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I occasionally read forums, but have never posted my thoughts. I generally work all hours of the day (and don’t have time to devote to a forum). After reading the numerous posts on the issue of haunted attraction trade shows; I’ve asked my wife, Neena to post my comments:
I’ve been attending Transworld (TW) for 13+ years and have looked forward to every visit with my haunter friends. The drive from Columbus, Ohio was a challenge most years with ice and snow. The cost for hotels, parking and meals at the convention center/hotel were expensive. The classes were geared towards producers and retail managers. Haunts with small budgets, actors, makeup artists, not-for profit haunts and home haunters weren’t welcome to attend. I understood they weren’t spending enough money to justify allowing them to roam the aisles and collect samples and catalogs.
We were discussing this audience and decided to create a convention that included a vendor trade show, bus tours and masquerade parties with contests. Our goal was to attract vendors with very affordable booth space and to treat them as partners. We wanted to give actors a chance to learn makeup techniques, acting styles and character development. We wanted to provide producers with classes on business skills and makeup artists a place to share their talents and compete with their peers. We also believed haunters would relish the opportunity to show off their characters at parties and interact with fellow monsters. This year; 38 home haunters attended our day long Getting Started in the Haunted Attraction Industry class. Home Haunters and Halloween enthusiasts enjoy the opportunity to learn from our experienced instructors too. Registrants had over 50+ classes to choose from and were able to attend 5 weekend classes for only $89.
The four MHC producers all have full time jobs and we work on MHC year around. We had 40+ volunteers assisting us at the show. This is another way we are able to keep our costs low. Yes, we know what it takes to put on a quality haunters convention and we work very hard at it, but we love it too. It’s our love of the industry that drives us. We have many friends in this industry and make new friends every year at our show. Now that the show is over; we’ll be making plans for our haunt, Terror Park at Cooper Stadium.
Our initial plans were to hold our show in July for the procrastinators out there who wait until the last minute to purchase their props and supplies. Also some people have limited funds and don’t want to spend their money until the last few months before the season. We found that most vendors don’t have a problem stocking inventory to sell during our show. It was the large custom prop builders who needed more than 60-90 days to build to order.
Many vendors welcomed the opportunity to discount their remaining inventory and sell for cash and carry at our show. In fact, most of our vendors sell everything they bring to our show. The Columbus Convention Center is a non-union facility and vendors can unload their own trucks and don’t pay drayage charges. This saves everyone money. Our host hotel, the Hyatt Regency is holding their rate to $115 a night and meals are available under $7 at the nearby food court.
The 2009 MHC (June 5, 6 & 7) will be held in a 100,000 sq ft trade show hall, hotel rooms within walking distance, a pre-convention bus tour, a Friday night tour and a Saturday night party with contests in a 15,000 sq ft ballroom.
We have tried moving up in the year (Jan thru May), but we’re having problems finding sufficient trade show space with hotel rooms and a ballroom large enough for our party. We’ve started expanding our search to surrounding states, but we have specific facility needs. Our program is currently working very well and our growth has exceeded our expectations.
Do we need to change our dates? Can’t haunt producers with big budgets place their orders in June with delivery the following June? You would provide vendors with revenue during the off season and most would probably offer you discounts on the flexible lead time. If you are spending serious money on large props, you can surely arrange a visit to the vendor in the off season and place your order on location. Even these pro’s can use some last minute supplies in June. Many currently bring their actors to MHC for training and help them purchase makeup supplies and costume accessories.
When TW moved to Vegas this year; we saw a huge increase in vendors and attendees. We have never had any intention of competing with TW. We started out with a target that was excluded by their show. We will continue to support TW because they’ve been the catalyst that created and promoted our industry. They are a large company with many resources and those expenses aren’t cheap. Hosting their show in major cities is expensive and working with union facilities increase exhibitor costs. The suggestion to move to a “second tier” city can reduce costs, but that comes with challenges too. Many of those have been addressed in posts already.
Unfortunately TW has made a few mistakes that have caused a rift with their vendors. It looks like the show will have many challenges ahead with their costume and party store vendors splitting off to hold their own show in Houston. They don’t want “haunters” there either. Two TW shows just months apart will create even more challenges. I agree that a national show is needed for the custom prop builders and those haunts with large budgets for props and the desire to be the first in their market with the latest haunt item. IAAPA in November in Orlando has the opportunity to step up and fill this gap. The biggest challenge they face is that many haunt producers are still tearing down in November while trying to get caught up on postponed household/family responsibilities.
