The International Pool | Spa | Patio Expo in Las Vegas was not the trade show you remember.
Informa, which purchased the exhibition from Hanley Wood (Pool and Spa News’ parent company) in 2015, reinvigorated the annual convention with a host of new educational offerings and programs.
The conference featured 45 new courses. That doesn’t even include show-floor classes, many of which also made their debut. APSP University Live premiered at the PSP Expo with a series of lectures and demonstrations on systems, hydraulics and tile applications, attracting approximately 258 attendees, said Silvia Uribe APSP’s director of education. Some of these sessions were standing-room only, spilling over into the aisles, “which I think tells you how well they were received,” she said.
Likewise, Bullfrog Spas sponsored Spa Retailer Academy, addressing hot topics such as consumer financing, mobile retail, marketing and water care.
Also making its premiere: The Million Dollar Pool Design Challenge. The contest invited designers to submit renderings based on a list of demands from fictional clients. Plans were based on a real site with a $1 million budget. Finalists presented their work and were judged live.
Of course, education wasn’t the only reason more than 10,000 people attended the expo this year. To facilitate more networking opportunities, organizers created three distinct zones on the show floor where professionals could mingle. This also prolonged the time people spent on the floor, circulating among the 459 exhibitors, said Tracy Garcia, Informa’s director of global exhibitions.
Of those exhibitors, 109 were new to the show and 72 comprised the Outdoor Pavilion. In all, exhibitors took up approximately 133,000 square feet.
It wasn’t all work. The expo kicked off in grand fashion with a welcome party held at the Acrylic Tank Manufacturing headquarters, home of the hit show Tanked on Animal Planet. Guests toured the facility and enjoyed appetizers.
Attendees are already anticipating what the PSP Expo will have in store next year when the show heads to New Orleans, Nov. 5-7.
“With so many new features, the 2018 PSP Expo was not the same show that the industry has always known,” Garcia said. “It had a renewed energy and excitement that reached attendees and exhibitors alike. This energy is expected to continue as industry feedback is used to develop new features and propel the show forward.”
