3 days for $150 + some meals. That sounds like bargain. The other conference in November is too close to turkey day.

Drinks on me from 6-7pm. Met me at the Manager's Reception

This sounds fun.

I just don't understand why this has to be a competition?

I have been to an IMSC conference and am considering going again this year. There were things I did and did not like about it. The discussions for me tended to be either OMG I can't wait for this or OMG is that a mattress I spot over in the corner let me take a nap now. I, however, was not really there for those. I was there to meet schedulers and get my name and face in front of MSCs. I have done a tremendous amount of work for companies that I interacted with there over the past year. Many times over the cost and it was well worth it. However, the number of companies represented was significantly smaller than I expected. Yes I'm sure that was my fault for having higher expectations, but I was hoping for 30-40 companies being represented and there was less than 10. I am still considering going this year because a, it's in Vegas and I have 2 free nights that can be used during the conference and I don't pay for air fare, b, perhaps there will be other companies there, c, I can interact with the schedulers and shoppers I met last year.

I would also like to go to ShopperFest and probably would this year if it weren't during a time my schedule is probably going to be a little tight. And I might still try to find a way. I imagine, but could be wrong, that the companies represented at ShopperFest will most likely be different than the ones represented at IMSC. And I expect there will be more of them. Face time with schedulers and MSCs is what I'm interested in. Panels, classes, discussions, and meeting other shoppers is secondary.

I think for other people there are other factors. Location definitely. Time. And what they want to get out of the conference.

I would absolutely love to see a list of which companies will be present at each conference. I would also love if someone who had been to both could give a report on both. Not which they liked better, but what they found the strengths and weaknesses of each one was.

bgriffin,
Meet you in Las Vegas!

@Customer_Service_Police wrote:

Drinks on me from 6-7pm. Met me at the Manager's Reception

This sounds fun.

Who R U?

@MSNinja wrote:

@Customer_Service_Police wrote:

Drinks on me from 6-7pm. Met me at the Manager's Reception

This sounds fun.

Who R U?

CSP is a Shopper who knows how to spot a joke about free drinks at the Manager's Reception at the hotel.

Are they doing in Chicago again anytime soon???
Wish they would do one in either NJ or NYC sometime.
Yes, there are locations in NYC that are not that costly such as the Holiday Inn on West 57th St where they have held small time comic book conventions. There are also hotels in lower parts of CT and Westchester County, NY that would be suitable.

@bgriffin wrote:

I just don't understand why this has to be a competition?

^^^I agree. Seems like there's room for both.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

@bgriffin wrote:

I just don't understand why this has to be a competition?

^^^I agree. Seems like there's room for both.

Me three.

If a shopper can only afford 1 due to $ or time off from real job there is not room for both. A decision needs to be made.

Yes, my point being though that it shouldn't be a blanket this one is better than that one. Different shoppers have different needs. For some maybe they don't want overnight travel, so that would dictate it. Some might want video training and if Kathy is doing it then hands down the IMSC conference is the way to go. Some, like me, might be mostly interested in meeting schedulers and company reps and if one has 10 and the other has 20 then that makes it an easy decision for me. Some people may want to interact with particular shoppers who are going. For instance, if I had a great desire to do lifestyle reimbursement type shops and I knew both SoCalMomma and Steve were going to ShopperFest, well yeah, you better believe that's the one I'm going to in order to pick their brain all I can.

Since 1 is in Nov. and I am already traveling for turkey day, the Oct. 1 is the 1 for me. I have a regular job.

@MSNinja wrote:

I have a regular job.

How pedestrian

@bgriffin wrote:

if I had a great desire to do lifestyle reimbursement type shops and I knew both SoCalMomma and Steve were going to ShopperFest, well yeah, you better believe that's the one I'm going to in order to pick their brain all I can.

I download most of my brain to this forum on a regular basis, and would be doing my best to destroy any remaining brain cells at one of these events, so...there's probably not much left to pick at if you see me there.

That said, If I could make a blanket nutshell statement about the conferences, since they both offer video showing certification, route shopping classes, etc...the MSPA one seems like it might be better suited for a newbie and the IMSC might be a better fit for someone with a little experience looking to fine-tune their game.

It has been years since I attended an event by either of these groups and never attended any classes at any of those, so I can't speak for the quality of the instruction provided. It would be interesting if someone interested in video could take both courses and comment on it.

Does either conference publish a list of which MSCs are sending reps?

@bgriffin wrote:

Yes, my point being though that it shouldn't be a blanket this one is better than that one. Different shoppers have different needs. For some maybe they don't want overnight travel, so that would dictate it. Some might want video training and if Kathy is doing it then hands down the IMSC conference is the way to go. Some, like me, might be mostly interested in meeting schedulers and company reps and if one has 10 and the other has 20 then that makes it an easy decision for me. Some people may want to interact with particular shoppers who are going. For instance, if I had a great desire to do lifestyle reimbursement type shops and I knew both SoCalMomma and Steve were going to ShopperFest, well yeah, you better believe that's the one I'm going to in order to pick their brain all I can.