Thank you everyone for your time. I hope this provides some insight into the business of hosting such type of conventions.
Kelly Collins, President
Mid-Ohio Productions
I’ve been attending Transworld (TW) for 13+ years and have looked forward to every visit with my haunter friends. The drive from Columbus, Ohio was a challenge most years with ice and snow. The cost for hotels, parking and meals at the convention center/hotel were expensive. The classes were geared towards producers and retail managers. Haunts with small budgets, actors, makeup artists, not-for profit haunts and home haunters weren’t welcome to attend. I understood they weren’t spending enough money to justify allowing them to roam the aisles and collect samples and catalogs.
We were discussing this audience and decided to create a convention that included a vendor trade show, bus tours and masquerade parties with contests. Our goal was to attract vendors with very affordable booth space and to treat them as partners. We wanted to give actors a chance to learn makeup techniques, acting styles and character development. We wanted to provide producers with classes on business skills and makeup artists a place to share their talents and compete with their peers. We also believed haunters would relish the opportunity to show off their characters at parties and interact with fellow monsters. This year; 38 home haunters attended our day long Getting Started in the Haunted Attraction Industry class. Home Haunters and Halloween enthusiasts enjoy the opportunity to learn from our experienced instructors too. Registrants had over 50+ classes to choose from and were able to attend 5 weekend classes for only $89.
The four MHC producers all have full time jobs and we work on MHC year around. We had 40+ volunteers assisting us at the show. This is another way we are able to keep our costs low. Yes, we know what it takes to put on a quality haunters convention and we work very hard at it, but we love it too. It’s our love of the industry that drives us. We have many friends in this industry and make new friends every year at our show. Now that the show is over; we’ll be making plans for our haunt, Terror Park at Cooper Stadium.
Our initial plans were to hold our show in July for the procrastinators out there who wait until the last minute to purchase their props and supplies. Also some people have limited funds and don’t want to spend their money until the last few months before the season. We found that most vendors don’t have a problem stocking inventory to sell during our show. It was the large custom prop builders who needed more than 60-90 days to build to order.
Many vendors welcomed the opportunity to discount their remaining inventory and sell for cash and carry at our show. In fact, most of our vendors sell everything they bring to our show. The Columbus Convention Center is a non-union facility and vendors can unload their own trucks and don’t pay drayage charges. This saves everyone money. Our host hotel, the Hyatt Regency is holding their rate to $115 a night and meals are available under $7 at the nearby food court.
The 2009 MHC (June 5, 6 & 7) will be held in a 100,000 sq ft trade show hall, hotel rooms within walking distance, a pre-convention bus tour, a Friday night tour and a Saturday night party with contests in a 15,000 sq ft ballroom.
We have tried moving up in the year (Jan thru May), but we’re having problems finding sufficient trade show space with hotel rooms and a ballroom large enough for our party. We’ve started expanding our search to surrounding states, but we have specific facility needs. Our program is currently working very well and our growth has exceeded our expectations.
Do we need to change our dates? Can’t haunt producers with big budgets place their orders in June with delivery the following June? You would provide vendors with revenue during the off season and most would probably offer you discounts on the flexible lead time. If you are spending serious money on large props, you can surely arrange a visit to the vendor in the off season and place your order on location. Even these pro’s can use some last minute supplies in June. Many currently bring their actors to MHC for training and help them purchase makeup supplies and costume accessories.
When TW moved to Vegas this year; we saw a huge increase in vendors and attendees. We have never had any intention of competing with TW. We started out with a target that was excluded by their show. We will continue to support TW because they’ve been the catalyst that created and promoted our industry. They are a large company with many resources and those expenses aren’t cheap. Hosting their show in major cities is expensive and working with union facilities increase exhibitor costs. The suggestion to move to a “second tier” city can reduce costs, but that comes with challenges too. Many of those have been addressed in posts already.
Unfortunately TW has made a few mistakes that have caused a rift with their vendors. It looks like the show will have many challenges ahead with their costume and party store vendors splitting off to hold their own show in Houston. They don’t want “haunters” there either. Two TW shows just months apart will create even more challenges. I agree that a national show is needed for the custom prop builders and those haunts with large budgets for props and the desire to be the first in their market with the latest haunt item. IAAPA in November in Orlando has the opportunity to step up and fill this gap. The biggest challenge they face is that many haunt producers are still tearing down in November while trying to get caught up on postponed household/family responsibilities.
Thank you everyone for your time. I hope this provides some insight into the business of hosting such type of conventions.
Kelly Collins, President
Mid-Ohio Productions
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