--- title: "Trade show lead retrieval: costs, options, CRM" description: "What trade show lead retrieval costs in 2026, what a badge scan returns, the three ways to capture leads at a booth, and how those leads reach your CRM." canonical: https://www.luminik.io/blog/2026/trade-show-lead-retrieval-costs-and-options/ source: html generated_at: 2026-09-24T17:49:41.540Z --- 1. [Home](/) 2. [Blog](/blog/) 3. [2026](/blog/2026/) 4. Trade show lead retrieval in 2026: costs and… Lead Capture # Trade show lead retrieval in 2026: costs and what a scan gives you What trade show lead retrieval costs in 2026, what a badge scan returns, the three ways to capture leads at a booth, and how those leads reach your CRM. ![Prasad Subrahmanya avatar](/founders/prasad-192.webp) Prasad Subrahmanya Founder, Luminik, September 23, 2026, 5 min read Key takeaways - At two large 2026 US shows, official lead retrieval started at $350 to $599 for the first device or app package, and each extra app user cost $149 to $200. - A badge scan returns what the attendee gave at registration. Fit, owner and next step are yours to add. - To scan with your own app, ask for the organizer's lead retrieval API. At the same two shows it cost $950 to $990. - Leads that wait in a CSV until the show is over lose the days when follow-up works best. Every exhibitor manual has a lead retrieval order form, and it is easy to tick the box without asking what you are buying. The form decides how much of the booth conversation reaches sales, and how fast. Here is what lead retrieval costs in 2026, what a scan actually returns, and the questions worth asking before the order deadline. ## What lead retrieval is Most trade shows appoint one official lead retrieval contractor. You rent from it: a handheld scanner, a licence for its app on your own phones, or both. The scanner reads the code on the attendee’s badge and returns what that attendee gave at registration. At ATD 2026 in Los Angeles the contractor was CMR. At the National Restaurant Association Show 2026 in Chicago it was Maritz. Events that run on a platform such as Cvent, Swapcard or Bizzabo work the same way from your side. The organizer turns on lead capture inside the event app, and your team scans from there. There are three routes to capturing leads at a booth, and they differ in what each scan gives you. Three ways to capture leads at a booth. Only the first two decode the badge into full registration data. ## What it costs in 2026 Two official 2026 exhibitor order forms, before tax. The lower price applies before the early order deadline, the higher one on site. | ATD 2026, Los Angeles (CMR) | National Restaurant Association Show 2026, Chicago (Maritz) | | | ------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------- | | Handheld scanner rental | $495 to $545 | $579 to $599 | | App, first licence or package | $350 to $400, one device | $579 to $599, three users | | Each extra app user | $150 to $200 | $149 | | Your own scanner, full data after the show | $440 to $490 | Not listed | | API into your own system | $990 | $950 | | Custom qualification codes or survey setup | $110 to $160 | $99 | For a booth of four reps on the app, ordered early, that is $800 at ATD ($350 plus three extra licences at $150) and $728 at the Restaurant Show ($579 for three users plus one more at $149). Sources: the [ATD 2026 lead retrieval order form](https://atdconference.td.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/ATD26%5FLeadRetrieval%5Forder%5Fform.pdf) and the [National Restaurant Association Show 2026 lead management order form](https://cdn.informaconnect.com/platform/files/public/2025-12/2026OSP%5FLeadRetrieval%5FOrderForm.pdf). Two terms on these forms catch teams out. At ATD, each app licence is tied to one device and cannot move to another phone. At the Restaurant Show, leads captured from badge photos or handwritten badge IDs arrive within 14 days after the event and carry a data services fee. ## What a scan gives you A scan returns registration data. At ATD 2026 that meant name, organization, mailing address, phone, fax, email and a unique attendee ID. On top of that, your team can tag the lead: ATD’s contractor pre-loads 21 standard action codes, such as “Purchase in 3 Months”, “Have Salesperson Call” and “HOT LEAD”. The Restaurant Show’s app lets reps rank leads, answer custom survey questions and add notes, with or without a data connection. Leads come back through the contractor’s portal. You can view them while the show is open and download them as a CSV during and after it. What the scan cannot tell you: - whether the company is one of your target accounts - whether the person is already in Salesforce or HubSpot, and who owns the account - what was said at the booth, beyond a code or a line of notes - what happens next, and by when Those four things decide whether a lead turns into a meeting. They are the part your team adds, and the part [worth capturing at the booth besides the badge scan](/blog/2026/what-to-capture-at-the-booth-besides-badge-scan/). ## Where booth leads lose time The scan is instant. The