Upper Midwest Foodservice and Lodging Show

Kitchen Cabinet of Minnesota Restaurant Association To Meet at Show

The Minnesota Restaurant Association is forming a Kitchen Cabinet to aid the association in strengthening its political voice across the state. We've identified 67 Kitchen Cabinet members, one in each of the state's 67 districts, who are leading restaurateurs in their areas. Then, we ask them to be the voice of and ears of the industry in their areas. Further, we ask them to find two other restaurant operators to be the House A and B conduits.

Once this is developed, it will be a tremendously powerful tool to effect our political cause. We want these folks to know how special they are and intend to gather them together at the annual trade show for a special event. Details aren't complete yet, but what's significant for exhibitors is that 67 of the leading restaurant operators in Minnesota will be personally invited to attend and will make the show a priority. Also, watch for a Kitchen Cabinet section of our member website soon at www.hospitalitymn.org.

David Siegel, CAE, IOM
Minnesota Restaurant, Lodging and Resort & Campground Associations

What We're Hearing From Exhibitors

The big question on the minds of show promoters these days is what will the new normal look like. As this economy begins to recover, will we see both attendees and exhibitors return to the show floor, or has the world of trade shows changed permanently?

The calls we're making to exhibitors indicate continued great caution, but we're not hearing no. At the end of the day, I believe most of these exhibitors will return to the show floor because they understand the value of face-to-face transactions. As we've heard so often during this recession, those who market continuously and who remain in front of their customers are the companies that will emerge stronger. The research on this is clear. As we approach February 28 and March 1, exhibitors will be asking themselves, are we in this market or not?

Our job as show organizers is to make sure that the show has as much value as possible so our exhibitors do want to return. To that end, we're working very hard with the help of our Show Committee to market effectively ourselves and to bring the right buyers to the floor.

All of the seminars, keynotes, the chef demonstrations, the new garage sale, Sunday Night Block Party, Department of Ag Pavilion, Wine Pavilion, Eco Pavilion, Ethnic and Specialty Foods Pavilion, Restaurant Executives Forum, Lodging Executives Forum, Hospitality Games -- these are all provided as incentives to industry to attend.

David Siegel, CAE, IOM
Minnesota Restaurant, Lodging and Resort & Campground Associations

Excitement on the Horizon

Our Trade Show Committee met yesterday, and the discussion was lively and productive. We have some very exciting plans ahead for our UP Show. The committee identified possible keynote speakers and we'll be contacting them over the next few weeks to see who is available. These are first rate presenters, highly respected in the industry and if we can gain their particpation, you'll want to be on hand to hear.

We also are making plans for a garage sale on the show floor - a completely new venture that will provide deals and steals to show attendees. Yet another new development is the Sunday Night Block Party. Watch this blog for more information as it unfolds.

If you have exhibitors that you would like to see at the show, or ideas for seminar topics or other ways to add value to this two-day industry get-together, let me know. In the meantime, check out the latest at our show site - www.upshowonline.com.

David Siegel, CAE, IOM
President & CEO

What is the New Normal?

I was speaking yesterday with someone in our industry who also produces conferences and expositions. He has an upcoming event at which he anticipates being down 10% to 15% in both attendees and exhibitors. We further discussed that the National Restaurant Association show was of course down this past year.

The question then is, "Are these numbers mainly the result of the economy, or have we seen a fundamental shift in buying patterns, marketing techniques or information sources?" His thought, "When the economy is down, energy is down and shows simply don't have their buzz and excitement. When the economy recovers, most of that energy will return and shows will come back as well." Why? Because people need to see each other, interact and gain knowledge in a very personal way.

The good shows, and we certainly want the UP Show to be not only good, but great, are aware of these fluctuations of mood and need and are changing to provide relevant service to attendees and exhibitors. Your UP Show Committee has been guiding us well toward serving our industry and I believe our 2010 show will be important and extremely useful to both attendees and exhibitors.

David Siegel, CAE, IOM

Defining Success for the UP Show

I was having a conversation last week with my long-time friend Tom Corcoran of Corcoran Expositions, Chicago. For several years, Tom's company managed the UP Show along with several other state restaurant association shows. For 10 years prior to that, he managed the National Restaurant Association show, one of the largest in the country.

Tom suggested that one of the challenges the UP Show faces is the long memory of those in our industry. A 250-booth show with 3,000 high-quality attendees is a great show. In many states, the exhibitors and association would be ecstatic. In fact, that about mirrors the success of the Michigan Restaurant Association and its show. So why do we not have celebrations and fireworks in Minnesota with these same numbers? The long tail of memory. There are many in our industry who remember when the show was X.

I was around then and I remember, too. But these are different times. We face the many opportunities operators have in the distributor shows. We know that the internet plays a part in item selection and purchase. Nonetheless, a 250-booth show that serves as the largest gathering of hospitality operators in the state annually and connects the industry can have tremendous value.

We'll be doing more at the show this year to maximize the industry's presence. We plan to have opportunities for legislative action from our Association booth. We plan to engage our 67 Kitchen Cabinet leaders from around the state (leading restaurateurs in each of the 67 state senate districts).

If you've got ideas on how we can make the show an even more powerful industry get-together, let me know. I'm all ears.

David Siegel, CAE, IOM