Yesterday was the first day of the International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas, and here’s a quick recap:

Dinner With a View

Monday night we revisited a spot that we’ve been to for the last few years when IBS has been in Vegas– Beer Park. The restaurant sits directly across the street from the Bellagio, and is located in the Paris hotel. The beer list is extensive and the dinner is delicious, but the view is the top reason you should check out Beer Park. Plus, for those of us who have already gotten sick of the popular music radio at the convention center, the arrangement of songs they had playing at Beer Park was a great change. 

Come on... how can you beat that view?

The booth today was busy, sure, but never too crowded. We each got to talk to many different people from all over the world! Some people were associated with smaller companies that build five to ten projects a year, and some that start 300-400 per year. Most people we spoke to were from all over the United States, but there were a few that came from other countries, like Poland, Australia, and Germany just to name a few. ConstructionOnline is available in 75+ countries, so it’s always exciting to share that information with international individuals and companies that come to see us. 

Some of us who have been to IBS before have talked about the unimpressive food court at the convention center, which unfortunately is pretty much the case. There is not much food offered, and what is offered here are usually smaller portions, and with airport-style prices. It is also quite crowded at the food court pretty much at all times. You may be able to find a table, but you may have to do as I am right now and find a nice spot on the floor. It is nice to step away and have some lunch, but it definitely is nothing to rave about…

IBS 2024 as a Writer

I had the opportunity to meet a number of current clients. Most use ConstructionOnline, but a couple of clients are still using ConstructionSuite and are looking to switch to ConstructionOnline. I am not much of a talker, but I found that speaking to people here has been much easier than I expected. I was worried that I wasn’t going to be able to show our award-winning software off as well as my colleagues that speak to clients daily, but the conversations all flowed naturally, and we all made some wonderful connections.

One of our favorite booths that we have seen so far would have to be GE Appliances. We got to walk around for a bit and check out what the other exhibitors are showing off, and GE has an incredible display. For example, they have a fully functioning kitchen in their booth, with a chef that cooks for people on GE appliances in the show. They also have a DJ with his own little booth within their booth. They have much more to show off, but I won’t spoil the surprise. If you haven’t made your way to the west wing yet, you don’t want to miss it!

As we were getting ready to leave, the Uber pickup spot was extremely crowded. Of course, this was expected, but for those of us who haven’t been to IBS before, we really had to see for ourselves. Thankfully we could find an Uber, but that was just half of the fun. The other half was dealing with the traffic that accompanied the drive back to our hotel.

However, one of the nice things about a longer drive is the chance to debrief with your colleagues– having conversations about different cool people we met, topics that we discussed, and probably just about how nice it was to sit down and let our feet rest… 

In summary, we got to speak to hundreds of people yesterday and spark relationships with current clients, and potential new ones. Yesterday was a terrific start to the show, and we can’t wait for the rest of the week. If you haven’t gotten the chance to stop by booth W3367 yet, we are excited to get to meet you!

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