Event Freight Shouldn't Be Your Problem
Hotels and conference centers are not freight facilities, but every event sends freight to your dock. Our role is to become the shipping resource you hand your event clients, so freight is coordinated before it ever reaches your venue. We focus on three things: giving event clients a clear freight resource from the moment they start planning, coordinating inbound shipments so your dock is not overwhelmed, and making sure return freight is scheduled before the event ends.
A family-owned brokerage since 1990. Three decades of carrier relationships, and the same promise the whole way: your freight gets a person, not a queue.
- 2M+ shipments arranged
- Shipper portal rate, book, and track any hour
- SmartWay partner with the EPA. Freight through DTS counts toward your sustainability reporting
- A person answers no phone tree, Monday to Friday
Where event freight goes wrong at hotels
Shipments addressed to the front desk with no contact name or event
Freight that shows up a week early with nowhere to store it
Dozens of small senders shipping to one address for the same event
Pallets and boxes left behind after move out, with no carrier coming
Your staff tracking down a shipper two weeks after checkout
How the program works
Dock and receiving coordination
When an event client books your venue, we become their freight resource. We work with planners, exhibitors and sponsors on inbound shipments: shipping instructions, carrier timing, and the right contact name and delivery window on every shipment. Your dock team knows what is coming and when.
Event client shipping portal
Your event clients get a shipping portal where they can request quotes, print shipping labels, create bills of lading and schedule return pickups before they arrive. It is set up for your property with your receiving address, dock hours and delivery requirements built in.
Return freight and forced freight prevention
When a client leaves without arranging a pickup, the materials become your problem. We work with your event clients to schedule return pickups before the event closes, so a confirmed carrier plan is in place before the last session ends.
One dedicated contact for your venue
Your team and your event clients work with one person who knows your property. No call center, no starting over with every event.
What your event clients get
Venue specific shipping instructions
Your receiving address, dock hours, contact requirements and delivery restrictions, ready to hand to their shipping department.
Pre addressed labels and bills of lading
Labels with the event name, contact person and delivery details filled in, and a completed BOL with your venue's receiving information, so carriers and your dock team can identify every shipment before it is unloaded.
Quotes for inbound and outbound shipments
Event clients request quotes for their inbound materials and return shipments and get a confirmed plan without calling around for a carrier.
Return pickups scheduled before the event ends
Clients submit a return freight request before their event closes. We book the carrier, confirm the pickup window and send a confirmation, so your dock is clear after move out.
Inbound shipment visibility
Your event coordinator can see which clients have freight in transit, what is confirmed for delivery and what is still outstanding, before event week starts.
Claims support
If freight arrives damaged, the event client can start a claim with the shipment details filled in and photos attached. We work the claim with the carrier so your venue is not in the middle of a freight dispute.
Not getting the support you need for your events?
For decades we have worked with event clients who needed a freight resource that understood the venue environment. Diversified Transportation Services partners with hotels and conference centers to run the freight side of their events, so your clients ship with confidence, your dock runs cleanly and your team never has to chase down a carrier or figure out what to do with a pallet that showed up unannounced.
We also work with event producers and show managers and coordinate roadshow and event freight.
We use DTS daily through out our company. Their team is always great with service and arranging our many different shipments. They offer advice on tricky situations and offer a range of services that our business needs.
More event freight
- Trade Show ShippingAdvance warehouse or direct to show
- Show Shipping DeadlinesDeadlines and freight addresses by show
- Roadshow and Event FreightTours, launches and pop-ups, stop by stop
- Costco and Retail RoadshowsAppointments and paperwork, checked ahead
- Exhibit Houses and Booth BuildersThe freight desk behind your project managers
- General Service ContractorsExhibitor freight in to your warehouse and back out
Frequently asked questions
Still have a question?
Call and talk it through with a DTS coordinator, Monday to Friday.
(800) 460-8540What is a hotel event freight program?
It is an arrangement between a hotel or conference center and a freight broker where the broker serves as the shipping resource for the venue's event clients. The broker coordinates inbound and outbound shipments, provides shipping instructions and portal access, and schedules return pickups ahead of time, so freight does not fall on the hotel's staff or dock team.
What is forced freight and why is it a problem for hotels?
Forced freight happens when an event ends and no carrier has been arranged to pick up the remaining materials. A convention center has a process for it. At a hotel, it sits in a storage room, hallway or loading dock and blocks space for the next event, and your staff ends up tracking down the client or a carrier. Scheduling return freight before the event ends prevents it.
What types of events does this program work for?
Any event where attendees, exhibitors or sponsors ship materials to your venue: corporate meetings and conferences with branded materials and signage, hosted buyer events and small expos with several exhibitors, association conferences with sponsor displays, and product launches where demo equipment has to arrive and leave on schedule.
What shipments typically arrive at hotel conference centers?
Mostly LTL and parcel: marketing collateral, product samples, demo equipment, speaker materials, signage, swag for attendee bags and small exhibitor displays. Each shipment is smaller than trade show booth freight, but many different senders ship to one address, which is where dock confusion comes from.
How does a venue become a DTS partner?
It starts with a conversation about the events you host, how freight arrives today and where the pain points are. From there we set up the portal for your property, write your venue specific shipping instructions, and create a simple resource you can hand to every event client at booking. There is no cost to become a partner: we earn our fee on the freight we arrange for your clients.
Become a Partner
Tell us about your property and the events you host, and we will set up a time to talk.
Prefer to call? (800) 460-8540.
Let’s talk about your next shipment.
Send the details and a real person gets back to you the same business day.