In terms of CES, I gave you the WHY but what about the HOW?
Your 10-STEP-to-CES Guidebook, while it’s fresh in my memory:
1. Recession? Normally = Bad, but Recession in Las Vegas during CES = Advantages (i.e. the hotel I stayed in - The Palazzo - should have cost 300+ per night during CES week. The damage? Only 130 / night. In addition, car rental was only 7 BUCKS / DAY! Did my whole blog just become unbelievable? Awesome!)
2. Stay near the conference. The “stress-saved” is worth a little extra cash. All of the keynotes are held in the Venetian meeting rooms. The Venetian is joined with 1) the Palazzo, 2) The Wynn, and 3) The Encore. The “Show Floor” (where all the companies display) is in the Sans Expo. A shuttle bus runs between the Venetian and the Sans all day long.
3. Ladies - skip the high heels. I speak from experience. 1.7 million net square feet of demo space. Enough said.
4. The “Lake of Dreams” is a MUST. Every 30 minutes, there is a (for lack of a better word) “dreamy” show put on in the lake outside the Wynn. See the famous “Singing Frog” show below… too funny!
5. Walk around the hotels. Think - actually think - about the effort and amount of detail that went into the design of these buildings. FYI - Encore cost 1.3 billion to build, with an overwhelming $50 million just for landscaping! Its brand new club, XS, is the largest club in North America. Why the name “XS”? Well, it’s excessive. Really!
6. Look out for celebrities and never forget your camera. You never know who might be around you. Paul Allen (Microsoft) was sitting a few rows ahead of me. Guess who forget her camera that day?
7. Bring your business cards! But don’t use PrintsMadeEasy.com. In a hurry to get a new shipment of cards for CES, I ordered 100 more and asked for them to be delivered to my hotel in Las Vegas. Instead, they sent them to my HOUSE In Connecticut!
8. Definitely take a walk down the strip. Definitely bring a friend.
9. Try the calamari @ the Woo in the Palazzo. You haven’t had calamari til you’ve tasted these. Yum.
10. Repeat after me. “MY. CELLPHONE. CAN. NEVER. BE. CHARGED. TOO. MUCH. AT. CES.” (IF. I. HAVE. AN. IPHONE. I. AM. S-O-L.)
So you know where to find me next January. Hope to see you all there, at the heart of the newest trends, technology, and event-extraordinaire!