How To Survive in Sin City

The only time more people flock to Las Vegas is for the computer and electronics industry shows. The Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week and Las Vegas have grown up together and the size and scope of Industry Week can be overwhelming if you don't spend a little time planning your visit.

SET GOALS

Determine what you want to accomplish during Industry Week. Are you there to find new products? Are you there to introduce a new product? Do you want to establish or re-establish business relationships? Or, are you there just to see old friends and have fun? Any or all of these options are available to you.

Since the government will allow you to write off Industry Week expenses on your income tax report, we will assume you are there to get work done. With this in mind, you need to set up a solid, but flexible, schedule. I recommend flexible because everyone in the business will be there. People tend to get busy, and as a result, schedules begin to slip. Think of it like airline travel—there was a time you could schedule connecting flights within 45 minutes, but today, you need to schedule nearly two hours between connecting flights and even that may be pushing it.

The people and companies that can provide the most profit to you and your company should head the list. You can see your friends some other time. Industry Week is a time to work, so do the things that will help you maintain or grow your business first.

USE THE GUIDEBOOKS AND MAPS

Use the handy pocket guidebooks and maps that SEMA and AAPEX provide (or go online) to find booth numbers and schedule meetings in similar areas. Don't book meetings at other shows or in other halls without allowing enough time for travel and sign in. The timing just won't work. It seems no matter how much time you leave, it's never enough.

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SEMINARS

If you have enough time to come to Las Vegas a day early, you can take advantage of the seminars offered before the main shows open. The SEMA Show seminars are usually offered on Monday of Industry Week and they can be quite valuable. Popular topics over the past few years have included the Internet, electronic cataloging, and pricing—each timely and important.

SEMA's seminars are usually held in the meeting rooms in the Las Vegas Convention Center. Come early, attend a seminar, and pick up your show badge all at the same time so you will be ready for the show to open the following morning after the ceremonial ribbon-cutting event.

If you can get into the show early, use the opportunity to quickly walk the show floor to get an overview. A pre-show or post-show "walk around" can be most revealing. One thing you can do to save time is to avoid the "pit popsie" calendar signings and celebrity calendar signings as they take up time (you usually have to wait in line). If you must have the bikini model or celebrity driver's autograph, then send a junior associate to stand in line.

Once you have determined how many business cards you will need, double that number and you might get close. It is really important to have enough business cards. The cost of business cards is very low when compared to the hard costs of attending Industry Week (travel, hotel, time, and food).

Don't waste your small denomination paper money on gambling (they didn't build those big hotel casinos by giving away money to gamblers). Put your coins into the slot machines and keep your dollar bills, fives, and tens for tips and cab fare. Bring several pair of comfortable shoes—you will be walking a lot. Even if the shoes are comfortable, you need to rotate them each day; otherwise you can still end up with sore feet. SEMA once published an astounding figure on the number of miles a typical show visitor walks—and this was before the exhibit hall was expanded.

FIND AFFORDABLE LODGING

Las Vegas has a ton of hotel rooms. Unfortunately, most of them are full during Industry Week. The good news is buses run from the major hotels to the Convention Centers; the bad news is hotels generally raise their room rates for Industry Week. If you can get a deal, take advantage of it.

Some experienced show visitors have elected to become "outsiders" and stay out of town in the big hotels/casinos on the California/Nevada border at Primm, such as Whisky Pete's or Buffalo Bill's, and then commute the 40 or 50 miles into Las Vegas each day for the show. However, parking at the Convention Center or the Sands Expo Center can be a problem (and expensive), so make certain the difference in price covers your transportation and parking costs and troubles before deciding to become an "outsider."

AVOID THE LUNCHTIME RUSH

This can be a problem. Experienced show visitors recommend eating a large breakfast so you can wait until later in the afternoon when the lines at the semi-good food places are shorter. If you're going to eat lunch at noon, plan on waiting in a long, slow line. Some long-time show visitors hoof it over to the adjacent Las Vegas Hilton hotel for lunch, but since everyone now seems to be on to that trick, it's getting crowded over there, too. As Yogi Berra said, "The place is so popular, nobody goes there anymore." It may be a confusing statement, but we know what Yogi meant. The big dinner houses in the Hilton are not usually open for lunch, so your choices are limited to the coffee shop, buffet, and the deli in the sports-book area.

There are some lesser-known, but not secret, places at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Try the sandwich shop located just behind the GM exhibit. The food is OK, but there is very limited seating. And, many times, you will see show visitors sitting on the floor near the food vendors, or worse, the crowds are so thick, people are forced to use a trash can as a makeshift table.

The coffee shop in the center lobby of the Las Vegas Convention Center is usually crowded, but the food is better than most exhibit-hall fare. There are also snack and sandwich shops located below the show floor under the mezzanine where the Ford Motor Company exhibit is located. They fill up at noon and the lines can be long, but at other times, the lines are manageable and there are white plastic tables at which you can sit while you eat.

Over at the Sands Convention Center, there is a sandwich bar located near the rear entrance and a few restaurants are located in the hotel area adjacent to the Convention Center. In general, I've found it easier to find a decent mid-day meal at the Sands Expo Center than at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Consider scheduling your visit to AAPEX with a lunch meeting in mind.

Dinner on the strip can also be difficult, as the town is full. However, there are more and more good restaurants cropping up in Las Vegas at locations off the strip. The cab ride might just be worth it for a good business meal.

DODGE THE TRAFFIC CRUNCH

The Las Vegas monorail is up and running—most of the time. If you plan to use the monorail, make certain it stops near or at your hotel. Also, ensure you have the correct tokens for a monorail ride. If the monorail isn't running, be prepared to switch to the shuttle bus (free) or a cab (not free).

The SEMA Show and AAPEX Show provide shuttle-bus service from most major hotels to the Sands Expo Center and the Las Vegas Convention Center. There is even scheduled shuttle bus service between the Las Vegas Convention Center and the Sands Expo Center during show hours.

Getting home after the show is the problem. Visitors arrive at different times, so there is less of a traffic crunch. But, the majority of show visitors all head back to their hotels at the same time. This makes it serious traffic crunch time. The cab and bus lines are extremely long after the shows close. Everybody moves as fast as they can, but again, the city is full.

There is an upside to the long lines for the shuttle busses and taxicabs. A long-time and very wise show visitor once reminded me to talk to people in the bus line—you never know who you will meet. He told me he has developed new suppliers and customers simply by being friendly and talking to show visitors stuck in the cab or bus line with you.

SUMMARY

People and companies are there to do business—so do business. If you must play and party while in Las Vegas, do so, but do it either before or after the show. Spend your show time wisely and you'll be able to afford additional trips to Vegas for fun. Enjoy Las Vegas, Industry Week, and the various shows.