North Carolina is a right-to-work state. Shows here commonly use Hollins Exposition Services, a Greensboro contractor, and its kits do not require union labor for your booth.
Exhibitor guide · Greensboro, NC · Updated
Koury Convention Center Exhibitor Guide
The Joseph S. Koury Convention Center sits under the Sheraton Greensboro at Four Seasons, so your booth, your bed and your breakfast are in one building with free parking outside. The exhibit floor is a hotel floor: a 40,000 sq ft, 32 ft high Guilford Ballroom, a loading dock on Pinecroft Road and a local contractor's warehouse across town. Here is how freight, labor and the rooms work.
- 3,000+ exhibitors served
- 10,000+ booths built
- 2 days to a design brief
Photo: Center City Park in downtown Greensboro, about 4 miles from the Koury Convention Center. “Center City Park - Greensboro, NC” by ballancio, CC BY 2.0. Source
Quick answers
What exhibitors ask about the Koury Convention Center
Hollins' 2025 kit for a convention at the Sheraton lets bona fide full-time employees install and dismantle. An outside display house needs written notice 30 days before move-in.
Advance freight goes to the Hollins warehouse at 121 N Chimney Rock Rd. The Sheraton is not obliged to take it, and freight it does receive is billed at drayage plus a handling fee.
Only the Guilford Ballroom reaches 32 ft. The Imperial Ballroom is 18 ft, the Victoria Ballroom 13 ft and most meeting rooms 11 ft, so check which room your show booked.
Photos: "Charlie Brouwer Rise Together Greensboro sculpture National Folk Festival Greensboro NC 154258383" by bobistraveling, CC BY 2.0 Source · "cornhole" by mcoulspub, CC BY-SA 2.0 Source · "Because we are always searching for good beer & a good patio in downtown Greensboro #soGSO" by cethomp2, CC BY 2.0 Source
Only at the Koury Convention Center
Shipping to the Koury Convention Center: contractor warehouse or hotel dock?
Because the convention center is part of a hotel, two different systems receive boxes here, and they are priced very differently. Exhibit freight goes through the show's contractor; the hotel's package room is for guests and meeting attendees. These are the published numbers, so you can see what a mis-routed box costs.
| Route | What it costs and when it works |
|---|---|
| Hollins advance warehouse · 121 N Chimney Rock Rd, Greensboro | $80 per 100 lbs for crated freight in Hollins' 2025 kit for a convention at the Sheraton, with 30 days of storage, delivery to your booth and empty-crate handling included. Deadline was four days before move-in |
| Direct to show site · c/o Hollins at the Sheraton | $90 per 100 lbs, and only from the first move-in day. The kit is blunt: the show site has no provisions to accept shipments before exhibitor set-up |
| Van line and uncrated freight | $90 to $100 per 100 lbs in the same kit, the top rate for pad-wrapped or uncrated pieces |
| 200 lb minimum, per shipment | Two 75 lb boxes arriving separately are billed as two 200 lb minimums; arriving together, as one |
| Small packages through Hollins | $60 for the first carton and $45 for each additional one, up to 50 lbs per shipment |
| Late shipments | Plus 25 percent once the show opens |
| Hotel package room (guests and attendees) | The hotel's own sheet charged by the piece: $6 for 1–10 lbs, $15 for 31–50 lbs, $40 for 76–100 lbs, 50 cents a pound above that and $75 a pallet, with three days of storage included |
| Exhibit freight sent to the Sheraton anyway | The hotel is not obliged to receive it. If it does, the freight is handed to Hollins at the drayage rate plus an extra handling fee |
Sources: Hollins Exposition Services official service contractor kit, Mennonite Church USA Convention, Sheraton Four Seasons, July 2025; Joseph S. Koury Convention Center / Sheraton Greensboro package handling sheet (2020). Your show may use a different contractor or newer rates; your exhibitor kit is the final word.
