The 55th edition of The Rental Show, the American Rental Association’s (ARA) annual convention and trade show, returns to the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas starting Feb. 27 and running through March 2. This year’s show will continue to offer what attendees have come to expect — a schedule packed with educational opportunities, the chance to network with peers and an extensive exhibit floor filled with new products and equipment — as well as provide the potential for new experiences. “The Rental Show is the equipment rental industry. It is the only place where all the industry is defined, comes together and celebrates their profession,” says Christine Wehrman, ARA’s executive vice president and CEO.
| The Rental Show returns to New Orleans in 2012 |
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For the first time since 2002, The Rental Show will return to New Orleans next year. Mark your calendar now for 2012: The Rental Show will be Sunday, Feb. 5, through Wednesday, Feb. 8, at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
In addition, you’ll have the opportunity to book your hotel room for 2012 while you’re at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas for The Rental Show 2011. Representatives from Travel Planners, the American Rental Association’s (ARA) official hotel services provider, will be available to talk with you about the 15 hotel properties available for 2012 and to book your rooms. Look for the Travel Planners counter located in the show registration area.
Exhibitors will receive The Rental Show 2012 prospectus in Las Vegas and can begin reserving their booth space immediately.
— Christine Coleman
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“It is the people, products and presentation connections that it takes to be successful as a rental operator or supplier. The Rental Show represents the rental distribution channel to customers for suppliers and access to suppliers for rental operators to find the inventory that will make them profitable,” she said. Themed “Leverage Your Investment,” The Rental Show 2011 is designed to help attendees achieve professional and personal growth as well as make money and save money. “This is a proactive show. It delivers what the attendees and exhibitors ask for,” Wehrman says. “ARA works to stay ahead of the curve. The show improves with each evaluation an attendee or exhibitor submits to ARA. The ARA takes its responsibility of show ownership very seriously — we want to deliver what will attract and interest attendees and exhibitors. We ask that everyone come join us for the ‘rental experience.’” Returning to the show this year will be a full day of seminars on Sunday, Feb. 27, in addition to educational sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. Sunday seminars are scheduled for 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m., 10:15 a.m. to 11:45 a.m., 1:45 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. For more details, see the show schedule on page 34. A new networking and awards luncheon, “Lunch With ARA,” is scheduled for Sunday as is the “Leverage at LAX” welcome event at LAX Nightclub in Luxor Las Vegas from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The keynote session on Monday, Feb. 28, at 8 a.m. will include a state of equipment rental industry update from Wehrman; the formal induction of Hershel “Hotch” Manning into the Rental Hall of Fame; the passing of the gavel from Hal Roe, ARA president, to Ted Cook, ARA president-elect; and an uplifting presentation from keynote speaker Leigh Anne Tuohy, who was portrayed by Sandra Bullock in the award-winning movie, “The Blind Side.” The trade show will be open for 19 hours during the show this year, including 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 28; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 1; and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, March 2. Exhibits will be on one floor in the Bayside exhibit hall of the Mandalay Bay Convention Center with more than 500 exhibitors offering more than 300 categories of rental equipment. The show floor will include three departments, which are renamed Construction/Industrial Equipment, General Tool/Homeowner Equipment and Party/Special Event Equipment. Also, adjacent to the Construction/Industrial Equipment area, the show floor will include a special First-Time Exhibitor Pavilion and New Product Showcase. Also new to the schedule this year will be Regional Receptions scheduled for 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 28. In addition, the popular International Reception for international attendees returns this year, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday. The “Reception With a Purpose” including the annual ARA Foundation charity auction is scheduled for Tuesday from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. “The Rental Show needs the support of the ARA membership and the industry to maintain the channel, define the channel and for ARA to represent the voice of the industry,” Wehrman says. “Equipment rental is a $27.9 billion industry in the United States. It deserves recognition and a single identity of its own, which is right here at the show.” The Events & Tents workshop, designed for those in the party and special event segment of the rental business, also features a new schedule this year including an optional industry tour at MGM Resorts Events on Saturday, Feb. 26, followed by a welcome session, seminars and a reception at Tabù Ultra Lounge at the MGM Grand. The workshop continues Sunday morning with a networking continental breakfast, a presentation by King Dahl of MGM Resorts Events and seminars scheduled for 9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. For a preview of Events & Tents, see page 102. More information about the show, virtual booths for exhibitors, online registration and more is available online at www.TheRentalShow.com. |