How are buyers matched to exhibitors?

From the categories both sides declare at registration, with weighting for what the buyer says they intend to source. Confirmations happen before travel is booked.

Can sponsors fund hosted buyers?

Often, yes. It is a common package element, and the deliverable is a defined number of meetings with buyers in a named category.

What is a hosted buyer program? How qualified buyers are recruited

Also calledHosted buyersVIP buyer programBuyer hosting

Qualification is the product

The value of the program is entirely in the screening: purchasing authority, budget, category fit and seniority. An application form with verification steps, and a review stage before acceptance, is what separates a hosted buyer program from a free ticket.

The meeting commitment

Hosted buyers usually agree to a minimum number of scheduled meetings. Those are matched against exhibitor categories ahead of the show, confirmed by both sides, and tracked on the day — attendance at them is the condition attached to the hospitality.

What it costs and what it returns

Flights and hotels are real money, so the program has to be measured: meetings held, business reported afterwards, and exhibitor satisfaction against the categories you recruited for. Without that measurement it quietly becomes a travel budget.

What is hosted buyer program?

Qualification is the product

The meeting commitment

What it costs and what it returns

Hosted buyer program, in practice

See hosted buyer program working on a real show.