Where to stay & getting there
Hotels near the Koury Convention Center
Same building
Sheraton Greensboro at Four Seasons
985 guest rooms stacked over and around the convention center, with Joseph's Restaurant, the Skylight Café and Café Espresso downstairs. Your show's room block is usually here.
Next door
Four Seasons Town Centre
Greensboro's first enclosed mall, opened in 1974 by the same Koury family company, adjoins the complex: an easy lunch or a forgotten-shirt run.
Sister resort
Grandover Resort
Visit Greensboro lists golf and spa services for Sheraton guests at its sister property, the Grandover Resort. Ask the hotel about transport.
About 4 mi
Downtown Greensboro
Downtown is about 4 miles away and the Greensboro Coliseum about 1.5 miles. The complex sits off I-40 at the Gate City Blvd and Koury Blvd exits.
About 12 mi
Piedmont Triad International (GSO)
The closest airport, about 12 miles from the hotel. Free on-site parking (about 2,200 spaces) makes a rental car painless.
Ballrooms & exhibit space
Koury Convention Center floor plan: Guilford, Imperial and Victoria ballrooms
There is no separate exhibit hall here. Trade shows run in the hotel's ballrooms and the wide prefunction corridors around them, and the hotel's own capacity chart lists about 250,000 sq ft in 90 event rooms. Tap a room for its size and ceiling.
Schematic. Widths are proportional to floor area, not an architectural plan, and the rooms are not side by side. Room data from the Sheraton Greensboro capacity chart; ask the hotel's convention services team for the current floor plan.
Guilford Ballroom
- 40,000 sq ft
- 200′ × 200′
- 32 ft ceiling
The biggest room in the building and the usual home of a large expo floor. It seats 6,000 theater-style or 2,800 at banquet and divides into sections, Guilford A to G, listed at 4,500 sq ft each with the same 32 ft ceiling.
Imperial Ballroom
- 16,500 sq ft
- 165′ × 100′
- 18 ft ceiling
Splits into sections A to H. It holds 1,900 theater-style or 1,000 at banquet, a good size for a second exhibit room or a general session beside a Guilford show floor.
Victoria Ballroom
- 7,230 sq ft
- 96′ × 75′
- 13 ft ceiling
660 theater-style or 460 at banquet, with its own 10,000 sq ft prefunction space. At 13 ft, tall towers and hanging signs are out; plan a low profile.
Colony and Grandover
- 3,654 sq ft Colony · 11 ft
- 3,520 sq ft Grandover · 13 ft
Two of the mid-size ballrooms, along with Augusta (1,742 sq ft) and Heritage (1,196 sq ft). Expect tabletop displays and sponsor rooms here, not built booths.
30,000sq ft Guilford Prefunction 3, plus Guilford Prefunction 1A and 1B at 10,000 sq ft each: room for registration and tabletop exhibits
3878×10 exhibit booths, Visit Greensboro's planner count for the whole complex. Many shows here sell 10×10s instead, so read your floor plan
90event rooms, from 342 sq ft boardrooms up to the Guilford Ballroom, with 73 breakout rooms for education sessions
11 fttypical meeting-room ceiling, with heights from 7′6″ to 32′ across the building
Loading dock & move-in
Koury Convention Center loading dock and freight
Get directions to Joseph S. Koury Convention Center →
- The dock is on Pinecroft RoadAll vendors load in and out at the hotel loading dock on Pinecroft Rd. From Gate City Blvd, turn onto Pinecroft and take the second driveway on the left; from the Sheraton portico, follow Koury Blvd to Pinecroft, turn right, and it is the first driveway on the right.
- Never through the lobbyLoad-in and load-out through the hotel lobby or any public entrance is not permitted. Rolling cases through the portico will get you sent around the building.
- Unload and moveThe hotel asks exhibitors to unload quickly and move vehicles off the dock so others can use it. It has a limited number of flat carts to lend from the Banquet Department, held against a driver's license.
