Booth reps in Chicago
Business-dress reps who greet clinicians and buyers at RSNA and the big B2B shows, then hand off qualified conversations.
RSNAIMTSProMat
Booth reps, brand ambassadors and models who live in Chicago and work the biggest convention campus in North America every season. They know which hall RSNA fills, what the union lets them touch, and which train gets them there before the doors. Flat $85 an hour. Nothing added for travel.
On the floor at RSNA 2025Booth representatives for Collective Minds, South Building
Brands that have booked Purple
McCormick’s big shows are medical, food and manufacturing. Each needs a different kind of person in the aisle.
Business-dress reps who greet clinicians and buyers at RSNA and the big B2B shows, then hand off qualified conversations.
Specialists who learn your demo and walk visitors through it, so your engineers only meet serious buyers.
Striking, articulate models for industrial and auto booths who turn a 40-foot aisle into a stop.
Ambassadors who keep energy high through a long McCormick day and know the union line by heart.
Hosts for Hyatt Regency suites and West Loop dinners, where RSNA and Restaurant Show deals close.
Name the show and hallSouth, North, West or Lakeside. We know the difference.
We match a Chicago crewUnion-briefed locals who ride Metra to the Grand Concourse.
They arrive briefedYour product, your look, your lead questions. Day one ready.
McCormick Place is the largest convention center in North America, with 2.6 million square feet across four buildings, and Purple Exhibits staffs it from a local roster: trade show models, brand ambassadors, sales reps and demonstrators at a flat $85 per hour, per person. No flights, no Loop hotel bills. Chicago is a union city, so we also tell you up front what booth staff can and can’t do on the floor. Book 4–6 weeks ahead for RSNA, the Restaurant Show and IMTS; rush requests in 72 hours.
Chicago fact sheet
| Rate | $85 per hour, per person, every role |
|---|---|
| Travel fees | None. Talent live in Cook and DuPage counties |
| Main venues | McCormick Place (South, North, West, Lakeside Center), Wintrust Arena, Navy Pier, Donald E. Stephens (Rosemont) |
| Peak weeks | RSNA (Dec), Restaurant Show (May), IMTS (Sep, even years), Chicago Auto Show (Feb) |
| Book ahead | 4–6 wks for RSNA/Restaurant Show/IMTS · 3 wks otherwise · rush 72 hrs |
| Languages | Spanish and Polish available; Mandarin, Hindi on request |
| Getting there | Metra Electric to McCormick Place · CTA Green Line to Cermak–McCormick Place |
| Winter shows | RSNA and the Auto Show: coat check, indoor shoes, outdoor layer |
Four exhibit buildings, two hotels and an arena, stitched together by the Grand Concourse. Tap a building to see what it’s like to staff.
Hall A, about 840,000 sq ft, the largest single exhibit hall on campus. RSNA, the Restaurant Show and IMTS live here. Rows are long; we station staff by aisle block.
Schematic, not to scale. Hall letters as used by show organisers.McCormick hosts the giants, but plenty of Chicago business happens elsewhere. Our Chicago crew works all of it at the same $85 rate.
Association conferences, sales kickoffs and medical meetings with a small expo floor.
We send: Registration hosts, lead qualifiers, presentersConsumer shows, galas and receptions with lake views.
We send: Brand ambassadors, hostesses, crowd staffRegional trade shows and company conferences near O’Hare.
We send: Booth staff from the northwest suburbsStreet teams, product sampling and pop-up launches.
We send: Brand ambassadors, sampling teamsClient dinners, launch parties and incentive nights.
We send: Event hostesses, greeters, emceesChicago’s show floors run on union labor for anything structural. Our teams are briefed on the line before day one, so nobody triggers a labor call or an invoice.
Rules vary by show and contractor. We confirm the exhibitor manual for your show before we brief the team.
Out-of-town staff take cabs from Loop hotels and sit in the RSNA queue. Ours ride the train they ride every week.
McCormick Place station sits under the Grand Concourse. About 10 minutes from Millennium Station downtown; our Loop-based staff ride it.
Cermak–McCormick Place station, a 10-minute walk via the West Building. Used by staff from Bronzeville and the South Side.
Bus stops on Martin Luther King Dr. right outside. Reliable backup when Metra runs a Sunday schedule.
Parking and the rideshare zone fill early on RSNA days. We call staff an hour before doors so traffic never decides your opening.
McCormick’s biggest shows are medical, food and manufacturing. Each needs a different kind of person in the aisle.
Booth reps who can say “PACS”, “DICOM” and “workflow” without stumbling, in business dress.
Food-handler-trained sampling teams who keep a line moving and a tray full.
Lead qualifiers who ask about line speed and floor space before handing a buyer to your engineer.
McCormick never really closes. Here is how the year breaks down, with the dates that matter for booking. Confirm exact dates with each organiser.
Wind off the lake, salt on the boots, coat check at every hall.
The city’s busiest stretch. Housewares, logistics, then the Restaurant Show takes over.
Lakefront season. Food science and specialty meetings; rooftop receptions.
