 to August 5. Below is how the 2026 hall was laid out, which is the best guide until Black Hat posts the 2027 hours.
Courses run while the hall is closed. Use these days for booth build, rehearsals and staff briefings.
Setup + rehearsal crewIn 2026 the Business Hall opened with a 4–7 PM welcome reception. Short, crowded and social: greeters and presenters, not a full crew.
4-hour minimum appliesIn 2026 this ran 9 AM to 6 PM, with a one-hour booth crawl late in the day. Plan relief breaks and two lead reps.
Full crew + reliefIn 2026 the hall closed at 4 PM. Traffic thins after lunch, so a smaller crew can finish the day.
Trimmed crew2026 hours from the Black Hat USA 2026 Business Hall page. Dock times, labor and freight are covered in our Black Hat USA 2027 exhibitor guide.
The eight roles exhibitors ask us for most when they plan Black Hat 2027 staffing. All of them cost the same $85 per person per hour.
Camera-ready models open conversations at the aisle and bring people to the station that fits what they work on.
Ambassadors in your colors greet, ask a simple opening question and know the booth map by heart.
For a product launch or a photo moment, promotional models stand with the reveal and keep the crowd organized.
Hostesses look after meeting pods and suites: names, water, timing and a friendly walk to the right room.
Presenters learn a two-minute tour of your platform and repeat it accurately, then pass the deep questions to your engineers.
Check-in staff manage guest lists for briefings, customer dinners and private sessions during the week.
Reps ask before scanning, log your qualifying questions and offer a QR code to visitors who prefer not to be scanned.
Hosts run your puzzle or capture-the-flag style demo, reset machines and keep the leaderboard moving.
Also exhibiting at a physical security show? See our ISC West booth staff page. Tech brands that start the year in Las Vegas can book CES trade show models from the same local team.
An example 30×30 with demo pods, a small theater, a challenge station and a meeting pod. Tap a zone to read what the person there does.
Example 30×30 layout, not to scale. We mark up your real floor plan the same way before the show.
Two or three screens running your console. A presenter gives a short, honest walk-through and hands any deep question about detections or integrations to your engineer at the next pod.
A small seated stage for 15-minute talks. A host fills the seats before each session, holds the clicker for your speaker and invites the audience to the scan desk afterward.
A capture-the-flag style puzzle draws practitioners who would ignore a sales pitch. The demo host explains the rules, resets the machines between players and keeps the scoreboard current.
Badges are scanned here, and only after the visitor says yes. The rep asks two of your questions, adds a short note and offers a QR code to anyone who would rather not be scanned.
Pre-booked conversations with security leaders. A meeting host checks the calendar, greets each guest by name, offers water and keeps sessions on time so the next one starts as planned.
A greeter stands where two aisles meet, asks what each visitor is working on and points them to the right pod, the theater or the challenge.
Brands that have booked Purple
Who works where on a cybersecurity booth, how many you need and when to confirm them.
| Role | What they do at Black Hat USA | How many | Book by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product presenter | Runs a short, accurate tour of your console or dashboard and passes hard technical questions to your engineers | One per demo pod | 6 weeks out |
| Challenge station host | Explains the puzzle, resets machines between players and keeps the leaderboard up to date | One per station, two if it is busy | 6 weeks out |
| Theater host | Fills seats before each talk, runs the clicker and points the audience to the scan desk after | One per stage | 5 weeks out |
| Lead capture rep | Asks before scanning, logs your questions and offers a QR code to visitors who prefer it | One or two per booth | 5 weeks out |
| Meeting host | Greets booked guests, keeps the meeting calendar on time and walks guests to suites | One per meeting area | 4 weeks out |
| Brand ambassador and greeter | Starts conversations at the aisle and sends people to the right station | One per open side | 4 weeks out |
Five roles exhibitors book most for Black Hat USA, each one briefed on your product and your scan rule before the hall opens.
Presenters who walk visitors through your threat dashboard in plain words, then bring in your engineer.
Ambassadors who ask before they scan a badge and log a short, useful note.
Hosts who run your capture-the-flag style station, reset it and keep the board current.
Hostesses who greet booked guests at your executive briefing suite and keep the schedule.
Reps with a tablet who talk shop with security leaders and book the follow-up meeting.
Share your stationsPods, theater, challenge, meetings.
We brief and rehearseScripts and the scan rule, with your team.
Leads with notesAsked first, logged clearly.
Black Hat visitors know exactly what a badge scan shares. Reps who ask politely and accept a no keep your booth’s reputation intact and still collect good leads.
A capture-the-flag style challenge or a timed puzzle brings practitioners to your booth on their own terms. It only works with a host who runs it.
Many exhibitors spend the week in sessions with security leaders. A dedicated meeting host keeps the schedule and makes every guest feel expected.
The meeting host holds your schedule and knows who is next, where they sit and who on your team runs the session.
Booked guests are met at the booth edge, offered water and seated, so they never stand in the aisle waiting.
A quiet five-minute signal to your team keeps one meeting from eating the next.
Visitors who ask for a meeting on the spot get a slot on the calendar, not a vague promise.
Work down the list in the weeks before the show. Your ticks are saved in this browser.
Your crew can cover more than the hall. These are the places Black Hat exhibitors usually need people during the week.
Planning the booth itself? Our Mandalay Bay Convention Center guide covers halls, docks and labor, and the Black Hat USA 2027 exhibitor guide walks through deadlines for the show. For every other venue in town, see Las Vegas trade show staffing.
