HX: The Hotel Experience Powered by AAHOA wrapped earlier this month, with exhibitors looking to share products and solutions. The following is a sampling of opinions after an eventful show.
“We’ve been coming to HX for many years, because our product fits well with the industry and the people who attend the show. It’s a higher end type of product. It’s hotel weight. HX is a place to meet many types of customers, and it’s hard to meet that many customers without the meeting being in one place. We do advance planning prior to the show, and we’ve had high quality leads on day one.” — Peter Larkin, director of Sales, Walco Stainless
“We’ve had quality client leads on day one of HX.” — Blair Clark, Monastery Hill Binding, Chicago
“So far so good. We’ve come across leads that we intend to follow-up on. The hotel industry is vibrant and we’ve had a good first day at HX.” — Berum Mamoor, wholesale sales and operations manager, P.C. Richard & Son Hospitality, Farmingdale, N.Y.
“We’ve seen good flow and good decision makers at our HX booth on day one. We were happy last year and we’re happy this year. For us, New York works well. It’s a good size show, and we stand out because there are not 20 other coffee companies.” — Marilyn Kiriakos, vice president of Sales, Hawaiian Paradise Coffee
“The show has been good and we’ve had nice prospects. We plan on coming back and we enjoy being in New York.” — Thomas Small, vice president, Silverware POS, Markham, Canada
“HX is a really good opportunity to meet with existing clients and meet with potential vendors looking to engage.” — Audrey MacRae, vice president, Maestro PMS, Toronto, Ontario
“We’ve had good foot traffic. People see our product and ask: What is this? HX attendees have been very receptive to the product. This was a luxury item, but it’s starting to open up to the non-luxury market.” — Alexis Ayala, vice president of Sales, Esscentials Inc., Miama, Fla.
“So far so good at HX. Quality of attendees has been high. The people coming through are decision makers. We will definitely be back next year, and we’ll probably sign up for 2020 at the end of this year’s show.” — Justin Bogart, Sales, X-Chair, Beltsville, Md.
“The show has been solid. HX is the best show in North America. We’ve had really solid leads that we can move forward on. We sign up business at this show, and we don’t do that at any other show.” — Rich Tuckwell-Skuda, president, Avvio, Miami, Fla.
“We’ve had promising leads and we’re excited. Our booth has been generating a lot of buzz.” — Valerie Rivera, account executive, BMS, New York
“We’ve had a great show. Foot traffic has improved since last year. We’ve done probably 100 scans and probably half of those are viable leads. New York is a pain in the ass.” — Martin Clark, Nudura, Barrie, Canada
“HX is amazing. I love New York. We’ve seen a wide variety of people from hotels and AirBnB. There’s a lot more to the hospitality industry than just the hotels—more than we anticipated—and a lot of people need flooring.” — Callie Walker, EZ Carpet, Dalton, Georgia
“It’s been a good show with a lot of foot traffic. The quality of attendees is high with key decision makers in attendance—more so than other shows. And New York is absolutely a fun place to be.” — Andrew Walters, Clean Brands, Warwick, Rhode Island
“The show has been good. A lot of people would not think about using this type of water. A lot of hotels are interested in sustainability. I’ve been educating the attendees…There were too many students here, by the way. It was half and half between decision makers and students, press, and social media.” — Sara Rivera, sales manager, Just Goods Inc., makers of Just Water
“HX has been surprisingly good. This is our first time here and my first impression is that there is a diversified audience here. HX has focused and high caliber attendees.” — Andre Zucchi, Abirochas, Brasilia, Brasil
“HX has been a really good show—very organized. People liked our product so much, so that made the experience even better. We will continue to build on the networking we’ve done here.” — Abuzar Khan, ENERQi, Irvine, California
“This is our third or fourth year here at HX, and we’ve done well. We’re surprised to see so many people from around the globe, literally from all over. We bring our machine that reduces utility costs to the show, and we have to do a lot of education with attendees.” — Daniel Burke, vice president, Sales and Marketing, Aegis Energy, Holyoke, Massachusetts
“We’ve collected quite a bit of leads and we’re happy. We met a gentleman from Marriott International, and we’re confident we can turn the leads into business. We’ve worked with large organizations before. For example, we do an ornament for the Wynn Hotel.” — Patti Noonan, Beacon Design, Lincoln, Rhode Island
“The show has been good and we need to be here. It used to be more corporate, but there are a lot more independents now, and we’ll see if we can turn that into business. New York is a great city. It is expensive, but wonderful. It would not make sense to have HX anywhere else. — Nick Novachek, senior account executive, The Cawley Company, Manitowoc, Wisconsin
“We’re first-time exhibitors and it’s been pretty profitable. People are understanding what we do out there. We’ve piqued interest among people who did not know what we have here. We are absolutely considering coming back next year with a better display. Everyone loved our prize wheel, which made our booth more interactive.” — Lauren Knuffke, regional sales manager, Merchants Fleet, Hooksett, New Jersey
“We’ve been coming to HX for 13 or 14 years and we saw some top people coming through and they are going to write the spec. I don’t see as many of the street level people coming through, and I’d like to see more…New York is expensive, but it’s a great venue. People like to come here. I would like to see more networking events. We used to have the AHLA Gala, but that is no more.” — Tim Lavelle, Focus Products Group, Wheeling, Illinois