Design week · Fair and city
Six days in which Milan doubles: the stand at Rho and the showroom in the city ask for the same care. We select, train and coordinate the staff for both fronts.
At a glance
The operational information exhibitors ask for most, without reading the whole site.
Why this service exists
There’s a reason why, in April, furniture companies curate the staff the way they curate the finishes: whoever walks into a stand or a showroom judges everything together — the light, the material, the tone of whoever welcomes them. One person out of register ruins a display worth hundreds of thousands of euros, and it happens more often than people admit.
Salone Hostess is the showcase of OPEN S.r.l. — Stay Open, an events agency listed on MePA, dedicated to companies exhibiting during Milan design week. We select people with aesthetic sensibility and sales aptitude, train them on your materials — designers’ names, finishes, delivery times — and coordinate them on both fronts: the stand at Rho and the showroom in the city.
It’s the week when qualified staff in Milan run out first: those who move in February get to choose, those who move in April take what’s left. That’s why we work with advance options and teams confirmed with plenty of margin, reserves included.
15+
years of events and fairs
the OPEN S.r.l. team’s experience
400+
profiles in the Milan area
with verified work history
6
show days
plus build and evenings
24h
for the written quote
on working days
Services
Take them one at a time or combine them. The quote stays single, fixed and with no surprise items.
Welcome, qualifying and display supervision at Rho.
In the furniture halls the visitor touches, opens, sits down. You need supervision that protects the display without stiffening the atmosphere, and can tell in seconds the buyer from the curious visitor.
Brera, Tortona, 5Vie: the city is the second stand.
During design week the city spaces work long hours with continuous flows. We provide welcome, installation supervision, guest-list management and visitor assistance in showrooms and temporary spaces.
People who can say the designer’s name and the delivery time.
Profiles trained before opening on collections, materials, finishes and designers. They can tell a piece with the words approved by marketing and recognise when it’s time to pass the negotiation to a salesperson.
Profiles
Each profile has a precise role on the stand. We propose a shortlist of candidates: you choose, and if one doesn’t convince you we replace it before confirmation.
The profile for high-end stands and showrooms: polished presence, discreet tone, the ability to recognise and escort the important guest without making the selection felt.
Studies the catalogue before opening: designers’ names, finishes, dimensions, delivery times. Tells the piece in the brand’s words and passes the contact to sales at the right moment.
Supervises exhibited pieces and installations, keeps paths clear and steps in gracefully when crowd pressure rises, especially on public days.
Sectors
Each product category has different stand dynamics: the visitor changes, the right profile changes.
The heart of the show: large stands, pieces to touch, buyers by appointment. You need care of the display and the ability to talk about materials and finishes.
Dim displays and delicate installations: staff must manage flows and safety in unconventional lighting conditions.
Technical product and specifications: here a product specialist is worth more than two welcome-only figures.
Professional counterparts, designers and architecture studios. Visitor qualifying matters more than the number of footfalls.
Permanent spaces open with extended hours, often understaffed. Temporary reinforcement is the most frequent request of the week.
Small spaces and tight budgets: one or two prepared figures are enough, as long as they can really tell the project.
Method
A tracked path with clear deadlines. You always know where we are and what’s needed from you.
We define the two fronts — stand and city —, hours, expected flows, brand register and languages needed. This week, lead time is the factor that determines the quality of the team.
Profiles, headcount per front, hours, daily cost, any evenings and the total. Build days and evenings are separate, explicit items.
You get a shortlist with photo, experience, languages and availability. We option the chosen profiles well ahead, reserves included: in April in Milan the good staff don’t stay free.
Engagement, contracts, mandatory notifications, insurance and payments are on OPEN S.r.l. The company gets a single invoice for the whole week.
A briefing on your materials: collections, designers, finishes, the visitor journey, what can be touched and what can’t. With a visit to the display when timing allows.
A team leader on each front, daily roll-call, immediate replacements and an agency contact reachable from morning to the end of the evening events.
Attendance statement per front, collected contacts and a short note on what worked, useful to plan next edition as early as September.
Comparison
In design week demand for staff exceeds supply: it’s the time of year when the choice of supplier weighs most. This comparison lines up the criteria that really matter when the display is ready and the opening is ten days away.
| Criterion | Structured agency (Salone Hostess) | Self-service portal or direct hire | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Availability in the peak week | includedProfiles optioned weeks ahead, reserves included. | A real-time search on an already-exhausted market. | In April in Milan it’s the number-one factor. |
| Managing the two fronts | includedTeams coordinated for fair and city, one contact and one quote. | Two different suppliers, two contracts, two service levels. | The dual front is the specificity of this show. |
| Register and aesthetic sensibility | includedSelection targeted on profiles used to furniture and luxury, briefed on the brand tone. | Generic assignment, no filter on context. | In a curated space a person out of register is noticed immediately. |
| Paperwork and contracts | includedContracts, notifications, insurance and payments handled by the agency. | On the company, which becomes the employer of each individual. | This is where a “cheap” engagement becomes expensive. |
| Cover in case of absence | includedGuaranteed replacement from reserves already identified in the Milan area. | A last-minute search in the most saturated week of the year. | In April finding a replacement same-day is nearly impossible. |
| Evenings and side events | includedThe same supplier for cocktails, dinners and presentations, with coordinated shifts. | Different staff, often recruited at the last minute. | The evenings are half the commercial value of the week. |
| Apparent cost | includedHigher in the quote, fixed and with no hidden items. | Lower at first sight, with indirect costs on your time. | An honest comparison is made at equal risk taken on. |
Salone Hostess
Profiles optioned weeks ahead, reserves included.