route from the scan to a rep’s follow-up usually is not. The usual route from a badge scan to a sales follow-up, and the same-day route when the scan is matched as it happens. On the usual route, leads collect in the portal until someone downloads the CSV after the show, cleans it, uploads it to the CRM and assigns owners. By then the booth conversation is days old. The [48-hour follow-up curve](/blog/2026/48-hour-event-follow-up-decay-curve/) shows what that delay costs. On the same-day route, each scan is matched to its account and owner as it happens, with the rep’s notes attached, and the follow-up task is in the CRM before the rep leaves the hall. ## Lead retrieval on event platforms When the event runs on a platform, the platform’s own lead capture replaces the contractor. - **Cvent.** The organizer licenses LeadCapture for the event. Your team scans badges in the LeadCapture app, adds notes and answers qualification questions, and the leads appear in the Exhibitor Portal, where you can export them. Cvent sells iCapture separately for exhibitors who want their own capture app. More on [Cvent and your CRM](/integrations/cvent/). - **Swapcard.** The organizer turns on Lead Capture for exhibitors, and your team scans and scores leads in the Swapcard app. Where the organizer also enables the Leads API, a scanned badge code returns the attendee’s contact details into your own system under the event’s consent rules. More on [Swapcard and your CRM](/integrations/swapcard/). - **Bizzabo.** Sponsors scan attendee QR codes in the event app or tap Klik SmartBadges, add qualification answers and notes, and download the lead list as a CSV. More on [Bizzabo and your CRM](/integrations/bizzabo/). ## Questions to ask exhibitor services before you order 1. **Who is the official lead retrieval provider, and when is the early deadline?** Prices at both shows above rose after it. 2. **How many users does one licence cover, and can it move between phones?** One device per licence is common. 3. **Which fields does a scan return?** Registration data varies by show. Ask for the field list. 4. **Is there an API or a data merge for our own app, and what does it cost?** Without it, your own app sees only what is printed on the badge. 5. **Does scanning work without a connection?** Hall Wi-Fi is often weakest when the booth is busiest. 6. **How and when do the leads reach us?** A live portal, a CSV after the show and a direct CRM sync are very different timelines. 7. **What did attendees agree to share?** At the Restaurant Show, registration terms cover sharing attendee details with exhibitors through lead retrieval. Check the terms for your event. ## Where Luminik fits Luminik works with the organizer’s scan. It takes the leads from the lead retrieval app, the CSV or the API, matches each one to its account in Salesforce or HubSpot, attaches the rep’s notes, assigns the owner and creates the follow-up task. The weeks before the show are covered too: the attendee list is scored against your ICP so the booth team knows who to look for, and the pipeline that follows is counted against the event. See [how capture works in Luminik](/product/during-event-capture/), or book a 20-minute walkthrough on your next event. ![Prasad Subrahmanya avatar](/founders/prasad-192.webp) About the author Prasad Subrahmanya Founder, Luminik Founder of Luminik. Previously Venture CTO at Bain & Company and cofounder at Mainteny. Writes about how mid-market B2B teams build predictable pipeline from events. [Connect on LinkedIn](https://linkedin.com/in/prasadus) Keep reading ## More on Lead Capture [All posts](/blog/) [![What to capture at the booth besides a badge scan cover image](/blog-thumbnails/what-to-capture-at-the-booth-besides-badge-scan.png)Lead CaptureWhat to capture at the booth besides a badge scanBadge scans are only the contact record. Capture ICP score, pain, urgency, owner, next step, and attribution context before the event lead goes cold.](/blog/2026/what-to-capture-at-the-booth-besides-badge-scan/)[![The field guide to badge OCR: why confidence beats accuracy claims cover image](/blog-thumbnails/badge-ocr-field-guide.png)AI in MarketingThe field guide to badge OCR: why confidence beats accuracy claimsGlare, lanyards, and handwritten name tags decide what reaches your CRM. How to read badge OCR accuracy claims like an operator.](/blog/2026/badge-ocr-field-guide/)[![Your event campaigns show zero converted leads. Here is why. cover image](/blog-thumbnails/event-campaigns-zero-converted-leads.png)AttributionYour event campaigns show zero converted leads. Here is why.Three reasons Salesforce event campaigns report zero converted leads, and the six-stage funnel plus source-tagging model that fix the report.](/blog/2026/event-campaigns-zero-converted-leads/) ## See how Luminik would approach your next event A 20-minute walkthrough, tailored to the events on your calendar. [Book a 20-min walkthrough](/demo/) ![Prasad Subrahmanya](/founders/prasad-192.webp) > I take every walkthrough myself. Bring the next event on your calendar. Prasad Subrahmanya, founder