A Little Hospitality Means More Value
By Lisa Plummer -- Tradeshow Week, 3/13/2009 4:43:00 PM
Even though the bar, nightclub, restaurant and hotel industries all have felt their fair share of pain from the current economy, Intl. Hospitality Week reflected less doom and gloom than expected.Held March 1-4 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, the three-in-one tradeshow that includes Nightclub & Bar Convention & Trade Show, Intl. Restaurant Show and HotelWorld, might have been a smaller event this year but, for many participants, it still was a good place to do business – and to party.
Covering 229,000 square feet, the event attracted just more than 28,000 attendees and 866 exhibiting companies. Compared with 2008, show size and participation was down approximately 17 percent, according to Questex Media President and CEO Kerry Gumas, when 33,500 attendees and 1,020 exhibitors covered 277,000 sq. ft. of space.
“The trend in terms of what’s been happening with exhibitor spending is downsizing,” Gumas said. “You’re (also) seeing fewer (people coming) from the same companies.”
On the showfloor, activity levels varied. Although the largest of the three events, Nightclub & Bar, was noticeably smaller, with more modest booths, compared with prior years, its traffic was robust. Intl. Restaurant appeared moderately busy, while HotelWorld was light.
Still, many people from both sides of the aisles were pleased.
“(The show is) smaller, but the people here are moving, they seem happy,” exhibitor Roger Nottestad, marketing director of FrostShot, said. “Sin is always going to sell. When things are tough, vice goes up.”
Attendee Donna Farinacci, consultant for Red Circle Bar & Lanes, said she always get something valuable out of the event, regardless of its size.
“This is the only show we come to,” Farinacci said. “It gives you the opportunity to look at products and see what might attract clientele to your business.”
According to Gumas, being proactive to maintain participation was about adding value, which included doubling the show’s off-floor evening events. For exhibiting companies that opted out of the tradeshow itself, sponsorship opportunities abounded at club and restaurant venues up and down the Strip, Gumas said. These nightlife activities were just another chance for companies and suppliers to network, promote themselves and do business, he added.
“We want to use all of Las Vegas as our venue,” Gumas said. “It’s an exciting ticket for the audience.”
According to Gumas, other value-adds included working with GES Exposition Services to keep exhibitor costs down, as well as offering economical exhibiting options, increasing cutting-edge conference content and working with hotel partners to keep rates competitive.
“At the end of the day, this happens to be the business of fun,” Gumas said. “We don’t forget that, as we produce high-quality business events, that people need to walk away feeling they’ve had a really great experience. (Right now) we could all use a drink.”