- Dock to boothUnder the Hollins rules, moving display materials from the docks to booths is Hollins' job, with one exception: you may hand-carry items in without material handling equipment.
- ParkingAbout 2,200 free on-site parking spaces surround the hotel, so crews and staff can drive in and park at no charge.
- Day −60Booth design approved. Check your room's ceiling: 32 ft in Guilford, 18 ft in Imperial, 13 ft in Victoria.
- Day −30Written notice to the contractor if an outside display house will install your booth.
- Day −14Discount-rate deadline for furnishings, labor and freight in the 2025 kit, and the hotel's deadline for electrical requests.
- Day −4Advance freight due at the Hollins warehouse on Chimney Rock Road. Purple ships to Greensboro through our carrier network.
- Day 0Move-in. Direct shipments accepted at the show site from today; vehicles unload at the Pinecroft Rd dock.
- Show closeNo dismantling before the published time. Hand the bill of lading to the service desk, not your booth.
Labor & building rules
Koury Convention Center labor rules: what your team can do itself
North Carolina is a right-to-work state, and the contractor seen most often here, Hollins Exposition Services, is based in Greensboro. These rules come from Hollins' July 2025 kit for a convention at the Sheraton Four Seasons and the hotel's own exhibitor sheets. Your show kit is the final word.
✓Your own staff
- Install and dismantle your display with bona fide full-time employees of your company
- Hire an exhibitor-appointed contractor to supervise, with written notice to Hollins at least 30 days before move-in; it may use its own full-time employees
- Hand-carry items into the building, as long as no material handling equipment is used
- Borrow a hotel flat cart from the Banquet Department, if one is free, against a driver's license
- Park free on site while you build
●Contractor and hotel services
- Dock-to-booth freight and empty-crate storage: Hollins, exclusively, in its kits
- Hired installation labor: $70 an hour straight time (8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays), $105 overtime, $140 double time, one-hour minimum per worker
- Hollins supervision of your install (Plan A): 30 percent of the labor bill, $35 minimum each way
- Electrical: ordered from the hotel at least 14 days before the event, as one-time charges
- Internet: the hotel's own service; its 2020 sheet listed a wired line at $250 a day
!Watch for
- Hotel electrical fees post to the group master account unless you arrange otherwise with the sales office: confirm who is paying
- Booth cleaning is not included: the hall gets a general aisle sweep only
- The 2025 kit's exhibit floor was decorative tile, not carpet, so order or bring flooring
- Nothing may be pinned, stapled or taped to rented drape and furniture
- Items left behind after the event are not the convention center's responsibility
Background photo: "TSummit 2024-05-21 Vendors and Breakout Sessions-230-3" by NCDOTcommunications, CC BY 2.0 Source
Free tool
Koury Convention Center drayage cost estimator
Planning numbers at about $95 per hundredweight. Hollins' July 2025 kit at the Sheraton charged $80 for crated freight through its warehouse and $90 to $100 for direct and uncrated freight, and 2026–27 tariffs may be higher. Your show kit carries the real rate. See all venues on the drayage rates page.
Estimated drayage
$1,425
Cut this with a lighter booth
General session at the 2024 N.C. Transportation Summit
Photo: "TSummit 2024-05-21 General Session 1-411-82" by NCDOTcommunications, CC BY 2.0 Source
The calendar
Koury Convention Center trade shows 2026–2027
The Koury's calendar is mostly North Carolina associations and industry meetings with an expo attached, plus the occasional dealer meeting or vendor show. Confirm dates and the exhibit room with each organizer.
