Design & Construction Week Re-cap | #KBIS2014 |
#BlogTourVegas
My experience at this year's NKBA's #KBIS2014 (National Kitchen and Bath Association |
Kitchen and Bath Industry Show 2014) as a #BlogTourVegas traveler!
So what is KBIS? Well it is a trade show for the Kitchen and Bath industry - Kitchen and Bath Industry Show | KBIS. And IBS? International Builder's Show. And up until this year these two shows were independent annual events. This year the two shows were combined at the same time and location and created Design & Construction Week in Las Vegas! I first learned about the joining of these to events during my trip to Germany last year as a #BlogTourCGN traveler. Check out a little about that here --> NKBA The Kitchen and Bath Authority!
I have to say that KBIS2014 was about the people, the connections and the interaction of both the attendees and vendors. In addition for me it included reuniting with friends and peers from across the country and the world. It was to say the least a whirlwind, as only to be expected when multiple shows are combined.
This year KBIS being combined with IBS truly created a excitement that could be felt as soon as you entered the show floor, something that has been missing many years. As a veteran KBIS attendee I have to say when I first stepped onto the show floor I was immediately taken aback by the larger than life booth spaces, the gourmet aroma of a nearby cooking demo and the sounds of the people rockin to the live DJ spinning in the Kohler booth, my arms filled with goosebumps and a I had a flood of excitement and emotion come over me. Wow, I knew in that moment that KBIS was back!
It was evident everywhere you looked, the revived hustle and bustle of attendees engaged with vendors by way of entertainment and connecting live through social media with pinterest, instagram, twitter and more. Attendees were visibly participating and interacting with the environment, they were seeing and becoming a part of what was going on around them.
For me KBIS, Design & Construction Week, is becoming the go to Event of the year. It is a great time to meet up with my industry friends and peers from around the country. It is an amazing networking opportunity to meet new vendors, reconnect with existing friends and most importantly meet up with other like minded professionals where we can share ideas, compare business strategies and swap stories. Those personal connections are priceless.
To give you a sense of what I am talking about and how KBIS is changing to better meet the needs of the attendees here are a few stats ...
- KBIS, the largest North American platform deovted to the kitchen and bath industry, welcomed 31,092 industry professionals to this year's show. (nearly a 145 percent increase year over year - at the Las Vegas Convention Center)
Best of Bath: Silver – TOTO: NEOREST 750H
Design & Construction Week ~ KBIS | IBS was truly a whirlwind! It is sure to be the go to event for all kitchen, bath and construction professionals in 2015! Start planning now KBIS2015 will take place January 20-22, 2015, at the Las Vegas Convention Center co-locating again with IBS under the banner of Design & Construction Week.
Disclosure: This is a "Sponsored Post" the company/companies who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to write it. Regardless, all opinions written here are my own and I only promote or recommend products or services I believe in.
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| The #BlogTourVegas Team |
So what is KBIS? Well it is a trade show for the Kitchen and Bath industry - Kitchen and Bath Industry Show | KBIS. And IBS? International Builder's Show. And up until this year these two shows were independent annual events. This year the two shows were combined at the same time and location and created Design & Construction Week in Las Vegas! I first learned about the joining of these to events during my trip to Germany last year as a #BlogTourCGN traveler. Check out a little about that here --> NKBA The Kitchen and Bath Authority!
I have to say that KBIS2014 was about the people, the connections and the interaction of both the attendees and vendors. In addition for me it included reuniting with friends and peers from across the country and the world. It was to say the least a whirlwind, as only to be expected when multiple shows are combined.
This year KBIS being combined with IBS truly created a excitement that could be felt as soon as you entered the show floor, something that has been missing many years. As a veteran KBIS attendee I have to say when I first stepped onto the show floor I was immediately taken aback by the larger than life booth spaces, the gourmet aroma of a nearby cooking demo and the sounds of the people rockin to the live DJ spinning in the Kohler booth, my arms filled with goosebumps and a I had a flood of excitement and emotion come over me. Wow, I knew in that moment that KBIS was back!
