The lure of Las Vegas drew the PPAI Show away from Dallas. That decision, made shortly after 9/11, was applauded by industry practitioners. The show had been in Dallas for decades, but it had grown stale and attendance was slipping. The move to Vegas came at just the right time - the Mandalay Bay Convention Center had opened, and the perfect time slot became available.
Vegas offered it all: hotels at every price level, dining from bargain bites to fine cuisine, direct flights from key cities, and competitive airfares. The nightlife was unmatched. There was plenty of space for meetings, parties, and networking. A beer in the casino after the show didn’t break the bank, and taking a distributor out to dinner didn’t require a corporate card. Even shipping in and out of the convention center was reasonably priced.
Fast forward nearly 25 years, and the Vegas we knew has changed dramatically.
In recent years, Las Vegas has gone from budget-friendly to budget-hostile. Yes, prices have increased everywhere, but this town has gone into overdrive. Within a few miles of the Strip, it’s a different world when it comes to cost.
Hotel rates have climbed steeply, and so have resort fees and taxes. Free parking is now a relic of the past - $30 a day is becoming the norm. A short cab ride from the airport to the convention center can run $25 or more. Breakfast buffets average $25. Even a simple fast-food breakfast in a hotel food court costs double what you’d pay back home. A quick lunch - say, a slice of pizza and a drink - is $10–$12. A burger, fries, and a drink for dinner? Expect to spend at least $30, if you can find one.
To be fair, if you go well off the Strip, you can still find reasonable prices for lodging, dining, and entertainment. But transportation back and forth can easily eat up the savings. And the casino tables tell a similar story - what used to be a $5 or $10 minimum bet is now $25.
So, the question becomes: Has Las Vegas become unaffordable for an industry trade show - especially one that depends on practitioners, many earning less than $100,000 a year?
Affordability is now a central issue. Yes, it’s still all about location, location, location - but maybe it’s time to start exploring alternatives. Vegas still has unique advantages, but at some point, the industry may have to look elsewhere. If you build it and they don’t come, maybe it’s time to build it somewhere else.
I’ve questioned the long-term life of the traditional trade show since my days on the PPAI Board - and even earlier, when we moved the SAAGNY/Promotions East Show from the Concord Hotel to Atlantic City. So far, I’ve been wrong. The shows have endured. I once believed the internet - first Skype, later Zoom - would make physical trade shows obsolete. I thought distance learning would deliver education to the masses and eliminate the need to gather in person.
Even regional shows have struggled to prove their viability. When more than 75% of known salespeople within a 200-mile radius don’t attend, despite every effort to attract them, you have to question the model. Still, regional events remain economically appealing for show organizers, exhibitors, and attendees compared to the major national shows. The demise of Promotions East, however, may be a preview of what’s to come.
As the senior writer for PromoCorner, I have to “harken back.” When to stage a show was always a question. In the prehistoric age (pre-fax), new products debuted in the January catalogs and were showcased at the first shows of the year. In the “dark ages” of fax machines, new products trickled in one page at a time. Then came the “age of enlightenment” - the flood of e-blasts and emails that now fill inboxes daily. The result? There’s no longer a true “new product season.”
Even so, as show floors expand, the challenge of attracting a distributor into a booth - and keeping them there for more than a minute - is becoming mathematically improbable.
All of this suggests it may be time for a second reinvention - not only of PPAI’s premier show but of large-scale industry events in general. I don’t claim to have the answers, but I do have empathy for those tasked with finding the next viable model.
There’s no crystal ball, but one thing seems certain: Vegas costs will continue to rise faster than inflation. Even with more facilities and fewer visitors, don’t count on discounts being part of their marketing strategy.
Yes, it may finally be time to look around.
Joel D. Schaffer, MAS is CEO and Founder of Soundline, LLC, the pioneering supplier to the promotional products industry of audio products. Joel has 48 years of promotional product industry experience and proudly heralds “I was a distributor.” He has been on the advisory panel of the business and marketing department of St. John’s University in New York and is a frequent speaker at Rutgers Graduate School of Business. He is an industry Advocate and has appeared before the American Bankers Association, American Marketing Association, National Premium Sales Executives, American Booksellers Association and several other major groups. He has been a management consultant to organizations such as The College Board and helped many suppliers enter this industry. He is a frequent contributor to PPB and Counselor magazines. He has facilitated over 200 classes sharing his industry knowledge nationwide. He is known for his cutting humor and enthusiasm in presenting provocative and motivating programs. He is the only person to have received both the Marvin Spike Industry Lifetime Achievement Award (2002) and PPAI’s Distinguished Service Award (2011). He is a past director of PPAI and has chaired several PPAI committees and task forces. He is a past Chair of the SAAGNY Foundation, Past President of SAAGNY and a SAAGNY Hall of Fame member. He was cited by ASI as one of the 50 most influential people in the industry.