Hawaii Hospitality - July/August 2014 - (Page 13)

Showcasing Our No.1 Industry New products, inventions and services will draw thousands in July to the Hawaii Lodging, Hospitality and Foodservice Expo BY JACKIE M. YOUNG C elebrating its 20th anniversary this July, the Hawaii Lodging, Hospitality & Foodservice Expo promises to be the best ever. It will preview samples of new food products and services not found elsewhere "because they haven't yet been released," quipped producer Ken Kanter last month during an interview with Hawaii Hospitality magazine. The Expo is still recovering from the recessions of 2001 and 2008, says Kanter, exposition director of Douglas Trade Shows, Hawaii's largest and oldest trade show management company, "but we're on the road to recovery. Last year there were over 500 booths and 4,454 attendees. This year all 506 booths are spoken for and we're expecting a 4 percent increase in attendance-maybe 4,700 or 4,800." "The basics of any sales/purchasing relationship is that face-to-face experience for your audience to connect personally with your product," explains Kanter. "In a trade show like ours, we bring everyone together with a common purpose: Buyers want to buy and sellers want to sell. We're like a timeshare shopping mall." Trade shows are also educational. "You can learn new things, test new products, see what your competition is doing-even solve a problem you didn't know you had," adds Kanter. "Do you know how you can test for bed bugs besides waiting for someone to complain? Dogs. They can smell the bugs out. And that dog is in our show!" Kanter is no stranger to managing events, both large and small. Born in Chicago 67 years ago, his first job when he was 14 was managing a snack bar for a swimming and tennis country club, even though he wasn't legally old enough to do so. A stint in college playing bass guitar for a rock 'n' roll band led to his becoming apprentice company manager for a New York production of the musical "Hair." The stage manager for that company moved to Hawaii and in 1973 invited Kanter to come over as the director of audience development (and later general manager) of the Hawaii Performing Arts Company (now known as Manoa Valley Theatre). That position transformed into other theater, trade show and technical opportunities. By 1981 Kanter became a client of Doug and Jan Williams, owners of Douglas Trade Shows. He also has served on the board of directors for the International Association of Exhibitions and Events, during which he wrote its code of ethics and chaired its long-range planning committee. "Doug has been my mentor all this time," says Kanter. "I've learned so much from him about marketing, and I'm still learning from him every day. It's a complex field." So complex, in fact, that it took the company two years to be in the "Buyers want to buy and sellers want to sell. We're like a timeshare shopping mall." www.hawaiihospitalityonline.com 13 http://www.hawaiihospitalityonline.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Hawaii Hospitality - July/August 2014

Women at the Top
Halekulani Celebrates 30 Years
Digital Pursuit
It's Expo Time!
Technology in the Kitchen
Meet Chef Sheldon Simeon
News Briefs
Talk Story with George Szigeti
Clean Talk with Rose Galera
At the Table with Roger Morey

Hawaii Hospitality - July/August 2014