Tradeshow Tales   

There were two recent announcements of associations that decided working together and sharing information made sense.

The first announcement was made June 24 by UFI, The Global Assn. of the Exhibition Industry, and the Society of Independent Show Organizers.

Both associations agreed to not only start sharing information between its members, but also allow SISO and UFI members to go to each other’s meetings at member rates.

The second announcement the next day from the Professional Convention Management Assn. and the Assn. of Corporate Travel Executives involved plans to “develop a progressive and innovative Strategic Alliance,” according to a press release posted on PCMA’s Web site. “This Alliance will uniquely lever...Read More

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Most people have heard of the blacklist in Hollywood when individuals who were accused of having Communist sympathies were barred from working in the film business.

It seems ludicrous now that such a frenzy of fear was whipped up at the time that a witch hunt of sorts occurred.

Now, several decades later, leaders in the tradeshow and travel association industry think that there might be another blacklist out there, but this time it involves barring government employees from going to, or having, meetings in certain destinations.

Before you think to yourself, “she’s crazy” – consider what Gary Sain, president and CEO of the Orlando/Orange ...Read More

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If there’s a global recession going on that’s supposedly touching every square corner of the earth, at surface level, it seems to have skipped Italy.

I’ve been in Milan a few days now, and, besides the throngs of tourists at the airport, central train station and attractions, the dollar pales in comparison to the still mighty euro.

On my first day in the city, I decided to sit down and have a cold drink at a sidewalk café. I ordered a Coke, made sure I asked for ice with it (they don’t like ice in Europe it seems) and about fell out of my chair when the waitress told me it was €4.50.

...Read More

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As a reporter, every once in a while you can be caught completely flat-footed on a story. Let me explain.

A few weeks ago, I interviewed Mike Cooke, CEO of dmg world media, about the sale of the California Gift Show to Merchandise Mart Properties Inc., as well as the sale of a few art shows and a plan to sell off the rest of the West Coast and Canadian gift shows.

I also was working on another story for a different issue that was going to be dropped at the Exhibition & Convention Executives Forum a few weeks later. The story was about leadership roles and the kind of tough decisions that have been made as a result of the downturn in the economy.

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For those of you who have never heard of Novi, Mich., don’t worry – I’ll bet you’re far from being the only ones.

Novi is located in the southeastern corner of the state, just more than a half hour outside of Detroit.

With a population of 50,000 residents or so, Novi’s claim to fame up until this point has been the Twelve Oaks Mall that was built there in the ’70s, making it a major shopping destination for the region.

Now, the city’s gunning for something much bigger to make a mark for itself – the North American Intl. Auto Show, which currently is held at Detroit’s Cobo Center.

Detroit and Cobo have collectively dropped the ball over and ...Read More

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For those of you who have never heard of Novi, Mich., don’t worry – I’ll bet you’re far from being the only ones.

Novi is located in the southeastern corner of the state, just more than a half hour outside of Detroit.

With a population of 50,000 residents or so, Novi’s claim to fame up until this point has been the Twelve Oaks Mall that was built there in the ’70s, making it a major shopping destination for the region.

Now, the city’s gunning for something much bigger to make a mark for itself – the North American Intl. Auto Show, which currently is held at Detroit’s Cobo Center.

Detroit and Cobo have collectively dropped the ball over and ...Read More

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Since we have a few freelancers who actively cover shows in Las Vegas for Tradeshow Week, it’s been almost a year since I was last here.

Even so, I’ve written several stories on the drop in meetings and convention attendance, as well as the tough times the big casino companies, such as MGM Mirage and Las Vegas Sands, have had in this economy.

Needless to say, I expected to come to Las Vegas and see a city that was really struggling, with few visitors at the gaming tables, in the restaurants and or out on Las Vegas Boulevard.

I asked the cabdriver who picked me up at the airport how bad business was for him and, surprisingly, he said fares were down in February, March and April, typically the busiest months, but still it wasn’t so...Read More

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I used to travel to Mexico’s Baja Peninsula a few times a year. Surf trips with friends, nights out in Rosarito Beach, cruising up and down the coast – I always enjoyed it, until the last trip a few years ago.

My husband had never been to Mexico before, so I decided to surprise him with a trip during the Christmas holidays. There were rumors at the time of violence brewing between drug gangs and authorities, but I had never felt unsafe in Rosarito. Just in case, I booked a hotel next to the police station.

From the moment we got there, I felt uneasy and, as my husband describes it, he was on “high alert.” The city had definitely changed, going from an easy, carefree place to somewhere it didn’t feel safe to walk at night.

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I just finished writing a story that will be in the May 4 issue about capital projects that all, in one way or another, have come under more scrutiny than ever in the current negative economic environment.

Seriously, I get it, no taxpayer wants to pay a single penny more for anything right now, but sometimes there is a total lack of understanding of what, for example, an anchor hotel at a convention center could mean for a city in the long run.

Dallas has spent a few decades trying to get an anchor hotel built near the Dallas Convention Center, and I’ve covered the ups and downs of the ordeal for the past two years or so. It seemed like the pro-hotel folks were in the clear, but a local rea...Read More

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We, like everyone else, have been trying to get our heads around all the social networking technology opportunities out there and what makes sense for us to adopt in order to better serve you, our readers.

For more than a year now we, Editor-in-Chief Michael Hart, Senior Assistant Editor Stephanie Corbin and I, as well as our regular blogger Stephen Nold, president of Advon Technologies, and some guest bloggers along the way have been blogging away on the industry.

We write about events we’ve gone to, stories we’ve covered, issues brought up to us by our readers and anything and everything else we can think of related to the tradeshow industry.

We have heard back from people that they really enjoy the blogs, but one important asp...Read More

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Recently, a complaint reached our ears about the print version of Tradeshow Week. The reader felt headlines were “too sensationalistic” and focused too much on the negative.

It’s not the first time I’ve heard that complaint, but two other times it came up were similar. In all three cases, the people angry about the headlines all had something in common. First of all, none of them disputed any of the facts that were in the actual stories. Secondly, the articles with the adjoining disliked headlines all were about shows that were having trouble.

The most recent complainant shall remain nameless. The others included someone from Germany’s Deutsche Messe who didn’t l...Read More

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I was fortunate to recently go to Hong Kong. Since I had never been to Asia before, I didn’t have any idea of what to expect. Even so, one thing that I could never have anticipated was the sheer volume of stores in Hong Kong.

Seriously, there are stores that sell anything and everything, ranging from street markets to high-end luxury stores on every corner, around every bend and even in the Hong Kong Intl. Airport.

Here in Los Angeles, where our office is a few blocks from Beverly Hills, there’s been a noticeable drop in retail traffic. Big signs announcing sales plaster shop windows, not just here, but across the United States. Retail is suffering and big chains are closing down left, right and center.

By comparison, there didn&rsqu...Read More

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