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| KBIS2014 Vegas CONVENTION CENTER - photo credit kbis.com |
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| My friends, Lori Gilder & Rebecca Reynolds get Social @Rohlhome.com booth |
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| ...here are a few of the friends I saw at during KBIS... |
To give you a sense of what I am talking about and how KBIS is changing to better meet the needs of the attendees here are a few stats ...
- KBIS, the largest North American platform deovted to the kitchen and bath industry, welcomed 31,092 industry professionals to this year's show. (nearly a 145 percent increase year over year - at the Las Vegas Convention Center)
- KBIS 2014 attracted 500 exhibitors, including 135 new
exhibitors as well as the return of industry leaders such as Viking, Elkay,
MasterBrand Cabinets, Electrolux and LG Hausys Surfaces, to name a few. Rounding out the lineup were the 87 KBIS exhibitors
known as Loyalty Leaders, who have exhibited consecutively at KBIS for at
least the past six years.
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| John Petrie |
“We
knew coming into Las Vegas that we were about to experience something ground
breaking, and we weren’t disappointed! The energy on and off the show floor far
exceeded our expectations,” said John Petrie, NKBA 2014 president. ”The co-location of KBIS and IBS allowed
exhibitors and attendees to benefit from insights and product innovations
serving the entire residential design & construction industry.”
- KBIS producers, Emerald Expostions, has already
booked more exhibit space for KBIS 2015 than was sold in all of 2014. Additionally,
KBIS rebooked nearly 20 percent more exhibit space on-site vs. pre-sales
for the 2014 event. To accommodate the overwhelming demand from industry
leading brands, another 500,000 GSF of exhibit space has been added for the
2015 event. KBIS will now encompass the North and South Halls at the Las
Vegas Convention Center.
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| Brian Pagel |
“This year’s
show saw more top brands, more new products and more innovation,” said Brian Pagel,
VP Kitchen and Bath Group, Emerald Expositions. “We’re honored to provide the
stage for leading industry brands to connect directly with their targets. Our
goal is to continue to amplify and diversify our exhibitor base, making our
attendee experience richer and more engaging. As we continue to evaluate our
planned footprint for 2015, we look forward to welcoming more brands to the
KBIS floor.”
- Combined attendance under “one pass”
was over 82,000 for both shows (KBIS and IBS), with 1,700 exhibitors in more
than 650,000 sq ft of combined convention floor space. The premier Design &
Construction Week attracted almost 540 members of the media, as well as 24 additional
“supporting organizations” from across the design & construction industry.
For the first time in what seems like forever new and innovative products were making their debut and the positive reception was evident everywhere you looked. What was more exciting was that as a part of BlogTourVegas, I along with my BlogTour teammates were asked to judge The Best of KBIS2014. An honor to be given such an overwhelming task with so many amazing entries it was a hard decision.
For the first time in what seems like forever new and innovative products were making their debut and the positive reception was evident everywhere you looked. What was more exciting was that as a part of BlogTourVegas, I along with my BlogTour teammates were asked to judge The Best of KBIS2014. An honor to be given such an overwhelming task with so many amazing entries it was a hard decision.
And the winners are….
Best in Show – Dacor: Discovery™ iQ 30” Wall Oven
&
Best of Kitchen: Gold – Dacor: Discovery™ iQ 30” Wall Oven
Best of Kitchen: Silver – Glideware
Best of Bath: Gold – Delta® Temp2O™ Technology
Best of Bath: Silver – TOTO: NEOREST 750H
Design & Construction Week ~ KBIS | IBS was truly a whirlwind! It is sure to be the go to event for all kitchen, bath and construction professionals in 2015! Start planning now KBIS2015 will take place January 20-22, 2015, at the Las Vegas Convention Center co-locating again with IBS under the banner of Design & Construction Week.
Disclosure: This is a "Sponsored Post" the company/companies who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to write it. Regardless, all opinions written here are my own and I only promote or recommend products or services I believe in.