Manufacturing heavyweights alternate by year.
| Dates | Show | Venue | Best staff mix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2026 | PACK EXPO International | McCormick Place | Product specialists |
| Nov 29–Dec 3, 2026 | RSNA · staffed | McCormick Place | Booth reps + presenters |
| Feb 2027 | Chicago Auto Show | McCormick Place | Models + presenters |
| Feb 2027 | Midwinter Dental Meeting | McCormick Place West | Product specialists |
| Mar 2027 | Inspired Home Show | McCormick Place | Brand ambassadors |
| Mar 2027 | ProMat | McCormick Place | Lead qualifiers |
| Apr 2027 | C2E2 | McCormick Place | Hostesses + crowd staff |
| May 2027 | National Restaurant Association Show | McCormick Place | Sampling staff + specialists |
| May 2027 | Sweets & Snacks Expo (Chicago years) | McCormick Place | Sampling staff |
| Jul 2027 | IFT First | McCormick Place | Product specialists |
| Sep 2027 | FABTECH (Chicago years) | McCormick Place | Product specialists |
| Sep 2027 | Printing United (select years) | McCormick Place | Lead qualifiers |
| Nov 2027 | ISSA Show (select years) | McCormick Place | Brand ambassadors |
| Nov 28–Dec 2, 2027 | RSNA | McCormick Place | Booth reps + presenters |
A 10×20 at RSNA runs five show days. Three people on the floor, eight hours each, covers the aisle and two demo stations. Move the sliders to match your show; the fly-in column uses typical RSNA-week rates.
| RSNA, 10×20 in the South Building | Cost |
|---|---|
| Purple local staff | |
| Travel, hotel, per-diem | $0 |
| Your Chicago total |
| Typical fly-in agency, same team | Cost |
|---|---|
| Staff hours at $85 | |
| Round-trip flights ~$450 each | |
| Hotel Loop hotel, RSNA week · ~$420/night | |
| Per-diem ~$80/day | |
| Fly-in total |
What each option really costs and delivers at a Chicago show.
| Purple local crew | Fly-in staffing agency | General temp agency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price per staffer | $85 an hour in Chicago | Higher once travel is added | Lowest rate, highest risk |
| Flights and rooms | None. Chicago is home | ~$450 airfare and ~$420 a night, each | None |
| Knows Chicago venues | Local crew, every season | Usually first time in town | Sometimes |
| The Chicago edge | Union-briefed locals who ride Metra to the Grand Concourse. | 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 |
Fly-in costs use the same typical Chicago rates as the budget above. Other agencies’ pricing varies.
Chicago is a union city. Booth staff can greet, scan, demonstrate and hand out product; they cannot touch the booth structure or plug in equipment. We brief every team so nobody triggers a labor call.
Loop hotels during RSNA and the Restaurant Show run $400 a night. Out-of-town agencies pass that on. Our talent live here.
South Building Hall A is a quarter mile end to end, and Lakeside Center is a 15-minute walk from the Grand Concourse. Book staff by building.
RSNA brings 40,000 attendees the week after Thanksgiving and local talent is booked by early November. Reserve 6 weeks ahead.
February and December shows mean snow, wind and salt. We brief uniforms with an outdoor layer for the walk from the Metra or rideshare drop.
Medical and foodservice deals close at the Hyatt Regency McCormick or over West Loop dinners. Brief hostesses for the suite as well as the booth.
From the South Side to the North Shore, everyone on a Chicago booking is within an hour of the Grand Concourse by train.
After the floor closes
Restaurant Row on Randolph. Where RSNA and Restaurant Show dinners happen; book rooms by October.
Steakhouses and hotel bars near the Mag Mile. Good for sales-team dinners.
Ten minutes from the halls. Easy for a same-night reception after a long floor day.
Three minutes. No deposit, no commitment.
We’ll email your quote within 24 hours, usually much sooner. Need it now? Call (800) 994-8030.
Call (800) 994-8030 and ask for the Chicago coordinator.
$85 an hour per person, with a 4-hour minimum, whether you book a model, a brand ambassador or a booth rep. Because the team lives in Chicago, there is no airfare, no Loop hotel and no per-diem on the invoice.
Yes. RSNA is our biggest Chicago week; we staffed the Collective Minds booth at RSNA 2025. Reps get a pre-show briefing on your modality and software, and we reserve the team six weeks out because local talent is fully booked by mid-November.
They can greet, qualify, scan badges, demonstrate hand-held product, sample and host. They cannot build, move or dismantle the booth, hang graphics, run power or unpack freight; those tasks belong to union crews, which our exhibit team schedules for you.
RSNA, the National Restaurant Association Show, IMTS, PACK EXPO International, FABTECH, ProMat, the Inspired Home Show, Sweets & Snacks, IFT First, the Chicago Auto Show, the Midwinter Dental Meeting, C2E2 and the ISSA Show, plus meetings at Navy Pier and the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont.
Most ride the Metra Electric to the McCormick Place station under the Grand Concourse or take the CTA Green Line to Cermak–McCormick Place. Call times are set an hour before doors so that Lake Shore Drive traffic never delays your opening.
Plan on three at a time: one in the aisle, two inside. Hall A rows are long and traffic clusters near the entrances, so a dedicated aisle greeter pays for itself. Split the day into two 4-hour shifts to keep energy up.
Your booth uniform on the floor, plus a dark outdoor coat for the walk in. For RSNA and the Auto Show we tell staff to bring indoor shoes and use the coat check, so no one works the booth in salt-stained boots.
Yes. We staff receptions and consumer shows at Navy Pier and trade shows at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center near O’Hare, using staff who live on the North Side and in the northwest suburbs.
Spanish and Polish speakers are available for most dates. For IMTS and RSNA, with their international buyers, we can also source Mandarin, Hindi and German speakers if you ask three weeks ahead.
Our Chicago coordinator sends a briefed replacement within two hours, and if we can’t, that shift costs nothing. Teams of four or more get a working lead who covers breaks and backups.
Yes. We design, build and install exhibits at McCormick Place and coordinate the union install crew, so the structure, the graphics and the people come from one contract.
Send the show, the hall and the dates. A Chicago price within 24 hours.
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