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Association membership has plenty to offer

Recently we made the decision to increase our networking capability by joining two of the industry’s top associations.

With all the trade show, meeting, destination and exhibit associations to choose from, we felt that TSEA and IAEE had plenty to offer us and would provide great opportunities to meet trade show and exhibit industry professionals. It is the members of both organizations that we want to meet and do business with. This is not to say that we are not interested in joining other associations, but the Trade Show Exhibitors Association and the International Association of Exhibitions and Events, just felt right for us right now.

My thanks go out to Stephen Schuldenfrei, president of TSEA for welcoming us into the association. I have always been interested in TSEA since attending my first TS2 during the summer of 2001 at the Long Beach Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif. I have since been to Chicago twice for TS2 and this summer we hope to make a trip to Philadelphia for the next "Total Solutions Marketing for the Exhibit and Event Professional." Registration is now open. A TS2 banner is found below and links to a page where a PDF can be downloaded. Registration can also be completed online.

The show has been growing since National Trade Productions took over and this year should provide more education and network opportunities. Attendees can take classes to put toward his or her goal to become a Certified Manager of Exhibits (CME).

Meanwhile, IAEE offers professionals to become Certified in Exhibition Management (CEM).

Last December I attended my first Expo! Expo! The show was held at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas so I did not have to travel far. I was very impressed with this show and it was great how so many people went out of their way to make me feel welcome. I attended the first-timers luncheon and learned a lot about the show and "IA double E."

I had the opportunity to meet IAEE President Steven Hacker, CAE; Jeff Price, IAEE 2007 chairman; and Randy Bauler, CEM, IAEE 2008 chairman.

It was Jim Letchworth, CEM, with GES, who introduced me to the Southwest Chapter, which includes Las Vegas and Southern California. As the chairman, he invited me to the chapter's reception later that night and it was there where I met many IAEE members who had nothing but optimism and praise for the association. That night a new board of directors was installed and I was able to meet Yolanda Stephens who took over as the chapter chair.

I knew I wanted to join IAEM and become involved with the association. The entire show was just tremendous.

The next Expo! Expo! is December 9-11 2008 at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Fla.

I am looking forward to more networking opportunities. With membership into two quality associations, I doubt I will have any trouble finding my way around the industry. I hope to be involved in any way possible. Meanwhile, let me know what Trade Show Expo can do for you.

Vincent Hernandez
Publisher & Editor, Trade Show Expo

Cheers for EXHIBITOR08

Exhibitor 2008 was another great gathering of trade show industry professionals. It was another educational experience and one I look forward to every year. There is always plenty to see and many people to meet. And never enough time to see everything.

I’d like to say thanks to everyone who attended and made it a worthwhile experience.

Although I live in Las Vegas, it is not easy for me to spend much time at the show. What time I do have I spend it by taking photos on the show floor and talking with as many people as possible. Please visit our photo gallery and see some of the photos from the show. Look for a short video on the show in the next eNewsletter. Hopefully I will put it together soon and share it with all our readers.

I don’t know about you, but I really enjoyed the welcome reception and the chance to walk through the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay Convention Center. It’s one of the best aquatic exhibits on the Las Vegas Strip. I found it appropriate for sushi to be served before visiting the sharks.

Exhibitor is always a great resource for the latest in products, services and trends in the trade show industry. But for those of you who missed MOD ’08, you missed a great opportunity for learning about the latest trends in modular booths. Hosted by Dan Hanover of Event Design Magazine, this event was held at the Four Seasons — just a short walk away from the Exhibitor show floor. This was the second year that Abex Exhibits and Octanorm partnered with many other sponsors to present this show. I was amazed by the latest in modular design as presented by Armen Gharabegian, founder and CEO or Ethos Design. Other speakers included Simon Burton creator of The Exhibiting Show UK, Robbie Blumenfeld of Abex and Alan Cordial of Calan Communications. All the speakers had insightful information to share.

