Looking at future show dates.

SCI Jan 9-12 2019(Reno).... DSC Jan 17-20 2019... 5 days & 1600 miles between the shows not including any time for set up.

DSC Jan Jan 9-12 2020....SCI Jan 15-18 2020 (Reno)....2 days & 1600 miles not including set up.

When I talked to my freight forwarder he thought he "might" be able to make 2019 work if we didn't have bad weather. He said the only way to make 2020 dates is airfreight to the tune of a estimated $5,000. Having two separate show setups is one solution (but not ideal by any means for me). Interested in what other exhibitors who set up at both shows are thinking.

I think it’s part of the pissing contest between the 2 organizations. Force exhibitors to choose. 5 days is a pain but doable. 2days- forget it without separate booth setups. Damn shame it has come to this. Next, of course, we will hear the old song and dance about locking in convention center dates years in advance. SCI obviously has the choice of Reno or LV.

Glad to see DSC is backing off the first full weekend in January, give us a chance to catch up after New Years.

Of course the other problem is the Houston show.

Dallas to Reno is 25 hours by vehicle. You pack your truck and shift drive it yourself instead of an interstate carrier you could make that.

I certainly don't have all the answers yet but I can tell you that DSC ad SCI are aware of the issue in 2020 and have been working together to try to solve it. As jdollar correctly points out there are a huge number of factors that go into selecting the dates and there are a lot more shows than just DSC and SCI to work around - but that does not help the exhibitors that have to deal with the short transition time so creative solutions will have to be developed.

I have been involved in setting up the DSC show in some capacity for over 15 years and every year there has been some issue with getting exhibitors either moved in or moved out. 2020 will present a new challenge but I am confident it can be overcome.

2019- awesome news for operators - I know several operators that choose between SCI and Dallas as they can afford to either pay two sets of airfares or stay a month in the States!! 2020- yes not sure that that will work!

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
I think it’s part of the pissing contest between the 2 organizations. Force exhibitors to choose.

You've already heard the song and dance about locking dates years in advance...it's true. If you don't book the dates years in advance, some other group will. The convention center in Dallas is booked solid for the month of January thru 2022, there are lots of conventions being held in Dallas right now. The "pissing contest" you refer to is a bad scenario for both organizations, neither group wants to make our exhibitors make a choice between the two biggest shows...both groups lose that way and both groups know it. Scott is right, you can believe it or not, but DSC and SCI are working together to come up with a solution to the years when there are very few days between shows, and I'm confident a work around will be found.
Part of the scheduling problem stems from other organizations holding their conventions in the same general time frame, DSC, SCI, HSC, WSF, SHOT and the Western Hunting and Conservation Expo all trying to find dates that do not conflict with one another, acknowledge the time and money it costs our exhibitors and find convention space. It's not easy.
I can tell you for a fact that the convention center in Dallas is booking conventions for 2024 and 2025, it wouldn't surprise me if the convention centers in Las Vegas and Reno are doing the same.