ISSA Offers Move Value For Show Attendees

As ISSA/INTERCLEAN North America 2013 approaches, the southwest is again a hot destination for cleaning industry professionals. Thousands of attendees are gearing up for the annual show, to be held Nov. 18 to 21 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

This year, with the theme, “My show. My value,” ISSA is bringing more value to attendees and exhibitors than ever before, introducing new ways for jan/san distributors, building service contractors and in-house service providers to learn, do business and make new friends.

Show attendance and exhibitor numbers have been steadily rising in recent years, thanks to the immense amount of educational, networking and entertaining opportunities offered, says Dianna Steinbach, ISSA director of industry outreach. In fact, feedback attendees offered after past shows helped to shape the planning process for this year.

“A lot of the changes we made for 2013 are based on requests we received from our attendees,” Steinbach says.

These changes range from extended hours to additional keynote speakers and even more educational opportunities.

“People were saying they wanted more time to get things done at the show, so we’ve changed the hours to reflect those desires,” Steinbach says. “The show starts a little bit earlier and ends a little bit later on Tuesday and Wednesday, so remember to arrive a little earlier to take advantage of those extended exhibit hours.”

If the trend continues — and Steinbach has every reason to believe it will — come November, exhibit space will sell out with a waiting list and attendee registration will exceed last year’s numbers of 623 and 9,000, respectively.

“We’ve had a strong return of new exhibitors from last year,” she says.

Tech-savvy attendees wanting a head start on planning can download the ISSA mobile app at www.issa.com/app. With the app, attendees can access the list of exhibitors, the seminar schedule and maps of the show floor. The app can be downloaded onto an iPad, iPhone, Android, Blackberry and other Internet-enabled mobile devices.

Returning attendees know how big this show is, and how difficult it can be to find a specific booth. The “maps” feature of the app, called Smartroute, automatically creates routes from an attendee’s location on the trade show floor to the destination booth or area.

Don’t worry about the app draining your batteries. Attendees can sit down and rest for a few minutes while they plug in and reboot their mobile devices at the ISSA Recharge Lounge on the show floor.

LISA RIDGELY is a freelance writer based in Milwaukee. She is the former Deputy Editor of Sanitary Maintenance and Contracting Profits, sister magazines to Facility Cleaning Decisions.