Show business professionals learn to expect the unexpected and become adept at handling crises large and small. But there are some disasters that test the organizational, logistical and creative limits of even the most seasoned industry veterans. 

EXPO talked to three show managers who have dealt with major crises — a tornado, thousands of protesters and a flood — to find out how they handled the challenge and what they learned from the experience. They all agree that the keys to managing a crisis on site are to remain calm, keep the lines of communication open, and enlist the cooperation of city officials, facility staff and exhibitors.

Coping with a tornado
On Aug. 11, 1999, a freak tornado tore through two outdoor pavilions at the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market set up outside the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City.The storm injured 40 exhibitors and contractors setting up for the show’s opening the following day and killed a foreman for 
Las Vegas-based Renaissance Management Inc., an exhibitor-appointed contractor. Of the show’s 850 booths,325 were destroyed or damaged. 

City authorities declaredboth pavilions unsafe and allowed exhibitors 20 minutes the following day to mark belongings so they could later be retrieved by Las Vegas-based GES Exposition Services, the show’s general contractor. 

“We worked with the authorities to secure the damage area and make sure injured people got out. The Salt Palace was evacuated because of gas, so we went to the Marriott Salt Lake across the street and set up a new show office,” says Dieter Tremp, Show Director and Publisher of Outdoor Retailer, Laguna Beach, CA. 

“We were beyond the usual show area, so our radios were out of range. Fortunately, we already had each other’s cell phone numbers, including the service providers,” says Tremp. “First, we notified families, then communicated to the wider industry that was not already there, as well as those who were. We set up a P.A. system in the lobby of the hotel and made regularly scheduled announcements.”

The communications department at San Francisco-based Miller Freeman Inc., the show’s producer, also fielded calls and posted regular updates on the show’s Web site. The show’s public relations firm, Stanwood & Partners, Jackson Hole, WY, communicated with the media. 

“The easiest thing would have been to cancel the show because we had cancellation insurance, but that would have been a disservice to the industry. We have a lot of small exhibitors, and this is the main show in our industry and it’s a big investment for them,” says Tremp.

Once the Salt Palace was declared safe, show management pushed back the show opening by a day and asked exhibitors with booths inside to share space with those from the outdoor pavilions. “We had a system for matching exhibitors, but it turned out that they paired up among themselves,” says Tremp. “Most companies were able to retrieve at least some samples and, in the end, 320 of the 325 from the outside wanted to continue and found space to do so.”

There were 17,000 attendees over the three days, about 1,500 fewer than expected, which Tremp attributes to the fact that many who had not yet traveled to Salt Lake City decided not to do so after hearing about the tornado.

“We decided upon a reimbursement program of more than $2.5 million and communicated it to exhibitors on site. All companies in the destroyed area received a full reimbursement of their exhibitor fee. Everyone else got a 25 percent reimbursement (one day out of four). We then gave all those who had hosted others one booth back in reimbursement,” says Tremp. “We worked on our comprehensive damage statement before people left the show and handled insurance claims later.” 
 
 
Dealing with protestors
The nearly 11,000 attendees who made their way into the Bio 2000 International Bio Technology Meeting and Exhibition, March 26-30, 2000, at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, had to walk past a phalanx of Boston police as 2,500 protesters demonstrated against the genetic-engineering technology being discussed at the event. 

The biotech industry is certainly no stranger to protesters. So, although they were larger than in the past, the demonstrations in Boston were not a surprise. In fact, the media attention they generated added to the success of the event, says Ray Briscuso, Executive Director of the Biotechnology Industry Organization, the Washington, DC-based association that organizes the show. 
The sold-out exhibit hall featured 770 biotech companies from around the world.
The show had been expected to attract 7,000 attendees. There were, however, a record number of on-site registrations, thanks, in part, to the media attention generated by the protestors, says Briscuso. 

While attendees, mostly biotech researchers and business leaders, filed into the convention center, they were shouted at by protesters, some of whom dressed as giant mutant vegetables or wore mutant animal masks. “The association’s events usually attract members of the scientific and trade media, but because of the protesters, the show also received a lot of attention in local and national media — especially broadcast media,” says Charles Craig, Director of Publications.

“The media came to cover the guys dressed up as giant tomatoes, but then they’d come inside and learn something about what we’re doing in this industry,” says Briscuso.

“Our industry is controversial, so we weren’t surprised by protesters. We prepared by asking our exhibitors and attendees for help,” says Briscuso, who asked Boston-based companies that planned to attend or exhibit to donate the use of their company’s security for the event. So while the Boston police managed the situation outside, security staff from area biotech companies checked the identification of those entering the building.

