Collecting Booth Fees from Foreign Exhibitors: Currency and Charges

An equipment exhibitor from abroad signs a booth contract early in the year. The list price is in one currency. They pay the first installment in their own currency, the second a few months later. Between the two, the exchange rate moves. Their bank takes a fee, the organizer's bank takes another. The amount that lands in the account does not match the invoice, and each side thinks the other should make it up.

This is a small matter that comes up very often at shows with international exhibitors, aquaculture shows included. This article covers collecting booth fees from foreign exhibitors, drawing on the currency section of the CEM finance guide.

Decide the currency when the budget is built

The CEM guide states that during budget development the organizer must determine the currency or currencies to be used throughout the life of the exhibition. It notes two situations that raise many currency issues: a show held in a country other than the one where the organizer is based, and a domestic show that hosts many international visitors. Aquaculture shows in many countries fall into the second case.

The issues listed include foreign currency exchange contracts, futures and hedging strategies, the need for multiple currencies and knowledge of exchange rates. If no one on staff is qualified to deal in foreign currencies, the guide strongly advises consulting currency exchange professionals.

Six questions the guide poses

When an event is held outside the home country, or has many international payments, the guide asks:

1. How will payables be processed, and in what currency?
2. What additional expenses arise beyond currency fluctuations?
3. Will registration and exhibition fees be accepted in multiple currencies?
4. What online processing fees come with transacting in multiple currencies?
5. What is the process for removing or transferring funds from foreign bank accounts back to the organizer's home country?
6. Should a bank account be opened where the event is held, to manage payables and receivables?

The answer to each should sit in an internal document before the booth offer goes out.

Suggestions for an aquaculture show

The points below go beyond the guide but fit the questions above.

• Choose one reference currency. Use it consistently in the exhibitor prospectus, the contract and the invoice. Try to pick the currency that matches most of the show's costs and income to reduce risk.
• Write the conversion rule into the contract. If payment is in another currency, state which rate, from which bank, on which date.
• State who pays bank charges. A common approach is to require the sender to cover all transfer charges, usually called OUR, so that the amount received equals the invoice. Confirm with the organizer's bank.
• Split payment into installments. A deposit at signing, the balance before move-in. Each has a deadline and a consequence for lateness, as the article on liquidated damages describes.
• Refund in the same currency and channel as received, including when a booth is cancelled or a no-show, as set out in the policy in the article on empty booths.
• If there is a card payment gateway, the guide notes online processing fees arise when transacting in multiple currencies. Decide who pays them.

The organizer's own exchange risk

Between signing and receiving payment, the rate can change. The organizer has three simple options.

1. Match income and cost currencies. If the largest cost is venue rental in the local currency, collect in that currency, or keep the foreign-currency portion to pay the costs that are in foreign currency.
2. Write a band into the contract. A clause that allows the price to be adjusted when the rate moves beyond an agreed level.
3. Hedge through a bank. The guide mentions exchange contracts and hedging strategies, so consult a specialist before using them.

Exchange risk belongs in the PEST table and in the show's budget contingency. International exhibitors in general are discussed in the article on attracting international exhibitors and the article on international pavilions.

Cash

The guide says most organizers have abandoned accepting cash for sustainability reasons. B2C events still need it, while B2B events have largely moved to a cashless process. The reasons include treasury review because of the possibility of money laundering, a much higher chance of theft with cash on site than with electronic transfer, and human error and tracking problems. For a B2B aquaculture show, set a no-cash policy at the desk and state it in the exhibitor kit.

A contract example. The organizer writes into the contract: a list price in one currency, payment in two installments, the exhibitor pays all transfer charges, conversion at the organizer's bank selling rate on the day funds are received. When the second installment arrives, the amount matches the invoice and nobody has to go back and forth. If a small charge is missing, the clause is there to settle it.

Need a collection process for international exhibitors?

If you need currency and bank-charge clauses, a multi-installment payment schedule or a notice template for foreign exhibitors at an aquaculture show, you can send a request through the quote page or book a call with Nguyen Anh Trung. Send the sample booth contract you use now. The exchange-rate and tax parts should be confirmed by an accountant or a currency specialist.

Every small charge should have the payer's name beside it, written into the contract.