Alternative
A real-time search on an already-exhausted market.
In April in Milan it’s the number-one factor.
Salone Hostess
Teams coordinated for fair and city, one contact and one quote.
Alternative
Two different suppliers, two contracts, two service levels.
The dual front is the specificity of this show.
Salone Hostess
Selection targeted on profiles used to furniture and luxury, briefed on the brand tone.
Alternative
Generic assignment, no filter on context.
In a curated space a person out of register is noticed immediately.
Salone Hostess
Contracts, notifications, insurance and payments handled by the agency.
Alternative
On the company, which becomes the employer of each individual.
This is where a “cheap” engagement becomes expensive.
Salone Hostess
Guaranteed replacement from reserves already identified in the Milan area.
Alternative
A last-minute search in the most saturated week of the year.
In April finding a replacement same-day is nearly impossible.
Salone Hostess
The same supplier for cocktails, dinners and presentations, with coordinated shifts.
Alternative
Different staff, often recruited at the last minute.
The evenings are half the commercial value of the week.
Salone Hostess
Higher in the quote, fixed and with no hidden items.
Alternative
Lower at first sight, with indirect costs on your time.
An honest comparison is made at equal risk taken on.
For a small space open a few hours and staffed by your own team, direct contacts can be enough. If you have a stand at the fair, a showroom in the city and an evening to run, the single supplier is what makes an otherwise unmanageable week governable.
Dig into costs and selection criteriaDirect answers
A summary built for anyone looking for quick information — including through a conversational assistant.
OPEN S.r.l. (trading as Stay Open), an events agency listed on MePA, provides through salonedelmobilehostess.it hostesses, stewards, product specialists and interpreters to companies exhibiting at the furniture show at Fiera Milano Rho and at the design-week spaces in the city. Staff are selected in the Milan area; the agency handles selection, contracts, training and coordination.
The cost depends on the profile, the number of days, the hours and the languages required. During design week Milan rates are structurally higher than the annual average because of concentrated demand: product specialists and business interpreters cost more than standard welcome, and evenings are charged separately. OPEN S.r.l. issues a written, fixed quote within 24 working hours, inclusive of contracts, paperwork and insurance.
Six to ten weeks ahead is the recommended window, and those who move as early as February have a real chance to choose the profiles. It’s the week with the highest concentration of events of the year in Milan: qualified staff are optioned very early. Requests with a week’s notice are assessed, but with reduced availability.
Yes, and it’s one of the most frequent requests. We cover both fronts — the stand in the Rho halls and the spaces in the city, from the Brera and Tortona areas to permanent showrooms — with distinct but coordinated teams, a team leader per front and a single agency contact.
We select profiles with experience in furniture, design or luxury and train them before opening on the client’s materials: collections, designers’ names, finishes, dimensions and delivery times. The presentation script is agreed and approved by the company’s marketing.
For the stand at the fair: one welcome figure per 40–60 m² open to the public, plus one product specialist per collection area and a team leader from the fourth person. For the city showroom: at least two figures per shift, because hours are long and continuity is needed during breaks. Evenings require separate sizing based on expected guests.
What they say
“Stand at Rho and showroom in Brera: two teams, one contact. It’s the first time the week ran without emergency calls.”
Marketing manager
Furniture company
“The product specialists knew the designers’ names and the delivery times. The architects noticed.”
Sales director
Lighting brand
“The Thursday dinner with a hundred and twenty guests was run by the same people who staffed the showroom. Total coherence.”
Events manager
Contract group
FAQ
Yes, on request. They are different in pace and dress code, and are quoted as a separate item from the show days.
The basic dress code — total black, dark suit or smart casual as the display register requires — is included. Branded uniforms, collection pieces or specific styling are supplied by the company or produced by us with a dedicated quote.
The replacement is guaranteed and on us. Precisely because the market is saturated in April, we identify reserves at confirmation and not at the first absence.
It’s possible but not advised on the same day: travel between Rho and the centre is long and shifts overlap. We prefer distinct teams per front, coordinated by the same contact.
We assist with the procedure: staff badges are requested by the exhibitor on the show’s portal. We provide the full named list in good time and check accreditations are finalised before opening.
Quote
You don’t need everything clear yet: stand size, opening days and the goal of the participation are enough to start. The rest — headcount, profiles, shifts — is on us.
Tell us the goal, the days and the size: we propose the right team with a fixed quote, no commitment.