The shrimp and crab was also great. Also, kudos to all the sponsores involved including K&S International, Rock-it Cargo, ExhibitForce.com, Dazian Rentals, Lounge22, Nuvista, Event Crowd, Entertainment Lighting Services, Interlock Structures and Convention Models & Talent. The only criticisms I have is that the show started late and there were some technical glitches with the sound system, but otherwise, I look forward to Mod ’09.

I hope you find lots of good information in this week’s newsletter. There is a bit more International news in this issue. You can also read about a new resort coming to Seattle, Wa. There are more people making news below as well.

Until next week, enjoy the Spring and have a good Easter!

Vincent Hernandez
Publisher & Editor, Trade Show Expo

Without a doubt, Las Vegas is
No. 1 among trade show destinations

I have heard it said that anyone associated with the trade show industry, eventually travels to Las Vegas.

This may be truer than ever with the recent rankings released by Tradeshow Week magazine.

Las Vegas is tops among trade show destinations with a record number of the largest trade shows in 2005. In fact, Las Vegas hosted 44 shows of the 200 largest trade shows. Orlando was second with 26. Other cities mentioned with top-200 shows were Chicago with 20, New York City with 16, Atlanta ranked fifth with 11, Anaheim hosted eight, New Orleans and San Francisco tied at No. 7 with seven shows, Dallas was home to six shows and Louisville hosted five.

It is no secret that Las Vegas has plenty to offer meeting planners and trade show managers, as well as exhibitors and attendees.

Southern California may have the beaches and Disneyland. Orlando also has beaches and Disney World. Chicago has Navy Pier with its giant Ferris wheel.

Las Vegas has gaming, good weather, thrill rides, golf, hiking, swimming pools and lots of floor space. Furthermore, it is hard not to visit a city where mum’s the word when it comes to nightlife and social proclivity.

Las Vegas offers a whopping 22.6 millions square feet of space for trade shows. Orlando is a distant second with 7.6 million square feet.

Also making the top 10 are Chicago with 6.4 million, New York City with 4.4 million, Louisville (4.1 million), Atlanta (3.1 million), Anaheim (2.1 million), San Francisco (1.6 million) New Orleans (1.5 million) and Los Angeles (1.3 million).

According to Tradeshow Week, not only did Las Vegas add six major conventions from the previous year, the size of all its large shows rose by 22 percent. That’s more than a third of all U.S. square footage combined among the biggest 200 shows.

For those of us who live in Las Vegas, we have to deal with the growing traffic, an unfinished freeway system and triple-digit summer heat. But it’s great to see so many conventioneers enjoy visiting in record numbers. We love the boost to our economy.

Las Vegas has no plans to relinquish it title of “King of the Convention World.” Sand Expo and Convention Center is adding 1 million square feet by 2008 and the Las Vegas Convention Center will be adding to its 3.2 million square feet.

McCormick Place in Chicago was once the U.S. convention capital for decades until it was dethroned in 1990. Since then it has fallen into third place behind Orlando for the first time. New York’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center is undergoing a $1.7 billion expansion project and will likely move into third place next year.

McCormick Place is adding 470,000 square feet of exhibit space in its West Building due to open in July 2007, but it may be too little too late for The Windy City.

Chicago hosted six conventions less than Orlando in 2005. Orlando continues to grow and it is able to attract more shows with its warm weather.

Overall, exhibit space is growing across the country. The amount of exhibit space has grown more than 60 percent since 1990 for a total of  64.7 million square feet.

That’s a lot of space to walk through.


Send your news and photos to vincent@trade-show-expo.com. Of course, we also want to hear from you if you are interested in advertising in our printed issue, our web site or if you want your company’s banner posted on our Internet newsletter. I guarantee you won’t find a better deal right now to get your company’s message out.

Meanwhile, look for me various trade shows in Las Vegas and I’ll be glad to share my publication with you.
 
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