An increasing range of online services make planning before the fair easier
Organise the journey, book the hotel, select the most important exhibitors, etc., a visit to Light+Building – International Trade Fair for Architecture and Technology – in Frankfurt am Main from 6 to 11 April 2008 needs to be planned carefully. With a variety of pre-fair services, Messe Frankfurt helps its visitors organise their visit to the fair easily and efficiently.
Tickets online save time and money
At www.light-building.messefrankfurt.com ('Visit to the fair' section), visitors can register in advance and purchase their tickets online, which saves waiting times at the entrances. Additionally, tickets purchased on the internet are sold at advance-booking prices until noon on the last day of the fair. Day tickets cost € 13 each (€ 15 on arrival) and day tickets € 28 each (€ 33 on arrival). Ticket vouchers can also be exchanged for a personalised admission ticket quickly and easily online. Another benefit: admission tickets to Light+Building entitle holders to travel free of charge using local public-transport services operated by the RMV transport authority. And, for the first time during Light+Building, personalised tickets from vouchers can also be used for to travel to the fair free of charge on RMV services – however, this only applies to vouchers registered in advance online. Vouchers must be exchanged for admission tickets on arrival at the Exhibition Centre at the latest.
Exhibitor search
Conducting an exhibitor search via the internet enables visitors to plan their appointments and find the most direct route to the exhibitors of their choice. All companies registered for Light+Building are listed under 'Find Exhibitors' at www.light+building.messefrankfurt. The search can be carried out by name, product group, country or exhibition stand and a tour of the fair planned in advance. This service will be available from the beginning of February.
XyberScout Light+Building 2008
XyberScout (for Palm OS, Windows PocketPC) puts all important information about Light+Building 2008 (including a plan of the fair) onto visitors' personal PDAs. Thus, visitors can call up details as required and the following functions: exhibitor search (alphabetically or by product groups), product-group search, show exhibitors on zoomable hall plans, event search (by subject, name or date) and general information (organiser and contact persons, hours of opening and prices, travel information, room reservations, restaurants).
New: XyberScout can also be downloaded onto any java compatible mobile phone and Blackberry. Information about XyberScout can be found approximately a week before the fair begins under 'XyberScout' in the 'Visitor Centre' section of the Light+Building internet site.
Light+Building news with the free newsletter
Via a regular newsletter, which can be ordered easily and free of charge via the website, the Light+Building Team provides information for visitors on the most important topics, including any last minute changes.
Hotspot Messe Frankfurt
W-LAN (Wireless Local Area Network) enables visitors to access the internet anywhere at Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre using wireless technology. The only prerequisite is that the notebook, PC or PDA be equipped with a conventional W-LAN card. The innovative hotspot – a joint project of Messe Frankfurt and T-Systems – ensures complete mobile communication throughout the Exhibition Centre – with no limits and no delays. Visitors will find voucher vending machines in the entrance areas of the fair.
Travel
No matter from where visitors come, Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre is quick and easy to reach. The location in the centre of Frankfurt provides excellent connections all over the world. Drivers simply follow the signs to the 'Messe' (fair) on all motorway exits, which taken them straight to the Rebstock multi-storey car park, from where free shuttle buses run to and from the fair. Thanks to the excellent local public-transport links to the Exhibition Centre, commuting to towns up to 50 km away from Frankfurt is possible without difficulty. Local trains S3, S4, S5 and S6 stop in the middle of the Exhibition Centre and, by underground train U4, visitors can get from the Main Railway Station (Hauptbahnhof) to the City Entrance Terminal in around two minutes. By foot, it takes about ten minutes from the Main Railway Station to the Exhibition Centre. The service from Frankfurt Airport to the fair is also quick and convenient. Lines S8 and S9 run to the Main Railway Station every 15 minutes (journey time: approx. 11 minutes). By taxi, the journey takes around 30 minutes. Another transfer option is the Airport Shuttle Bus, which runs from the bus station of Terminals 1 and 2 straight to the entrance to the fair and costs € 6.
Accommodation
The Rhine-Main Hotel Guide provides help in the search for the right accommodation in more than 200 hotels. Using the compact guide, visitors should have no trouble finding suitable accommodation. Additionally, there are details of over 130 restaurants in a removable Restaurant Guide. The Hotel Guide is bilingual in German and English and can be ordered at the price of € 6.50 by calling +49 69 7575-6083. The guide is also available as an internet database at www.hotelguide-rheinmain.de. The online search is particularly convenient because, for example, users can also conduct searches by price category and distance from the fair. Rooms in hotels and guesthouses can also be reserved via Tourismus + Congress GmbH, Frankfurt, tel. +49 69 2123 0808, e mail info@infofrankfurt.de, www.frankfurt-tourismus.de.
Free ticket to Decorate Life at Light+Building
All visitors to Light+Building will have the chance to visit the new Decorate Life association of fairs from 4 to 8 July 2008 free of charge. All they have to do is obtain one of the flyers that will be distributed at the Exhibition Centre. Using the registration number printed on the flyer, visitors can then register online via the Decorate Life homepage (www.decorate-life.messefrankfurt.com) by 15 May 2008 and then print out their free ticket to the new joint appearance of Tendence, Collectione, Young Living, Outdoor Living and The Design Annual (4 to 7 July 2008). Further information can be found on the internet at www.decorate-life.messefrankfurt.com.
