ISSA Show North America returns to Las Vegas in November, and the most visible change this year waits on the show floor.

A new robotics and autonomous cleaning experience occupies roughly 4,000 square feet over the three days of the event, with 40 robotics companies participating.

Register at issashow.com.

Robotics gets a dedicated space

The layout matters as much as the square footage. Two demo areas and a content stage sit within the footprint, keeping the equipment running rather than parked behind stanchions.

“Rather than simply a static display, we’ve got two demo areas, as well as a content stage,” according to Ed Nichols, director of ISSA Show North America.

Programming within the space combines product demonstrations with sessions on leasing and financing options, along with two panel discussions. Nichols framed the goal in practical terms for anyone weighing an equipment purchase.

“They should be able to walk away a little more educated on what’s available and what’s applicable for them,” Nichols said.

Innovation program rebuilt from feedback

The show’s innovation program returns in reworked form after nearly two years of development, and a long run of attendee focus groups. The reasoning behind the overhaul starts with a number.

“We understand that 80% of those in attendance at the show are coming specifically to see new products and innovation, regardless of the demographic that they represent,” Nichols said.

Entries now go online ahead of the show, and part of the judging happens before anyone lands in Las Vegas, giving attendees a read on the products as they walk the floor. Demonstrations move into exhibitor booths, though they stay on a schedule.

The change most likely to widen the field is price. Cost of entry drops by more than half.

“The barrier to entry, we’ve got so much innovation in the marketplace, the attendees are coming to see the innovation. But the price point for the program was just too high. So we brought that down by more than 50%,” Nichols said.

More participation should follow, along with more categories, Nichols noted, which works out to more for attendees to evaluate.

Students compete, and one gets hired

The Global Collegiate Sales Competition returns for a second year, added originally because attendee feedback pushed the show to bring young professionals into cleaning. Fifteen universities with accredited sales curricula each send four students. Competitors face two formats, role play and speed selling, with judging Wednesday, the second day of the show. Finals run on the show floor in the Robotic Experience Theater.

One sponsor plans to hire a winner, though Nichols stopped short of naming the company. “I have it on really good authority that I believe one of our sponsors intends to hire one of the winners at this year’s show,” he said.

Exhibiting companies can still sign on as judges, a role that works out to something closer to an interview than a scoring exercise.

“There are still opportunities to get involved judging, effectively their interviews with these students,” Nichols said. “We’re happy to work with anybody that wants to get involved to meet with the students, network with them at the show.”

A show floor that keeps shifting

Through the first eight weeks of registration, attendance tracked 20% to 26% ahead of last year. Distribution runs 13% up year over year. The building service contractor audience climbs 55%. Facility services jumps 45%, and better than half of that group has never attended before.

Nichols said the makeup of the audience is the biggest evolution he has watched at the event, and the direction is clear enough that he described the show as becoming a facilities event.

“Despite some of the challenges economically and via the supply chain that we’re realizing, the ISSA Show is still the place people come to figure those out, and to establish the network and the partnerships necessary,” Nichols said.

Come with a plan

Anyone attending for the first time gets one piece of advice from Nichols before anything else.

“You’ve got to come with a plan, or you’re going to miss more than you’re going to see at the event,” he said.

He speaks from experience. In his first year running the show, he still walked away feeling shortchanged on what he had seen.

“I feel like I missed more than I saw, and I was organizing it,” Nichols said.

What sticks, in his view, rarely appears on the schedule. Conversations that start by accident tend to outlast the session or happy hour that produced them, and first-timers who connect to the fabric of the commercial cleaning network get the most out of the trip.

Designing for the right introductions

Those encounters get engineered more than they appear. Focus groups tell the show team what each segment wants. Distributors working through consolidation ask to be put in a room with peers, so the show builds that room. The innovation program pulls in every role at once. The ISSA Hygieia Network draws a different subset entirely, with a Monday speaker, a luncheon sponsored by CleanBoss, and a Wednesday evening networking reception.

“Everything isn’t for everyone at the ISSA Show, and it’s that matrix that’s created that does allow folks to meet, find commonality, and ultimately develop those relationships,” Nichols said.

Exhibitor expectations have moved quickly in the same direction. No exhibitor wants the entire audience. They want a defined slice of it, sorted by demographic and often by company name. Large-scale parties have lost their pull, Nichols explained, while smaller gatherings of people with shared business interests hold it.

An event platform introduced last year handles part of that work. Attendees build a profile, scan who is registered on both sides of the aisle and set up meetings before leaving home. AI-generated recommendations suggest other people worth contacting.

“The reasonable expectation is that we as the organizer are going to provide the tools and the opportunity for you to find the people that you’re looking to see, to ensure the connection, and in the great words of Mr. John Barrett with ISSA, lubricate commerce,” Nichols said.

Register before rates rise

Nichols pointed attendees to issashow.com, which carries programming updates, the exhibitor list, and registration. Rates increase September 20.

He added a warning about housing. OnPeak is the show’s only hotel partner, and solicitations from anyone else should be ignored.

“We’ve got one hotel partner, and that’s OnPeak. So if you’re being solicited by anybody else, we don’t want you booking through them,” Nichols said. “Go through the trusted source, and OnPeak has a list on the show site as well.”

Questions can go straight to Nichols at [email protected].