Lessons from 2021’s Trade Show Whirlwind

Now that everyone’s back from Las Vegas, it’s time to reflect on what happened. What did we learn after 2,500+ miles driven in a Penske box truck, carrying 10,000 lbs. of booth materials and giveaway items, and 43 Pointers making at least an appearance in Las Vegas (whether it was just for the annual training or for the entire thing, from transporting the booth over to bringing it back)?

  1. People are excited to be back in person.
    While show attendance was down due to timing (many businesses were busy and trying to make up for lost time due to the pandemic) and economics (again, pandemic), the people that were there were eager to get everywhere they could. 784 people visited us at the show, and that doesn’t include the conversations we had away from the booth, where we generally didn’t scan badges.
  2. Rental companies are interested in cloud-based software.
    Of the companies that showed interest in rental software at our booth, well, hundreds of them were asking about cloud-based solutions to the problems they faced. The relative ease of deploying a cloud-based solution seems to appeal to everyone.
  3. Everyone wants a paperless solution.
    A big driver of cloud adoption is the promise of a paperless office, from mobile apps to electronic signature solutions and more. But server-based solutions can also help you go paperless, as many of our software solutions show.
  4. Leaders want knowledge & connections.
    Despite being located (what felt like) across town from the day’s classes at Resorts World, more than 200 people joined us for a pre-ARA Show reception and 40+ joined us at our post-show Annual Training, where they spent the day learning how to maximize their software.
  5. People love free drinks.
    OK, we already knew this. But people enjoyed the free drinks provided by us and our friends at Rouse Services at our pre-show reception.
We’ve Been Everywhere!

Over the last month, we’ve been traveling all over the place! Our UK and German teams have  appeared at Vertikal Days and the ERA Convention in September and the CPA Conference and Showman’s Show in October. In the US, before the ARA Show began, we sent teams to NADITA, Ace Hardware’s Fall Convention, and Do It Best Corp.’s Fall Market. It’s been great to see everyone we possibly can around the industry as we all try to make up for limited interaction over the last year.

What’s New in 2022?

Next year is the time to get back on schedule. With the ARA Show taking the year off to reset for 2023, Point of Rental’s International Conference is back in person in October 2022! This’ll be our first event in Arlington after having to reschedule in 2020 and 2021.

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brianbeaudry

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