Las Vegas has become the No.1 trade show destination in North America. It’s big business and Vegas does it on a colossal scale. With just under 11 million square feet of prime, mostly state-of-the-art exhibit space, they host some 21,000 meetings, special events and conventions annually!
I work some of these trade shows as a part-time staffer and occasional supervisor.
No two events are quite alike, so it keeps it interesting. One job, I’m doing VIP ushering for Hillary Clinton at the Garden Arena, MGM Grand for Cisco; another job, I’m supervising a crew of eight on a graveyard shift loading 35,000 slightly inebriated young adults – many are scantily dressed ladies – onto buses at the motor speedway for the world’s largest rave; Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC).
Some of the other conventions I’ve worked are Adobe, IBM Analytics, PGA, Monopoly Millionaire’s Club, IMEX International, PGA, Home Depo Product Walk, JCK, the Shot Show, etc.
These conventions need to fill positions in registration, greeter/directionals, info booths, room monitors, interpreters, badge checkers, supervisors, etc. From the time their plane lands, there are greeters & personnel to direct attendees to the shuttle buses taking them to their hotels.
It’s quite an operation. I’ve worked small and large jobs alike. I’ve worked most positions including dispatch for a solid week. Some of the larger events will draw from multiple staffing agencies, employing up to 1200 staffers.
In January, I worked the CES – Consumer Electronics Show – the largest trade show in Vegas. I manned one of several info booths at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) which offers 2.2 million square feet. Together with another staffer, we handed out show guides, maps, answered questions about food, transportation, interpreter services, but mostly helped people find their way.
This was a 4-day event with over 175,000 attendees. This is the size of many towns in the U.S.A. CES 2016 was so huge it was divided into 3 zones: Tech East, included the LVCC and the Westgate & Renaissance Hotels; Tech West, included the Sands Expo, the Venetian, Palazzo & Wynn Hotels, and Tech South, included the Aria, Vdara & Cosmopolitan Hotels. We’re talking about 4 ½ million square feet. For a visual, picture 100 football fields of exhibit/conference space.
One thought kept going through my head as I began to grasp the magnitude of the event: Las Vegas is a well-oiled machine.
As I walked to my car each evening, I passed a row of huge tour buses, all marked with route numbers; 1 through 12, each route going to specific hotels. They’d been running all day and these were the last out bounds leaving at 6:30 pm. To be a big player in the convention business, you’ve got to have infrastructure. It starts with an international airport that lands planes every 20 seconds; a vibrant transportation system of limousines, buses, taxis, (now Uber & Lyft) and shuttles, monorails and trams; and a ready work force. Vegas has it all. Small armies of union contractors can dismantle a space the size of a 747 Jumbo jet hangar in about a day and a half … completely stripped bare, crated, stored or shipped, and ready for the next gig.
Sin City is so perfectly suited for events and trade shows. After trudging along to seminars, classes and exhibits all day, these same crowds now fuel the vibrant 24/7 night life that gives Las Vegas its unmistakable and unique flavor. It’s a brilliant win-win strategy for all.
“With 2 Chinese interpreters” “Info booth at the CES Show”
