National Clothesline

Six years have passed since the Clean Show last visited Las Vegas. Attendees of that 1997 show may discover the “City of Lights” is a little different this time around.

In 1997, business was indeed booming for Las Vegas, which hosted 30.5 million visitors who supplied the local economy with over $25 billion that year.

However, those numbers have jumped even higher in the last five years as Las Vegas has continued to grow. Last year, over 35 million visitors contributed nearly $31.5 billion to the city’s economy.

IDC makes dinner plans in Las Vegas

The International Drycleaners Congress will have a special dinner in conjunction with the Clean Show in Las Vegas.

The dinner will be held August 13 at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. The reception will begin at 6 p.m., with dinner served at 7 p.m. Special guests at the dinner will include the board of directors of the International Fabricare Institute and other national and international industry leaders. IFI President Jim Cripe will be the keynote speaker.

“This dinner continues IDC’s traditional bi-annual dinner in conjunction with the Clean Show,” said IDC Executive Director Manfred Wentz. “It offers the opportunity to renew friendships, meet new people, and reaffirm the mission and goals of IDC. Bring your family, friends and business colleagues and enjoy a relaxed evening with us,” he said.

Tickets for the dinner are $80 per person. Reservations can be made online at www.idcnews.org, or can be sent to Carolyn Portwood, IDC executive secretary, 4 West Central Ave., Oxford, OH 45056. Include your name, company name, address and names of any guests you are bringing.

IDC was founded in 1959 with a mission to strengthen international understanding and good will in the fabric care industry by providing opportunities for travel, exchange of information and communication for its members. For information about the organization, visit the IDC Web Site.

To accommodate all of the extra visitors, Las Vegas has added wider landscaped walkways along The Strip with pedestrian bridges over Las Vegas Boulevard to make it easier to maneuver in the city on foot.

Additionally, several new extravagant hotels have cropped up along The Strip to enhance its visual skyline.

Clean Show attendees who prefer to stay at a hotel located along The Strip will have five to choose from: Bally’s, Caesars Palace, Flamingo, Paris and the Riviera.

The sixth hotel option for participants of Clean ’03 will be the Las Vegas Hilton, which is located next door to the Las Vegas Convention Center.

All of these hotels — with the exception of the Riviera — are part of the Park Place Entertainment Group (PPE).

Cleaners who stay at a PPE hotel can check in before their luggage even arrives; the airport’s check-in center is located to the right as you come off the escalators from the terminal concourses.

Those checking in at the airport will be able to pick up their room key there provided their room is currently available. For those whose rooms are not yet available, the check-in process may still be completed and they can subsequently go to a shorter VIP line at the hotel in order to pick up their key.

Room rates are as follows: $69 per night at the Riviera; $95 per night at the Flamingo; $99 per night at Bally’s; $119 per night at both the Paris and the Las Vegas Hilton; and $139 per night at Caesars Palace.

All six official hotels will provide complimentary transportation on show days to and from the convention center. Shuttles will run every 15 minutes until 11 a.m., beginning at 6:30 a.m. on opening day, August 11, and 7 a.m. on subsequent days.

Shuttle service will resume in the afternoon from 3:30 to 6 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, and 1: 30 to 4 p.m. on Thursday, August 14. Evening service will also be available from 3:30 to 6 p.m. on Monday through Wednesday.

For general housing reservations, cleaners should call (888) 892-5822 and mention Clean ’03. IFI members who wish to make reservations at the Paris, the association’s headquarters hotel, should call (877) 584-6938.

The hotel reservation deadline for all Clean Show hotels is July 10.

Not so coincidentally, July 10 is also the deadline for pre-registration for Clean ’03. Prior to that date, the cost is $45 per person; however, those who wait to register on site will pay $70 each. Registration times at the convention center will begin from 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, August 10.

The registration cost covers admittance to the Clean Show’s exhibit hall, comprised of booths from more than 400 companies offering virtually every product or service available in the cleaning industry.

“This show is definitely the best place in the world to stay in touch with what is happening in the textile care industry,” said John Riddle, president of Riddle & Associates, the show’s management company.

In addition to exhibit hall access, those who register will be eligible to attend all of Clean ’03’s educational sessions, which are presented by four of the associations who co-sponsor the show. In all, there will be approximately 30 hours of seminars.

Straying from tradition, this year’s show will not feature a general opening session and keynote speaker, as has been the case with past formats.

Instead, the educational schedule will begin on Monday, August 11. IFI will kick things off that morning with “Why the Best are Better” at 8 a.m., which will help members get the most out of their association membership.

IFI will follow up that program at 8:45 a.m. with “Problem Garments: A Riches to Rags Story,” which will provide cleaners with helpful tips on how to avoid cleaning mishaps with trouble garments that have recently hit the marketplace.

On Tuesday, IFI will focus its session on how to meet customer expectations with “Give It to ‘Em How They Want It” from 8 to 10 a.m. With the help from the Fabricare Foundation’s 2002 Drycleaning Usage & Consumer Attitude Survey’s findings, IFI has the inside track on what customers want and what cleaners can do to make sure they provide it.

On Wednesday morning, IFI aims to prove that “Your Employees DO Make A Difference” with a session that focuses on employee motivation and turnover reduction. It is scheduled from 8 to 10 a.m.

In addition to IFI’s educational offerings, there will be seminars by the Coin Laundry Association, the National Association of Institutional Linen Management and the Textile Rental Services Association of America.

Topics for CLA’s programs include: “The State of Utilities in the Self-service Laundry Industry;” “Measuring Your Success: Projecting New Store Income;” “Marketing Your Laundry Through TV/Radio Commercials;” “Keeping Your Laundry Safe;” “Evaluating an Investment in the Coin Laundry Business;” and “Purchasing an Existing Laundry vs. Building New.”

TRSA will present seminars on: “How Information Technology and Integrated Systems Can Enhance Your Business;” “Benchmarking Services for Laundry Operators and How ProfitPoint™ Users Will Gain the Most;” and “Wash Quality Guaranteed! The Ultimate Test Kit.”

NAILM will focus its discussions on the subjects of bioterrorism, linen handling systems, wash floor automation and automated finishing/folding equipment.

For more information on Clean ’03, contact Riddle & Associates at 1874 Piedmont Rd., Suite 360-C, Atlanta, GA 30324; phone, (404) 876-1988; fax (404) 876-5121; or e-mail, info@cleanshow.com.