Sample crews by booth size at $85 per person per hour. Use the shift scheduler above to add the opening reception or a rehearsal.
| Booth | Typical crew per shift | People | Per day | Whole show |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10×10 startup booth | One presenter and one lead rep | 2 | $1,360 | $2,720 |
| 10×20 | A demo presenter, a lead rep and a greeter | 3 | $2,040 | $4,080 |
| 20×20 | Two presenters, a lead rep and a greeter | 4 | $2,720 | $5,440 |
| 20×30 with a theater | 2 presenters, a theater host, a lead rep and a greeter | 5 | $3,400 | $6,800 |
| 30×30 with a challenge | 2 presenters, theater host, challenge host, 2 lead reps, meeting host, greeter | 8 | $5,440 | $10,880 |
| Meeting suite only | A meeting host and a check-in host | 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 with two demo pods needs four people per shift: two presenters, a lead rep and a greeter. Compare that crew hired in Las Vegas with the same four flown in.
| Black Hat 20×20, two hall days | Cost |
|---|---|
| Purple local staff | |
| Travel, hotel, per-diem | $0 |
| Your Black Hat total |
| Typical fly-in agency, same team | Cost |
|---|---|
| Staff hours at $85 | |
| Round-trip flights ~$380 each | |
| Hotel Black Hat week rates · ~$280/night | |
| Per-diem ~$89/day | |
| Fly-in total |
What each option really costs and delivers at a Black Hat USA show.
| Purple local crew | Fly-in staffing agency | General temp agency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price per staffer | $85 an hour in Black Hat | Higher once travel is added | Lowest rate, highest risk |
| Flights and rooms | None. Black Hat is home | ~$380 airfare and ~$280 a night, each | None |
| Knows Black Hat venues | Local crew, every season | Usually first time in town | Sometimes |
| The Black Hat edge | Scripts and the scan rule, with your team. | Not local | Not specialised |
| Knows your pitch | Learns your three key points | Generic script | Not their job |
| Qualified leads | Asks your questions, tags hot or warm | Basic scanning | Badge scans at best |
| If someone cancels | Replacement in 2 hours, or the shift is free | Hard to replace from out of town | Whoever is free |
Fly-in costs use the same typical Black Hat rates as the budget above. Other agencies’ pricing varies.
About three minutes. No deposit needed to ask.
We’ll email your quote within 24 hours, usually much sooner. Need it now? Call (800) 994-8030.
A rehearsed claim that falls apart under one question loses the visitor and their whole team. Script it honestly and hand off early.
A badge scanned without consent creates a bad first impression at a show full of privacy-minded people. Ask every time.
The opening reception is short. Staff it with greeters and presenters and save the full crew for the busy day.
A puzzle with no host turns into a line with no end. One host resets, explains and keeps it moving.
Black Hat posts hall hours closer to the show. Hold your dates now and set exact shifts when the 2027 hours appear.
Call (800) 994-8030 and ask for Black Hat USA staffing.
$85 per person per hour for every role, with a four-hour minimum per shift. Presenters, lead reps, challenge hosts, meeting hosts and trade show models all bill at that rate. Our staff are based in Las Vegas, so you pay no travel fees.
July 31 to August 5, 2027, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas. Trainings come first; the Business Hall opens later in the week. Black Hat posts the exact hall hours closer to the show, and we set shifts around them.
In 2026 the hall opened with a welcome reception from 4 to 7 PM, then ran 9 AM to 6 PM on the next day and 9 AM to 4 PM on the last day. Treat that as a guide only until the 2027 hours are posted.
Yes, at the right depth. Presenters learn a short, accurate tour and stop at the point where an engineer should take over. Your team answers the deep technical questions.
Yes. A challenge host explains the rules, resets machines between players, keeps the leaderboard current and sends finishers to your scan desk or a presenter.
They ask before every scan and accept a no. Visitors who decline get a QR code or a card instead. Each scan gets a short note built from two questions you approve.
Start with your stations: one presenter per demo pod, a host for a theater or challenge, a lead rep and a greeter. A 20×20 usually needs four people. The shift scheduler on this page works it out by hall block.
About six weeks before the show is best, so we can match staff to your product and rehearse. We take rush bookings with 72 hours’ notice, but the choice of staff is smaller.
Yes. Book only the busiest hall day, only the opening reception or only a launch. Each person has a four-hour minimum per shift.
Yes. Meeting hosts, hostesses and check-in staff cover suites, private briefings, dinners and evening events during the week.
From us. Our Black Hat crews live in Las Vegas and report to the Mandalay Bay Convention Center without any travel costs on your invoice. The same people can work suites at the resort and dinners on the Strip.
We keep standby staff in Las Vegas during show week. A briefed replacement reaches Mandalay Bay within two hours. If we miss that, the shift is free.
Yes. Anyone who works your private briefings or sees unreleased features signs your NDA before the show.
No. Purple Exhibits is an independent company hired directly by exhibitors. We are not affiliated with Black Hat or Informa.
Yes. We design, build and install exhibits in Las Vegas, including demo pods, mini theaters and meeting areas, and staff them as one plan.
A lot of business happens in suites, restaurants and lounges around the Business Hall. We staff those rooms as well.
Name checks, seating and timing for meetings with security leaders.
We send: Meeting hosts, hostessesArrivals, seating plans and small gifts for invited guests.
We send: Hostesses, greetersGuest list checks and sign-in before a closed session.
We send: Check-in hostsGuest lists, wristbands and a smooth door.
We send: Brand ambassadors, door hostsSeating, timing and handouts for a product reveal.
We send: Promotional models, presentersStaffing by show
Las Vegas and this show
Purple Exhibits is an independent exhibit and staffing company. We staff exhibitors at Black Hat USA; we are not affiliated with Black Hat or Informa. Show names belong to their owners.
Send your stations and hall blocks. We price your Black Hat crew within one business day.
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