Show management took other precautions, such as adding photo IDs to badges and restricting access to the building to one entrance where attendees had to pass through a roped-off maze so that their identification could be checked more carefully. There was security at the loading docks, as well as all other entrances.

A small number of protesters attempted to enter the show with fake badges but were caught and turned away. While the protests sometimes grew confrontational, they remained peaceful. 
“We certainly respect the rights of protesters to demonstrate and voice their concerns, and we listen to those concerns. But the industry also has a right to hold our show without interruption,” says Craig. “Under the circumstances, everything went as smoothly as possible.”

Battling a flood
Las Vegas only averages three inches of rain a year, so it was the last place Show Manager Sheldon Metz thought he’d have to worry about a flood on his show floor.

But just as exhibitors at the National Nutritional Foods Association’s MarketPlace ’99 show were completing move-in, the usually sunny skies clouded up and dumped three inches of rain on the city in a matter of hours, flooding streets and part of the exhibit hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Two to three inches of water covered 55,000 square feet of the 209,000-square-foot show floor. About 200 of the show’s 510 exhibitorswere affected.

 “We met on the show floor as soon as the flood waters started coming in under the door. By the time we finished our 20-minute meeting, the water covered half of one section of the show floor. Eventually that entire section was covered,” says Metz. 

“No one at the facility or the hotel really had experience with flooding because it had never happened before. But they just calmly tookcare of everything,” he says. “Exhibitors also helped. Many were all set up before the flood and had already left for the day. Those that were still there pitched in and saved the products of those who’d left, as well as their own. They rolled up side drapes and displays. They put products on top of tables or chairs in unaffected booths. Two of them even picked up an entire skid and put it on top of a table.”

The facility and the show’s general contractor, Las Vegas-based GES Exposition Services, brought in nearly 180 people to remove the water with power sweepers and suction pumps and lay new carpet. 

“At the Las Vegas Hilton, water seeped into the conference rooms we were scheduled to use. The hotel staff set everything up in other rooms. Then, they brought in dryers to dry out the carpet in the room we were to use for a party and got everything set up on time,” says Metz.

“The key to our being able to open the show on time is that no one panicked. Everyone just calmly decided what needed to be done and worked all night to do it.”

Martha Collins, a freelance writer and editor based in Austin, TX, is a frequent EXPO contributor. She is Co-Managing Editor of the recently published Convention Industry Council Manual 7th Edition.

 

WORKING WITH THE INSURANCE COMPANY

Purchasing cancellation of event insurance is a must. It’s the first step in protecting a show’s assets from disaster. Cancellation insurance includes coverage for partial losses, which is important because very few events are canceled entirely, says Jack Buttine, President, John Buttine Tradeshow Insurance Inc.

“It’s important to purchase insurance as soon as you begin incurring expenses for the show. Disasters that might affect your show can happen long before the show takes place,” says Buttine. For example, the facility you plan to use could be damaged or destroyed. And while you may find an alternate location, if you have insurance, you can recoup the expenses associated with changing facilities.

Buttine offers the following tips for disaster planning and for working with an insurance broker:

• Review the facility’s disaster plan to see how the show may be affected even if the facility isn’t damaged. For example, the facility may be designated for another use as part of the city’s overall disaster plan. 
   
• During site selection, locate sources for cell phones, overnight shipping and quick print shops. Keep the information in an emergency folder. 
   
• Carry 24-hour phone numbers for contacts at the insurance broker and call them as soon as there’s trouble. They can help resolve problems and advise about the kinds of expenses the insurance company will cover. Get a claim number as soon as possible.
   
• Demand that the insurance company send sufficient adjusters to the scene immediately to see the situation firsthand. Everyone who sustains damages or losses should be interviewed by an adjuster on-site. It’s much easier than calling each exhibitor after the show. 
   
• Have on hand copies of the show’s five-year history, including revenue and expenses, number of exhibitors, number of attendees and history of registration fees per day. Have the same information available for the current show. Providing the adjuster with this information can expedite the claims process.
   
• Keep a record of all expenses associated with resolving problems that interrupt or halt the show, as well as any expenses for unused equipment or services for which you could be charged despite show interruption or cancellation.
   
• Track all inquiries regarding the disaster, such as letters from attendees or exhibitors requesting refunds, and forward them to the insurance broker.
   
• Keep copies of the insurance contract, as well as contracts with vendors and the facility, in the emergency folder. The insurance broker will need these to determine whose insurance company pays for which costs.
   
• Submit a proof-of-loss form that quantifies damages within 90 days, and expect the insurance company to pay within 30 days after that. 

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