Most exhibit managers learn what an EAC is by missing its deadline. It is a piece of trade show vocabulary that nobody explains until it is urgent, and by then the consequence is a crew without wristbands.
The two acronyms decide who is allowed to touch your booth inside the hall. Here is what each one is, what each one is allowed to do, and which paperwork has to be filed by whom.
The general service contractor
The general service contractor, or GSC, is hired by the show organizer, not by you. They run the floor: they lay the aisle carpet, handle freight, provide rental furnishings, and typically hold the crews for the work that stays with the show regardless of who built your booth.
They also publish the exhibitor services manual, which is the authoritative document for your show. You will interact with them whether or not you use them to build.
You can hire the GSC to install your exhibit as well, and for a simple build that can be the simplest path. What you give up is the person who drew the detail being present when it goes together.
The exhibitor appointed contractor
An Exhibitor Appointed Contractor, or EAC, is any company other than the GSC that you bring in to work on your booth. Your exhibit house is an EAC. So is an independent installation firm, an AV company, or a florist.
Using an EAC is normal and permitted at nearly every show. It just has to be declared in advance.
What the GSC keeps regardless
Bringing your own installer does not transfer everything. In most halls, some scopes stay with the venue or the show contractor no matter what:
- Material handling, meaning any movement of freight on the show floor.
- Electrical service and the connection to the floor.
- Rigging and overhead hanging.
- Forklift and mechanical lift operation.
This is not negotiable at the booth level, and any quote that assumes otherwise is understating your cost. Which scopes apply varies by venue, so confirm in the manual rather than assuming.
The paperwork, and when it is due
- ✓Written notification to the organizerNaming your EAC. Deadlines are commonly several weeks before move-in and are published in the exhibitor services manual.
- ✓Certificate of insuranceFrom the EAC, at the coverage levels the show requires, naming the show, the organizer, and the facility as additional insureds where required.
- ✓Sub-contractor disclosureIf your EAC brings anyone else, they usually need to be declared and insured too.
- ✓Confirmed acceptanceSubmitted is not approved. Get it in writing, and get it before you book flights.
The failure mode here is quiet. Nothing goes wrong until move-in morning, when a crew that flew in cannot collect wristbands and cannot enter the hall.
Why this should be your exhibit house’s job
You are the exhibitor. The EAC filing is about your builder’s credentials and insurance, so your builder is the party with all the information. An exhibit house that files it, tracks it, and tells you when it is confirmed is doing the job. One that emails you a blank form three weeks out is telling you something about how the rest of the project will go.
It is a small administrative task. Which is exactly why how a vendor handles it predicts the big ones.
We file the paperwork and tell you when it clears.