Space Allocation 2009: Wrapping Up

Perhaps last year wasn't the best Space Allocation Meeting for me to see for the first time—what with placing so many booths so fast, and being all done only a couple hours into the second day. After two long days in the bowels of Caesars Palace, i get the feeling this year's meeting was more difficult than usual, with the never-before-seen hall. The typical Space meeting is probably somewhere in the middle.

To use a sports term, the committee really had to grind it out this year, never able to get in a solid rhythm but maintaining a dogged pace that got the job done. “I think it went very well," Jack Mendes told me a few minutes ago. "It was a lot more challenging this year with the new configuration and new hall. We had to work harder at it. There was more starting and stopping. In previous years we would get going for a good stretch and then run into an issue where we’d stop; here we’d go maybe two booths and then stop. There was a lot more stutter-stepping than what we normally see. But it worked out pretty well and we’re pleased with how the floor laid out. The flow should be good.”

“Given the challenges of the hall, it went very well," agreed Monte Lunde of Technifex, who theming and hi-tech exhibitors. "All in all I think people will be happy with their spaces, and it should be a good show.”

“There haven’t been that many calls complaining,” added JRA's Keith James with a chuckle.

The meeting is now officially OVER. We're packing up, tearing down, and getting the heck out of here. As everyone leaves Vegas, IAAPA Attractions Expo 2009 has 558 booths on the floor accounting for 266,300 square feet of space.

Thanks to all who followed along these past two days; we had another banner day of traffic at In the Queue again today. If you have any questions about your booth or would like to move to a new location, contact the IAAPA Exhibit Sales Team next week.