N.C. A&T Homecoming Vendor Exhibition
Vendor marketplace, consumer · third-floor concourse · 2026
NC Conference on Exceptional Children
Special education · NC Department of Public Instruction · up to 64 exhibitor booths · 2026
NCSBA Annual Conference & Exhibit Show
North Carolina School Boards Association · school district vendors · 2026
NCHCFA Annual Convention & Expo
Long-term care and skilled nursing · North Carolina Health Care Facilities Association · 2027
Held here in 2026: the NCHCFA Convention & Expo (February 22–25), the Thomas Built Buses Dealer Meeting (May 19–21, vendor booth packages), the SNA-NC Trade Show (June 23–24) and the NCWorks Partnership Conference (October 14–16). Organizers often list the venue as the Sheraton Greensboro at Four Seasons, the hotel the Koury Convention Center is part of. The National Smart Start Conference (sponsors, no exhibit hall listed) returns to the Koury May 3–6, 2027. The Carolina Star Safety Conference says it meets at the Koury in 2026 but had not published dates on the pages we could read.
The building
From a 1970 Holiday Inn to a hotel convention center
Developer Joseph S. Koury built this complex in layers: a motor inn, a mall, two towers and, in 1991, the convention center that now carries his name. The 28-story tower sits directly on top of it.
- 1970The Holiday Inn Four Seasons opens with 259 rooms, banquet space for 600 and meeting space for 1,000.
- 1974Four Seasons Town Centre, Greensboro's first enclosed shopping mall, opens next door, built by the Koury company.
- 1982A 17-story tower adds 262 rooms and 100,000 sq ft of meeting space, for 521 rooms in all.
- 1991The Joseph S. Koury Convention Center opens, adding 150,000 sq ft including a 40,000 sq ft ballroom and 70,000 sq ft of exhibition space.
- 1996A 28-story, 485-room tower rises on top of the convention center, bringing the hotel to 1,014 rooms.
- 1999The hotel becomes a Sheraton, to sell its convention space to national groups.
- 2015The most recent renovation listed on the Sheraton's Marriott fact sheet.
Insider tips
Koury Convention Center exhibitor tips: what experienced teams do
Ship to Chimney Rock Road
Advance freight belongs at the Hollins warehouse, 121 N Chimney Rock Rd, Greensboro, not the Sheraton. Freight the hotel receives is passed to Hollins at drayage rates plus a handling fee.
Consolidate your boxes
Hollins bills a 200 lb minimum on every shipment it receives. Three cartons sent separately cost three minimums; banded onto one skid, they cost one.
Drive to Pinecroft Road
The dock is off Pinecroft Rd, not at the Sheraton portico or the lobby, which are closed to load-in. Put the dock directions in your driver's notes.
Match the booth to the room
A tower that fits the 32 ft Guilford Ballroom will not fit Imperial at 18 ft or Victoria at 13 ft. Ask show management which room your booth is in before you design.
Order power 14 days out
Electrical comes from the hotel, and requests are due 14 days before the event. Fees are one-time charges that post to the group master account unless arranged otherwise, so settle billing early.
Bring flooring and a cart
The 2025 kit listed a decorative tile floor, and the hotel lends only a few flat carts. Pack carpet or tiles, and a folding hand truck for hand-carried loads.
FAQ
Koury Convention Center FAQ for exhibitors
Is the Koury Convention Center union?
No. North Carolina is a right-to-work state, and Hollins Exposition Services, the Greensboro contractor used by many shows here, lets bona fide full-time employees of the exhibitor install and dismantle their own display. Dock-to-booth freight handling stays with the contractor.
Can I set up my own booth at the Koury Convention Center?
Yes, with your own full-time employees, under Hollins' 2025 rules at the Sheraton. If an outside display house will install it, notify the contractor in writing at least 30 days before move-in and meet its safety and insurance requirements. Check your show kit for the contractor and rules for your event.
Where is the loading dock?
On Pinecroft Road. From Gate City Blvd, turn onto Pinecroft Rd and take the second driveway on the left. All vendors must load in and out there; the hotel lobby and public entrances are off limits for load-in.
Where should I ship my exhibit?
To your show's contractor. For Hollins shows, advance freight goes to 121 N Chimney Rock Rd, Greensboro, NC 27409, arriving by the warehouse deadline in your kit. Direct shipments to the hotel are accepted only from the first move-in day.
