The 2018 Experience Convention and Trade Show In Vegas (photos)

LAS VEGAS — September 5, 2018 — The Experience Convention and Trade Show 2018 is officially over, held at the Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Close to 3,000 cleaning and restoration professionals from all over the country came together for the largest independent trade show in the industry. Keep reading for a visual report on what happened.

On Wednesday, September 5, The Experience Convention officially kicked off with its welcome session and educational sessions from five different tracks: Cleaning and Restoration, Management and Marketing, Industry Trends and Hot Topics, ARCS Rug Cleaning, and IICRC Technician Training.

Next Gear Solutions’ Garret Gray talks about modern technology, like virtual reality and cloud storage, and why it’s important to the restoration industry:

Cleanfax contributor Kari Dybdahl of ARMR Network explained about her 4 Cs of Insurance Purchasing:

The Trade Show Grand Opening began at 4:00 p.m. in the Trade Show Hall where areas were set up for live demonstrations and hands-on experiences, including hard surface cleaning and restoration, the ARCS Rug Alley, the ISSA Pavilion, the Shaw Flooring Exhibit, and truckmount cleaning demonstrations. The evening concluded with the Industry Reception sponsored by Odorcide.

Larry Cooper kicked off the trade show with his welcome message:

In the evening, The Experience Convention team began the process of flooding the flood house and began the restoration process:

The Experience Convention continued Thursday, September 6 with more educational sessions, trade show demonstrations, the keynote address, and The Experience pool party and reception. For more information, check out The Experience Convention and Trade Show guide.

Day two began with multiple in-depth educational sessions including a scientific lesson on hardwood floor doing from Barry Costa and Roy Reichow, and Ellen Amirkhan taught an hour-long session on rug identification.

The trade show was packed on Thursday, with attendees crowding the door waiting to enter at 2:30.

Attendees waiting to enter the trade show hall

In the evening, The Experience pool party got  underway with delicious tacos, nachos, and meat from carving stations by The Mirage Pool. The show’s “big” awards were given out during the party.

Industry newcomer John Province was chosen to receive the 2018 Ralph Bloss Humanitarian Award for his commitment to his community, evident in his many acts of kindness and community involvement.

The Experience presented its new Icon Award to Cindy Sayre Boland of Shaw Industries, who is retiring this year, for dedication to working with the carpet cleaning industry.

On Friday, the show came to an end after another day of educational sessions and a packed show floor.