At this point, we can start counting down the days until IBS 2024, instead of the weeks. There are roughly 9 days left until our team heads to the airport and lives up to the hype that we've generated for this event. Tune in this week for a story about our Formula 1-style Uber ride last year, the world famous architectural masterpiece that happens to be in the heart of Las Vegas, and some fun facts that you might not already know about UDA Technologies!

Setting Yourself Up for Success

Since there are less than two weeks left until the largest trade show in America, you may be thinking - what should I be getting set up now? Or, if you're not, it would benefit you to start. There will be plenty of information to take in while you're at the trade show, and plenty to think about on the way there and the way back, so here are a few things that, if you were to go ahead and set up, would set you up for success and relieve some stress week-of. 

• IBS 2024 App: The NAHB has created an official IBS app, which is available to use every year that the event is being held. After you claim your free tickets here, you can log in to your account, then in the app you have access to:
  • A comprehensive schedule of events
  • Security features
  • Transportation information
  • Education event information
  • Trade show highlights
  • Maps of the area
  • ... and more!
• Rideshare Services: Unless you plan on renting a car and learning how to navigate traffic and parking in Las Vegas, I’m sure you’re already thinking about your method of transportation during your time in Las Vegas. Every time we go to Vegas, we usually go with the option to use Uber. Lyft is another trusted Rideshare service.
  • You don’t want to be in a position where you’re trying to find a ride on an app you’ve never used before, in a crowded city, likely in the dark. Now would be a great time to go ahead and download the app (Uber or Lyft) to your phone, add a payment method to the app, and familiarize yourself with the navigation. You can also look through the booking ahead feature, where you can schedule a ride in advance. In this case, you may want to schedule a ride in the morning for the evening, if you know what time you plan on leaving the show.
  • Another important thing to note with these services is that (similar to typical supply/demand patterns) availability dictates the rates of the rides. For example, rides at the beginning of the day and the end of the day spike in comparison to during the show.

Formula 1 Style Uber Ride

Speaking of Rideshare services, sometimes these rides generate very memorable moments that your team will talk about for months and years afterwards (speaking from experience). So grab a seat and your bowl of popcorn, and strap in for this little storytime.

At the end of the Trade Show day, transportation can be challenging, as everyone is trying to leave the show at the same time. We love using Uber, and we have had great success with splitting up into groups and taking Ubers to wherever we need to go. Overall, we have had primarily positive experiences, but of course it varies.

We’ve had some drivers that were very friendly, then we’ve had drivers that only spoke business. We’ve had drivers that drove very slowly and carefully, and then we’ve had drivers that drove like Mario Andretti.

Last year, one of the groups from our team had an Uber experience that threw us for a loop, to say the least. When you get into a stranger’s car, you run the risk of riding in the car with a driver that has a different style that maybe we just weren’t used to. So far in the trip, we had not had any rides that were like this, and mind you, we took quite a number of Ubers.

We got in the car after the show, and the driver was very on edge. He seemed like he was in such a rush to leave the show, and we all just sat there silently. Then, as he pulled away, one of our team members swears that the driver hit a car next to us, and then drove away without even acknowledging it. (For legal purposes, I can neither confirm nor deny the validity of the claim).

Of course the drive then was characterized with driving through backroads that nobody had seen before, driving 70 MPH in a 45 MPH speed limit zone, yelling at other drivers, and other typical road-rage type activities. It’s not that we necessarily felt unsafe, it was just more shocking than anything else. Needless to say, seemingly this driver was either trying to emulate Mr. Toad’s wild ride from Disney or preparing for the Formula 1 Grand Prix that took place in Vegas later that year…

The Sphere

During our grand-prix-style Uber ride, we passed by the famous Las Vegas Sphere. When we passed the structure last year, it was still in construction. Now, however, after over five years of construction and billions of dollars put into the project, it is available to the public!

The Sphere is not just an architectural masterpiece, but a music and entertainment arena as well. Its main show is Darren Aronofsky’s short film Postcard From Earth– a visual marvel that shows the audience the sheer beauty of Earth in the most unique, stunning structure in the country, and arguably the world! That’s not all, though, because you could also find U2 in concert here as well as several other shows, or just go and check out the robots and holographic displays in the atrium.

Photo by Kevin Liebler, distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.

Of course you don’t have to buy tickets for a show to appreciate the sheer size or intrigue of the structure. In fact, many people have claimed that the exterior displays are what make The Sphere so incredible. Make sure to stop by The Sphere during your time in Vegas and check it out for yourself!

Come Meet Us!

On a more comfortable note, whether you’re a new client who wants a live demonstration of any of our newest features, a legacy client who’s at IBS for other reasons, or an individual who's been intrigued by ConstructionOnline for some time now, you should stop by our booth and say hello!

We always say that our goal is your success, and this is the honest truth. Our daily responsibilities are all client-centered. At UDA Technologies, our goal is to provide services for construction professionals that protect your business, keep all of your project management in one place, and empower growth for years to come. With that comes our mission to provide all of the support you may need.

Our customer service is rated #1 over all other construction management software programs. Not only are our live assistance and unlimited personalized training sessions a bragging point for us, but we also pride ourselves on our incredible writing team (I promise I’m not biased…)-- the unseen client support specialists. Our writers have together written over 1,500 articles in our ConstructionOnline Knowledge Base, which is always available, including outside of our office hours. Our Knowledge Base includes: 

• 500+ FAQs
• How-to articles
• Getting started guides
• Workflows
• ... and more!

Arguably, our favorite part of IBS is having the opportunity to put faces to names of people we talk to daily through our live chat, over the phone, or via training sessions. Come by our booth (W3367), and claim your free tickets here.
We hope that you’re as excited about IBS 2024 in Las Vegas as we are. We cannot wait for the largest trade show in North America! Tune in next week as we wrap up our series of Countdown Blogs to IBS 2024!

Click here for our entire series of IBS 2024 countdown blogs!

You've Got Questions? We've Got Answers!

Want a recommendation about something specific? Have any questions about Las Vegas, IBS, or anything UDA Technologies related? Drop it in the comments below. We love to hear your feedback!