How much is drayage at the Koury Convention Center?
Plan about $95 per hundredweight. Hollins' July 2025 kit at the Sheraton charged $80 per 100 lbs through its warehouse and $90 to $100 for direct and uncrated freight, with a 200 lb minimum per shipment and 25 percent extra for late shipments.
What is the ceiling height?
32 ft in the Guilford Ballroom, the main exhibit room. The Imperial Ballroom is 18 ft, the Victoria Ballroom 13 ft and most meeting rooms 11 ft.
How big is the Koury Convention Center?
About 250,000 sq ft of event space in 90 rooms, according to the hotel. The largest room is the 40,000 sq ft Guilford Ballroom (200 by 200 ft), and Visit Greensboro counts 387 8×10 exhibit booths.
Who provides electrical and internet?
The hotel. Electrical requests are due 14 days before the event and are billed as one-time charges, posted to the group master account unless you arrange otherwise. Internet is the hotel's own service.
Is the Koury Convention Center the same as the Sheraton Greensboro?
They are one building. The Joseph S. Koury Convention Center opened in 1991 inside what was then the Holiday Inn Four Seasons, which became the Sheraton Greensboro at Four Seasons in 1999. Show listings use either name, and the address is 3121 W Gate City Blvd.
Is parking free?
Yes. Visit Greensboro lists about 2,200 free on-site parking spaces at the hotel and convention center.
Exhibiting at the Koury?
Send us your show and booth number.
Tell us which ballroom your booth is in, how many of your own people will build it and whether you want freight to go through the contractor's warehouse. Within two business days you get a design sized to that room's ceiling, a drayage estimate built on the 200 lb minimum, and a move-in plan for the Pinecroft Road dock. Purple ships and installs from New York.
Background photo: "view of downtown from Center CIty Park" by Scrap Pile, CC BY 2.0 Source
Compare venues
Joseph S. Koury Convention Center vs other trade-show halls within a day's drive of New York
How the Joseph S. Koury Convention Center stacks up against other trade-show halls within a day's drive of New York. Drayage figures are Purple planning rates, not published tariffs.
| Venue | Type | Largest space | Ceiling | Labor | Drayage (plan) | Airport |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joseph S. Koury Convention CenterThis guide | Hotel ballrooms | 40,000 sq ft Guilford Ballroom | 32 ft Guilford · 18 ft Imperial | Right-to-work | ≈ $95/cwt | GSO · ~12 mi |
| Atlantic Union Bank Convention CenterRaleigh | Convention center | 146,843 sq ft contiguous, Halls A–C | 47 ft listed max | Right-to-work · check kit | ≈ $110/cwt | RDU · 18 min drive |
| Baird CenterMilwaukee | Convention center | 300,275 sq ft contiguous, Halls A–E | 30 ft | Right-to-work · in-house utilities | ≈ $115/cwt | MKE · 8 mi |
| Bayfront Convention CenterErie | Convention center | 28,800 sq ft Great Hall · 160 booths | 23 ft (Great Hall) | No venue union rule · check kit | ≈ $50/cwt | ERI · about 6.5 mi |
| Birmingham-Jefferson Convention ComplexBirmingham | Convention center | 92,234 sq ft East Halls 1–3 · 473 booths | 30 ft East · 25 ft 10 in North · 20 ft South | Right-to-work | ≈ $100/cwt | BHM · 4.5 mi |
| Charleston Area Convention CenterNorth Charleston | Convention center | 76,960 sq ft, Halls A–C | 30 ft to beams | Right-to-work | ≈ $100/cwt | CHS · 2 mi |
