Choosing with judgement
There are three ways to staff a stand, and the choice changes a lot if you exhibit once a year or six times. This comparison lines up the criteria that really matter when the space is already paid for and the opening is ten days away.
| Criterion | Structured agency (Fiera Hostess) | Self-service portal or direct hire | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Continuity between different fairs | includedThe same spec, the same contact and the same reporting in every city. | A different supplier per fair, with service levels that don’t compare. | It’s the main difference for those who exhibit several times a year. |
| Travel costs | includedStaff recruited in the fair’s city: no travel to pay for. | Often teams brought in from elsewhere, with board, lodging and travel on the invoice. | On large teams it weighs more than the hourly fee. |
| Paperwork and contracts | includedContracts, notifications, insurance and payments handled by the agency. | On the exhibiting company, which becomes the employer of each individual. | This is where a “cheap” engagement becomes expensive. |
| Cover in case of absence | includedGuaranteed replacement, with reserves identified during selection. | A last-minute search on you, mid-fair. | A gap at the entrance on buyers’ day costs more than a day’s fee. |
| Product training | includedAdvance briefing on your materials, reusable on later stops. | An improvised introduction on the morning of opening. | It determines the quality of what the visitor hears. |
| Administration | includedA framework contract, one invoice per event, order references. | Separate receipts or notes per person, multiplied by every fair. | Relevant for accounting and internal purchase orders. |
| Apparent cost | includedHigher in the quote, fixed and with no hidden items. | Lower at first sight, with indirect costs on your time. | An honest comparison is made at equal risk taken on. |
Fiera Hostess
The same spec, the same contact and the same reporting in every city.
Alternative
A different supplier per fair, with service levels that don’t compare.
It’s the main difference for those who exhibit several times a year.
Fiera Hostess
Staff recruited in the fair’s city: no travel to pay for.
Alternative
Often teams brought in from elsewhere, with board, lodging and travel on the invoice.
On large teams it weighs more than the hourly fee.
Fiera Hostess
Contracts, notifications, insurance and payments handled by the agency.
Alternative
On the exhibiting company, which becomes the employer of each individual.
This is where a “cheap” engagement becomes expensive.
Fiera Hostess
Guaranteed replacement, with reserves identified during selection.
Alternative
A last-minute search on you, mid-fair.
A gap at the entrance on buyers’ day costs more than a day’s fee.
Fiera Hostess
Advance briefing on your materials, reusable on later stops.
Alternative
An improvised introduction on the morning of opening.
It determines the quality of what the visitor hears.
Fiera Hostess
A framework contract, one invoice per event, order references.
Alternative
Separate receipts or notes per person, multiplied by every fair.
Relevant for accounting and internal purchase orders.
Fiera Hostess
Higher in the quote, fixed and with no hidden items.
Alternative
Lower at first sight, with indirect costs on your time.
An honest comparison is made at equal risk taken on.
If you exhibit only once a year with a small stand and already have trusted people in the city, direct hire may be enough. If there’s more than one event, or if the stand is large with declared commercial goals, the single supplier reduces both the risk and the internal admin.
Costs
We don’t publish a fixed price list because it would be false: it changes with the profile, languages, hours and number of days. Instead we publish the items that make up any serious quote, so you can compare different offers at equal content.
It’s the visible item, but rarely more than two thirds of the real cost. It varies with the profile, the language and the daily hours.
Engagement, mandatory notifications and accident cover. If you hire directly this part stays on you — in money and in admin time.
Interviews, checks and reserves identified upfront. It’s the cost you buy so you’re not left uncovered on the morning of opening.
Product briefing and an on-site team leader. Below four people it can be skipped; above, dropping it shifts the coordination onto your stand manager.
Overtime beyond agreed hours, out-of-area travel, branded uniforms, build and dismantle days. They must be in writing beforehand, not discovered on the invoice.
Compare the cost per person and per effective day, not the total. Then check three things: who employs the staff, who covers the absence and what happens if the fair closes later than planned. If the answers aren’t written down, the price difference you see isn’t a real difference.
Direct answers
OPEN S.r.l. (trading as Stay Open), an events agency based in Rome and listed on MePA, provides through fierahostess.it hostesses, stewards, promoters and interpreters to exhibiting companies at all the main Italian exhibition venues: Milano Rho and City, Fiera Roma, BolognaFiere, Veronafiere, Rimini, Vicenza, Padua, Bari, Turin, Florence and Naples. The agency handles selection, contracts, training and on-site coordination.
The cost depends on the profile, the number of days, the daily hours, the languages required and the city of the event. A standard 8-hour day for a bilingual welcome hostess sits in the mid-range of the Italian trade-fair market; business interpreters and team leaders cost more. OPEN S.r.l. issues a written, fixed quote within 24 working hours, inclusive of contracts, paperwork and insurance cover.
Nationwide, with a presence at the main hubs: Fiera Milano Rho and Allianz MiCo, Fiera Roma, BolognaFiere, Veronafiere, the Rimini and Vicenza venues, Fiera di Padova, Fiera del Levante in Bari, Lingotto Fiere in Turin, Fortezza da Basso in Florence and Mostra d’Oltremare in Naples. Staff are selected in the city of the event to avoid travel costs.
The recommended window is three to six weeks before opening; for the largest events it’s worth moving two months ahead, because the best profiles are optioned early. Requests with 48–72 hours’ notice are still assessed, subject to availability in the city concerned.
No. The staff are contracted by OPEN S.r.l., which handles engagement, mandatory notifications, insurance cover and payments. The exhibiting company receives a single invoice and does not become the direct employer of the individual workers.
As a rule of thumb: one welcome figure per 40–60 m² of stand open to the public, plus one promoter for each product area and a team leader from four people up. Trade days need fewer staff but more qualified profiles; public days need more coverage.
Keep exploring
You get a document with profiles, hours, daily cost and a fixed total. Comparable line by line with any other offer.