The International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) issued a statement cautioning exhibition facilities against taking audiovisual and other show services in-house as exclusive offerings to their customers.
The statement says in part: "IAEE urges facility management to promote and maintain competition in the marketplace by restricting the adoption of exclusive in-house services to only those functions that bear directly on the health, welfare and safety of the building’s occupants."
While acknowledging that many exhibition facilities, especially those funded by city and state entities, are facing economic challenges, IAEE President Steven Hacker, CAE, said that "the fact remains that customers—both show organizers and exhibitors—prefer the option of choice when it comes to making service provider decisions."
Hacker further noted that many organizers and exhibitors have long-term contracts in place with service providers such as audiovisual and telecommunications companies and that "arbitrary, exclusive in-house mandates intrude into those contractual relationships."
The executive directors of two other exhibition industry organizations, SISO and ESCA, also issued statements in support of IAEE’s position.