| DeVos PlaceGrand Rapids | Convention center | 162,000 sq ft column-free hall, A–C | 37–72 ft (hall) · 28 ft (ballroom) | Self-unload · IATSE 26 stagehands | ≈ $125/cwt | GRR · 13 mi |
| Eastern States ExpositionWest Springfield | Fairgrounds | 129,400 sq ft Mallary Complex · 123,000 sq ft BLC | — | Check show kit | ≈ $125/cwt | BDL · about 25–40 min |
| Greater Richmond Convention CenterRichmond | Convention center | 178,159 sq ft · Exhibit Hall A–D | 35 ft | Right-to-work · non-union | ≈ $110/cwt | RIC · ~15 min |
| Greenville Convention CenterGreenville | Convention center | 125,000 sq ft Hall 1 (280,000 total) | 10–22 ft Hall 1 · 19–22 ft Hall 2 | Right-to-work | ≈ $105/cwt | GSP · 12 mi |
| Hershey Lodge & Convention CenterHershey | Resort ballrooms | 32,004 sq ft Great American Hall | 22 ft (Great American Hall) | In-house decorator · check kit | ≈ $50/cwt | MDT · ~20 min |
| Kalahari Resorts & Conventions Pocono MountainsPocono Manor | Resort ballrooms | 38,000 sq ft Kilimanjaro Ballroom | 16–25 ft | Not right-to-work · check kit | ≈ $120/cwt | AVP · ≈40 mi |
| New York State Fairgrounds Exposition CenterSyracuse | Fairgrounds | 110,000 sq ft clear span, Exposition Center | 60 ft truss height | Show contractor · check kit | ≈ $95/cwt | SYR · about 10 mi |
| Philadelphia Marriott DowntownPhiladelphia | Hotel ballrooms | 34,300 sq ft Grand Ballroom · 31,962 sq ft Franklin Hall | 10.5 ft Franklin Hall · 22 ft ballroom | Union · check kit | ≈ $170/cwt | PHL · SEPTA to Jefferson Station |
| Vandalia Health CenterCharleston | Convention center | 50,086 sq ft Grand Hall · up to 256 booths | — | Right-to-work | ≈ $100/cwt | CRW · about 5 min |
| Vibe Credit Union ShowplaceNovi | Expo center | 305,000± sq ft, Halls A–C + Event Center | 24 ft clear (A–C) · 40+ ft (Event Center) | No venue union rule · check kit | ≈ $95/cwt | DTW · about 20 min |
| Virginia Beach Convention CenterVirginia Beach | Convention center | 150,012 sq ft · Halls A–D | 40 ft | Right-to-work | ≈ $100/cwt | ORF · 20 min |
| York Expo CenterYork | Fairgrounds | 114,000 sq ft UPMC Arena (74,000 clear span) | 24–30 ft arena · 12–22 ft other halls | Show contractor · check kit | ≈ $90/cwt | MDT · roughly 30 mi |
Nearby guides
More trade-show halls in the Carolinas and Virginia
Charlotte Convention CenterCharlotte, NC
Raleigh Convention CenterRaleigh, NC
Greater Richmond Convention CenterRichmond, VA
Virginia Beach Convention CenterVirginia Beach, VA
Greenville Convention CenterGreenville, SC
Charleston Area Convention CenterNorth Charleston, SC
Written by the Purple Exhibits team. Reviewed for the 2026–2027 season. Figures marked for verification are being confirmed with the venue. Sources: Sheraton Greensboro at Four Seasons event-space capacity chart, Koury Convention Center page and fact sheet (Marriott), Visit Greensboro meeting-space listing, Hollins Exposition Services official service contractor kit for the Mennonite Church USA Convention at the Sheraton Four Seasons (July 2025), Joseph S. Koury Convention Center / Sheraton Greensboro package-handling and loading-dock sheets, Koury Corporation history, Wikipedia (Four Seasons Town Centre, Koury Corporation, right-to-work laws), and organizer sites for NCHCFA, Thomas Built Buses, SNA-NC, NCWorks, NCSBA, NC DPI (Conference on Exceptional Children), the N.C. A&T Homecoming Vendor Exhibition (Sharpe Pursuits), Carolina Star and Smart Start.