Exhibitor FAQ

The exhibitor list can be searched on the exhibit hall floor plan page: https://www.samesbc.org/2023/floorplan.cfm

The official dates of the conference are  November 1st-3rd, 2023.  However, exhibitors may set up on Tuesday, October 31, 2023, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. The exhibit hall is open beginning on Wednesday, November 1, 2023, at 10:30 am and closes at 1:00 pm on Friday, November 3rd.

Exhibitors who tear down before 1:00 p.m. on Friday, November 3rd  will incur a $550 penalty and will be removed from the 2024 booth lottery. The Expo Group can tear down your booth for a fee if you have a flight conflict.

Matched Networking information can be found here.   

Please visit the Travel & Lodging page of the website for housing information.  

Unauthorized Housing Warning

Please be vigilant if contacted by any company or service that implies or claims to be an official housing provider for the SAME Small Business Conference. SAME's official housing company is Connections Housing. The only way to book your rooms for the 2023 SAME Federal Small Business Conference is through our housing site, which will open in mid-July. We have been made aware of other housing companies or travel agencies that may be pursuing you, or your company, to book your guest rooms through their company at supposedly significant discounts.  Don't be fooled!  Please make your hotel reservations through Connections Housing.

No.  All individuals onsite at SBC must be eighteen (18) years of age or older. There are no exceptions to this policy.

If you were not part of the booth lottery for this year, you can still get a booth by clicking on exhibits in the menu, then exhibit sales. Once booths are sold out, we will start a waiting list.

 To get on the waiting list, you must send an e-mail to exhibit@same.org with your company name, booth contact information, and small business designation if applicable.

There is a key at the bottom of the layout to explain the colors.  When a booth has been reserved, it turns yellow.  Once it is paid in full, it turns red.

Tier 1 booths, which are highlighted dark blue and only available to Sustaining Member Companies, have been determined to be in high traffic and prime locations by show management and therefore cost more.  

Tier 2 booths are highlighted light blue and are open to Sustaining Member Companies and non-members.

1. One 6 ft. skirted table.
2. Two side chairs
3. Wastebasket
4. ID Sign (Company name and booth number)
5. Carpet 
6. 6ft back drape and 3 ft side drape
7. Two full conference registrations
   • Individuals must still register through the booth staff registration link in the Exhibitor Service Center -  there is an option to use your complimentary registrations in this form
   • Government booths may not include complimentary registrations
8. The company profile is accessible in the online layout and search.

Any additional furniture & services must be purchased through the Exhibitor Service Manual. Additional registrations may be purchased through the Booth Staff Registration form.

Your company must be a sustaining member of SAME in order to receive the member rate for an exhibit booth. Member booth fees do not apply to individual memberships.

Your company can become a sustaining member by signing up here: https://www.same.org/membership-communities/join/company-organization-membership/

If your company does have a sustaining membership, but you're still receiving non-member pricing please finish your booth registration so that you get the location you want, then contact Exhibit@same.org.  

The Exhibitor Service Manual is now available and can be found by logging into the Exhibitor Service Center. Your company's booth coordinator will have login information to the Exhibitor Service Center.

The Expo Group is the official general services contractor for this show.


 

If you did not pay for your booth during the registration process, you may pay by credit card through the Exhibit Service Center.  You will see the options for payment, invoice, etc., in the left-hand menu.

Payment by ACH is preferred; please use EagleBank account #200271849 and  Routing number: 055003298.  A remittance email stating the company name, amount, and that the payment is for SBC 2023 exhibit or sponsorship MUST be sent to accountsreceivable@same.org to prevent processing delays.

Checks must be received within 30 days of submission of the contract. If no payment is received within 30 days, your booth may be released.

If paying by check, please make payable to, The Society of American Military Engineers and include a copy of your invoice:

Please note the updated address for mailing your check payment to:

Society of American Military Engineers 
PO BOX 360795
Pittsburg, PA  15251- 6795

• For Exhibits, a 50% deposit of booth fees is required at the time of booth selection.  Booth sales are not final until payment is received in full.  Payment by credit card can be submitted during the space selection lottery; payment by check must be received within 30 days of registration. Payment in full is due July 14, 2023, or 30 days after registration if registering after July 14th.  SAME reserves the right to cancel booths that have not been paid within 30 days of registration.
• A full refund of all payments, less a $100 administrative fee will be granted if written notice is received by SAME no later than July 14, 2023; a 50% refund of total exhibit fees less a $100 administrative fee will be granted if written notice is received by SAME between July 15 and August 20; commencing August 19, 2023, no refund will be granted.
• Sponsorships must be paid in full by August 18, 2023, and cannot be canceled or refunded at any time upon contract completion.  A separate contract will be administered for sponsorships.

Booth Staff Registration will open in July.  Exhibitor Sales Contacts will receive an e-mail with instructions for registering booth staff.  

