Convention Insider (Conventions.net)

Yesterday was a travel day for me of sorts.  I traveled back in time to when I was a kid in school but out on Summer break.  I talk about my kids frequently, and they are an inspiration to me.  They allow me to see things when I get caught up in the world of being an responsible adult.  Yesterday was no different.  It is summer time in my household, which means all four of my children are home from school and in the mode of complete “boredom”. If children are not being constantly entertained by the latest video game or being challenged by the television to watch yet another episode of SpongeBob Sqaurepants, they seem to have nothing to do! This lead me to wonder what the convention world is doing during the summer and how we are entertaining the masses.

The perfect example as I used before is video games and entertainment which is happening right now and began yesterday in Los Angeles at the E3Expo!  The E3Expo is succinctly described as :

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) is the U.S. association exclusively dedicated to serving the business and public affairs needs of companies that publish computer and video games for video game consoles, personal computers, and the Internet.

This is a mecca for all of the super geeks out there that want to get the latest info about video games, new game releases and everything video.  My kids I know would be a little like visiting the Willy Wonka Chocolate factory at an event such as this.  The event runs through Thursday, June 17, 2010 and is located at the Los Angeles Convention Center.  Get over there to give your inner child some entertainment.

The Los Angeles Convention Center is a prime location for your convention, conference, trade show, or retreat.  Just look at the schedule for March 2010!

The many exhibit halls are huge and many, as are the meeting spaces. Whether your group is large, small, or in between, the Los Angeles Convention Center is the ideal venue.

As far as overnight accommodations for your attendees and yourselves, The Los Angeles Convention Center is  close to many excellent hotels.

The convention center proves pretty much any kind of service your function might require or request, including internet connections, furniture, tables for trade shows, audio-visual equipment, etc.

From the Los Angeles Convention Center’s website, here is a list of contact information for you:

1201 South Figueroa Street | Los Angeles, CA 90015 |

I have done some reviews of hotels in the past and since I am discussing my travel this week I might as well include where I stayed in my travel plans.  I had my nightmare of travel and this is the icing of that cake.  I have never bee to the Custom Hotel and had no expectations.  In addition to adding to the problems with my travel from the last post, I got off the plane at LAX and found the place where I was to pick up the shuttle.  The shuttle is sent after you call the front desk. I pulled out my paperwork and the domino effect being the norm that day, the last digit of the phone number of the hotel did not show up.  No problem I would call information and have the call patched through.  The only problem with that is the information people had no listing for the hotel in their system. "Excuse me", I said in disbelief.  I’m looking at their number I just don’t have the last digit.  You would think I could give them the number and I cold ask them to provide the last digit.  No luck there.

I finally found the website on my smart phone, something I would say all road warriors must have, and finally found the number.  To its credit however, providing a free hotel shuttle is a huge plus when I am staying at a hotel.  I first stay with those that provide this as a value add not requiring a cab ride from the airport is a money saver and a great perk.

I arrived at the hotel and while I waiting to check in I surveyed the land.  Not too bad a hotel for a room under $100.  They had a restaurant that served a pretty good chicken avocado and it was clean and fairly quiet.  The only issue I had was the decor.  I am a guy and decor means as much to me most of the time as curtains in the garage, I don’t really care.  The problem with this decor however, was black carpet, black walls, black ceiling and hardly any light.  It was like entering a lava cave I saw in Hawaii.  Spooky.  To add to the comedy of the issue was the vending machine selling Halloween masks.  No I am not kidding.

The room was nice, clean the bathroom was great ad the shower was sufficient.  I had a great room and I don’t want to detract from people staying here, but I am wondering why they had a flock of sheep in the lobby.  No, not a real living and breathing flock, but stuffed animal sheep.  The bizarre of this trip continues it seems.

Tags: Travel, Los Angeles, Custom Hotel, Conferences, Trade Shows, Hotels

I don’t want to turn this into a blog about crazy travel stories, as that is another blog for another place, but when I travel as much as I do it is part of what keeps me looking inside the convention centers, hotels, meeting venues and other places.  Part of that has to do quite a bit for travel and how I do it.  I had to get this story out as it seems that not even I cold make this up.

It began easily enough with the need to fly to Los Angeles to speak at an event to a group of people in my network.  This was the fifth time for this presentation to this type of group so it is a no brainer. That is until I have to get there.

I headed out with my usual time allotment to getting to the plane.  This usually means I am running late, but for some reason today was different.  Today I was early.  I was about 10 miles from my house on the way to DIA when I discovered the error of my thinking.  I did not have the boarding pass I worked so hard to get printed 24 hours in advance to give myself the early seating.  I quickly turned the car around knowing that I was now very late, which is okay because I am used to being late.  Back to the house and back to the airport.  I am officially late, as per usual.

Then thinking about being late and thinking about my presentation and going over in my head all the things I had to do caused my next adventure.  I missed the turn to the airport.  This is a toll road, there would be no turning around easily and getting back to the original turn.  I know this is an emergency I will use the emergency turn around in the median.  Yes, I am probably going to jail on top of being late.  I found the turn around, but in doing so it cause my laptop bags and most of its content to end up on the floor.

