AAO 2027 Booth Heights and Hanging Signs in Las Vegas

A booth built by Methodex for Kontron at SCTE TechExpo 2025.

Photo: Methodex

AAO 2027 key facts

The height and contractor rules come from the AAO 2026 show rules. They are a planning reference, not confirmed 2027 rules. Ceiling heights are building measurements, not build limits. Confirm the rules in AAO’s 2027 exhibit prospectus and Exhibitor Service Kit before you design.

Last checked: October 2026

The American Academy of Ophthalmology held AAO 2026 from October 9 to 12 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. AAO 2027 runs November 12 to 15 at the Venetian Expo in Las Vegas. The booth rules below are AAO’s 2026 rules from New Orleans, given for reference; AAO had not published its 2027 rules as of October 2026. In a linear (inline) booth, the 8-foot cap and its setback shape the layout.

AAO 2026 rules from New Orleans (for reference)

Linear booths (10×10, 10×20, and 10×30) were capped at 8 feet for product and display. Anything taller than 4 feet had to sit at least 5 feet back from the front aisle. In a 10×10, that puts every display piece over 4 feet in the back half of the booth.

Only island booths could hang signs. The maximum branded height was 25 feet from the floor to the top of the sign, unbranded truss and lighting could hang higher, each sign side was limited to 8 feet tall, and the combined length of overhead signs, like any side of a sign, could not exceed 50% of the booth dimension on the aisle it faces.

Island structures in booths under 4,900 square feet could not exceed 50% of the booth dimension they stood on and needed enough see-through areas not to block neighbors’ views, and in booths of 5,000 square feet or more, 75% with a 25% see-through effect. These limits cover how much of the booth’s length or width a structure can take up, not its height. Islands could be multi-level under the 2026 rules, with stamped plans due to the convention center at least two months before move-in. At the Venetian Expo, a multi-story display can skip sprinkler coverage only if it has no more than two levels and meets the venue’s other fire safety conditions.

The 2026 rules also required every booth to be carpeted with a standard 9-by-10-foot covering. Smaller pieces were allowed only as an interlocking system, and other flooring needed Expo Team approval. Booths not carpeted this way by 3:00 p.m. on the Friday of move-in were carpeted by Freeman at the exhibitor’s cost.

What the Venetian Expo allows

Halls A to D have a 32-foot 5-inch ceiling, and there the venue allows hanging signs up to 25 feet over island and peninsula booths of at least 400 square feet. AAO’s 2026 rule allowed them over islands only. These are venue limits for hanging signs, not booth construction heights. Confirm AAO’s 2027 booth height and hanging sign rules in the 2027 exhibitor manual. Hall G has a 13-foot 5-inch ceiling, lower in low-hang areas, and allows no hanging signs. Rated truss and rigging motors come only from Encore, the venue’s exclusive provider, and only Encore labor may assemble, install, and dismantle floor-supported items that project more than 16 feet from the floor.

Who can install your AAO booth

AAO calls an exhibitor-appointed contractor (EAC) an exhibitor designated contractor (EDC). At AAO, “EAC” means the Exhibitor Advisory Committee. Under the 2026 rules, exhibitors who did not file the EDC authorization form by the deadline were assigned Freeman, the 2026 general service contractor (GSC), for installation and dismantle (I&D). EDCs could not provide electrical, material handling, rigging, or booth cleaning, among other services. In New Orleans in 2026, an exhibitor’s own skilled full-time employees could install and dismantle a booth of any size with their own ladders and hand tools, but not with scooters, forklifts, pallet jacks, or motorized dollies. AAO had not published labor rules or announced a contractor for the 2027 Las Vegas show as of October 2026.

Exhibiting at AAO 2027 in Las Vegas? Get a free booth quote from Methodex for custom booth design, rentals, installation, and dismantling. Linear exhibitors can use our 10×10 Las Vegas booth guide. For a larger space, read how inline, peninsula, and island booths differ.