IF YOUR COMPANY HAS A BOOTH, YOUR INDIVIDUALS SHOULD BE REGISTERED THROUGH THE BOOTH STAFF REGISTRATION FORM - NOT THE ATTENDEE REGISTRATION FORM!!

Anybody that will need to get into the hall for set-up or tear-down of your booth during non-public hours, should be registered through the Booth Staff Registration Form.  This will ensure that they have the right badge holder for access to the hall.  All of the same registration types are available in booth staff registration (full conference, one day, etc...).

If you are the sales contact for your booth, you are NOT automatically registered to attend the conference.  Even though you receive two free exhibitor registrations with your booth, those people MUST still be registered through the Booth Staff Registration form online.

Set-up:
             Tuesday, October 31, 2023, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Exhibit Hall Hours:
             Wednesday, November 1, 2023, 10:30 am - 6:30 pm
             Thursday, November 2, 2023, 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
            Friday, November 3, 2023, 8:30 am -1:00 pm 

Tear-down:  
              Friday, November 3, 2023, 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

PLEASE PLAN YOUR TRANSPORTATION and SCHEDULE ACCORDINGLY.
A detailed exhibitor schedule will be published in the Exhibitor Service Manual.  The Expo Group can dismantle and ship your booth for a fee comparable to the monetary penalty for breaking down early.
You will be penalized and charged $550 and removed from the 2024 booth lottery process for tearing down before 1:00 p.m. on Nov. 3, so again, please plan your transportation and schedule accordingly.

You can update your company profile in the Exhibitor Service Center (ESC). Your login and password can be found in your booth confirmation e-mail.  Once you have logged into your ESC, click on the "Exhibitor Demographic Update" tab located on the left side toolbar. 

This is the information that will show up when people search for your company/booth online.  If you selected the description upgrade during registration, this information will be printed in the on-site program.  Please ensure it is correct!  SAME is not responsible for incorrect or missing information.

There could be many reasons why you haven''t received any information from us and in order for you to have a positive conference experience, we need to fix it!  We send e-mails from two databases - registration and membership.

1) Are you a member of SAME?  Members of SAME receive marketing e-mails about conference and advertising opportunities - including alerts as to when registration is open for particular events.

2) Members - are you keeping your profile up to date?  If your SAME Sustaining Member Representative is no longer with your company, our marketing e-mails could be going to an inactive address.

2) Are you the booth contact (i.e. the name associated with the booth) that registered for your company's space?  Sometimes due to company turnover, we find that we are sending e-mails to an address that is no longer active.  You must contact exhibit@same.org in order to change the booth contact for your company.  This is only an issue if you are already registered for this event or exhibited last year.

3) Are our e-mails going to your junk or SPAM folder?  You may have to identify the "same," "goeshow," and "theexpogroup" domains as safe in order to receive our e-mails.  Please ask your IT department how to do this.

4) If you are worried that you are missing something, please make sure you check the conference website.  Most of the time, the information that we send in e-mails can also be found there.

Show Management will publish an attendee list two weeks prior to the conference and again after the conference to capture any last minute registrants.  This document will only include contact information for individuals as they have indicated on the registration form.

This list is for contacting individuals and for a one time marketing effort to promote your booth.  It should not be used for future marketing efforts.

It will be located in all three service centers (attendee, exhibitor, and speaker) and a password will be required to retrieve it for your protection.

Your password can be found in your registration confirmation e-mail.

We expect about 5,000 Attendees, 20% Govt. with the majority of those being USACE employees.

Yes, you may pass out promotional items at your booth.  Please remember that government employees may not accept items that value more than $20.  

The Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center DOES NOT allow you to bring in alcohol that is not purchased through the convention center catering company. If you are planning on raffling off bottles of alcohol, the alcohol MUST be purchased through the convention center.

Need a place to start?  SAME uses Brand Advantage! Please feel free to reach out to our sales rep if you are interested in ordering any type of giveaways!

You can provide a place for passersby to drop business cards to be placed in a drawing for a prize.  Here are a few rules of thumb:

1) It is unethical to "rig" the drawing and you could place government personnel and contractors in danger of violating ethics regulations if you do so.

2) Technically, government employees CAN participate in a drawing for an item valued at more than $20 since the drawing is open to all.  However, since different offices can make federal regulations more restrictive if they choose, there may be many government employees that are not allowed to participate.  Please do not tempt or tease somebody for not participating.

3) It's always a good practice to raffle off an item that can be transported via plane unless you plan to pay for shipping.

4) SAME will not be announcing winners at any time.  It is up to the company organizing the raffle to contact the winner(s).  

SAME may have a limited number of rooms available for rent for private meetings.  Prices for room rental will range from $0-$1000 depending on the size of the room, size of the organization and time of day the room is required.  To inquire about meeting room rental, please contact Alicia Perez-Arrieta, aperez@same.org