Then finally I found a parking spot in the shuttle parking because i am a frugal traveler.  I park in the cheapest place possible.  I would have to hope that there was not many stops for my shuttle. At this point there is problem of being very late, but I can manage.  Then I noticed that my bag that had dumped out all over the floor of the car, was sans my wallet.  Yes, I need to have the ID in the wallet to get through security, otherwise no bid deal I could somehow manage. I yelled to the bus driver to stop so I could ru back to the car to get my wallet.  He pleasantly obliged and sped off as soon as I got off making me have to wait for the next shuttle.  I headed back to the car, and bent down to grab my keys…yes, you guessed it right, the keys were now on their merry way to the terminal with the original shuttle.  I have not yet screamed but I was close.  I flagged down a supervisor that told me he would radio ahead and when the shuttle made its stop at the terminal he would ask the driver to search for my keys.  I could see the shuttle from where I was standing and knew it was a few miles to the terminal.  I guess having him stop for two minutes and having the supervisor run me over there in his air conditioned vehicle was asking too much. I waited. Then I waited some more, and then even more.  Soon (relative term at this point), I saw the shuttle we were looking for.  He pulled up sheepishly handing me my keys and sped off again, not waiting for me to get the wallet from my car.  I would have to wait for the next available shuttle.

Suffice it to say I was the last guy on the plane which was too bad as I worked very hard to get that early on pass.  It became moot and I got to sit at the back of the plane between two linebackers and in front of a screaming toddler.  I thought myself lucky for making the flight although late, right up and until the man next to me said, "flying makes me sick sometimes."  No you could not have ended this any better.

Tags: Travel, Conferences, DIA, Denver, Road Warrior

I am headed to a couple of cities this week with Houston on the first stop and then rounding out the week with a presentation at an event in Los Angeles.  I have been used to the travel schedule and working my way in and out of airports.  To me it has become second nature to go through the security checkpoints and sitting on a flight taking notes, doing expense reports and in fact even typing blog posts.  My daughter on the other hand is not so used to the idea of "travel".

I had to first explain the idea of falling from the sky at 5,000 fee or 35,000 feet.  It doesn’t really matter once you hit earth from either elevation.  I think she is still wrapping her head around that concept.  So much for the laws of physics.  It is her birthday which is why she gets a chance to travel on a quick overnight and a short time with her grandmother in Houston. 

I love travel and I get a chance to see a number of different places.  It looks as tough my year will end somewhere like it began with a trip to Las Vegas.  I am also looking forward to getting back to Hawaii.  I will be headed there in November and this time I have no choice but to include my wife on the trip. I wonder if she too will grasp the idea of what happens when you careen into the earth from either 5,000 feet or 35,000 feet.  Let’s hope I never have to try the theory.

Tags: Travel, Houston, Los Angeles, Hawaii, Conferences, Conventions, Trade Shows

I have been planning another trip to Hawaii after my latest trip in May.  I will be hosting a track in a conference and it will be called the Social Media Business Summit and it will be held at the Marriott Waikiki.   The event is scheduled to take place in the first part of November and is actually an invite only event.  You can leave me a message if you are interested in getting an invitation to the event.

The event is scheduled for about 5 days and this time I will have some extra time to actually enjoy the island and get in some site seeing while I am there and perhaps a little rest.  After the schedule I have had this year I could use a little of that thing we call rest.

Upcoming I have Houston, an then I am off to Los Angeles for a speaking gig I have and then we may be headed to Orlando to attend another event, and then my major event is set for October 15-17 in Las Vegas. Then after Hawaii, I am off to San Diego to speak at the National Association of Realtors and who knows what else. I would say this year is rounding out to be very busy.  The problem is, with the events all beginning again in Las Vegas in January the game begins again!  I hope perhaps to see some of you in Atlanta this year at IAEE.  Are you going?

Tags: Hawaii, Hawaii Travel, HawaiiHTA, Las Veasg, Atlanta, Conventions, Trade Shows, Conferences

I was just thinking that I am getting into the busy part of my “season” with the trade shows and conventions I attend, and then I realized that I have been busy since this time last year.  That mens that I really did not have a down time or a slow time.  It began with a trip to Las Vegas last year in November, and now I am planning the same trip in October and not a month went by that I didn’t attend an event or convention, conference or trade show.

Is your industry seasonal?  I have friends that have a convention they work on that is scheduled every other year.  They work 18 months for one show and then the net show is not for another 2 years.  That is a long a drawn out process for a convention, but when it is as big as these are it makes sense.  I on the other hand am covering more than one industry and my industry is multiple industry events.  I will be in Los Angeles coming up shortly to speak at an event, followed quickly by Houston, and then back to Las Vegas. The good part is I get to see a number of facilities.  The bad news is, I get to see a number of facilities. Let me know about your industry.  Does it have a season?

[photo via peasap]

When I first heard about the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program I was not quite sure what that meant.  I suddenly find myself now checking each location I go to for a convention or trade show or look at each meeting venue to see if they are a LEED certified building.  Trade Show Week recently reported that the Los Angeles Convention Center was named as a LEED certified building.  The LEED buildings are few across the United States and yet this is a growing number as more and more convention authorities try to keep up with the Jones’ in trying to meet the demands of the public that companies and buildings do all they can to join the environmental movement of “going green”.

The LEED certification is monitored by the U.S. Green Building Council.  Some of the benefits listed by the USGBC on their site for LEED certified buildings are:

LEED-certified buildings:

• Lower operating costs and increased asset value.
• Reduce waste sent to landfills.
• Conserve energy and water.
• Healthier and safer for occupants.
• Reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
• Qualify for tax rebates, zoning allowances and other incentives in hundreds of cities.
• Demonstrate an owner’s commitment to environmental stewardship and social responsibility.

In order to determine if your building can be certified as a LEED building, you can go to the website and see the rating system.  I have been to a LEED rated building while I was in Portland, and they take the rating very serious and wear their badge with honor.  If you are a meeting planner or convention and trade show planner, you should check your facility to see if it too is a LEED certified building.  You can become popular amongst your peers if you are looking out for the environment while planning your convention or trade show.