Seriously boys. Let's go!
I already know all of the old players in MSPA. I'm sure that there are new ones to meet.
I already booked my room and I'm going to sell my tickets for phantom of the opera (same night).

@bgriffin wrote:

@MSNinja wrote:

I have a regular job.

How pedestrian

Since I get to drive company car I don't have to be pedestrian.

@SoCalMama wrote:

Seriously boys. Let's go!

Look...if you are getting free drinks at the manager's reception, I'm down to meet there for the reception. No way I'm staying at that hotel for the weekend though, and I'm a responsible driver so I'll be bugging Doug for a lift to Anaheim and we can talk Sh^&%t about the forum the whole way there ;^)

I'm also going to wear a nametag with bgriffin's name on it, so there's no room for him to be there.

Is there something wrong with that hotel?

@bgriffin wrote:

Is there something wrong with that hotel?

Nope but Steve likes fancy. He has needs.

@SoCalMama wrote:

@bgriffin wrote:

Is there something wrong with that hotel?

Nope but Steve likes fancy. He has needs.

I have to agree with Steve! There is a huge difference between Peninsula/Four Seasons/Ritz Carlton attitudes and training and that of Holiday Inn/Sheraton/HoJos

Absolutely. They do a horrible job of leaving you the heck alone.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/31/2015 12:57AM by bgriffin.

@bestofbothworlds wrote:

@SoCalMama wrote:

@bgriffin wrote:

Is there something wrong with that hotel?

Nope but Steve likes fancy. He has needs.

I have to agree with Steve! There is a huge difference between Peninsula/Four Seasons/Ritz Carlton attitudes and training and that of Holiday Inn/Sheraton/HoJos

Yes, but most shoppers don't jump right into a Ritz Carlton. I do plenty of those, but I will knock out a 3 star place if I need a place to stay while traveling. It's good to be able to do everything. You practice on the easy ones , and it gets you ready for the challenging things. That's why I don't panic if things take a dive. I like to be well rounded. Very few MSP's have only 5 star jobs. I'll do a favor for a scheduler that needs to clear up a month. I know that I will get a juicy job later because of it. (Example - my old post about doing a crappy bank job and getting an international flight in trade two weeks later.)

Don't mistake me, I've done my share of shabby hotels and even evaluated an Embassy Suites from time to time. Recently, I've been concentrating on Four Seasons, Ritz, Waldorf, Mandarin Oriental and other fancy-schmancy places. I like the fancy places!

My 1st hotel shop was Ritz Carlton. Thats weird.

My first hotel was a 5-star boutique in Manhattan. That was 11 years ago. Time flies....

As a former Event/Exhibit Manager, had I booked anything less than a Peninsula/Four Seasons/Ritz for our sales reps (200K to 500K) I would have been ridden out of town on a rail. I got very used to living well.

Would you recommend any specific hotel within uber distance? I was looking at the Marriott Irvine since it is so close to the airport.

I've decided to attend for two reasons. I'm so new that I really don't know what I don't know. And two, to make top status on my second airline, I need to step it up and a west coast trip with a purpose is a nice bump.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

@SoCalMama wrote:

Seriously boys. Let's go!

Look...if you are getting free drinks at the manager's reception, I'm down to meet there for the reception. No way I'm staying at that hotel for the weekend though, and I'm a responsible driver so I'll be bugging Doug for a lift to Anaheim and we can talk Sh^&%t about the forum the whole way there ;^)

I'm also going to wear a nametag with bgriffin's name on it, so there's no room for him to be there.

@anneshop wrote:

Would you recommend any specific hotel within uber distance? I was looking at the Marriott Irvine since it is so close to the airport.

I've decided to attend for two reasons. I'm so new that I really don't know what I don't know. And two, to make top status on my second airline, I need to step it up and a west coast trip with a purpose is a nice bump.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

@SoCalMama wrote:

Seriously boys. Let's go!

Look...if you are getting free drinks at the manager's reception, I'm down to meet there for the reception. No way I'm staying at that hotel for the weekend though, and I'm a responsible driver so I'll be bugging Doug for a lift to Anaheim and we can talk Sh^&%t about the forum the whole way there ;^)

I'm also going to wear a nametag with bgriffin's name on it, so there's no room for him to be there.

I'll check later. I don't know how close that is to the Embassy Suites North.

@anneshop wrote:

Would you recommend any specific hotel within uber distance? I was looking at the Marriott Irvine since it is so close to the airport.

Irvine is definitely not Uber-friendly to the Shopperfest location. It's about 30 minutes drive and even more in traffic.

The Embassy Suites in question is slightly NE of Disneyland so you have all the overpriced and undesirable Disney hotels nearby. It's also kind of in a hotel vacuum where there are few other hotels in the immediate vicinity.

There is an Extended stay somewhat close by:
[www.extendedstayamerica.com]

A Best Western slightly north:
[book.bestwestern.com]

Anything that shows up in a search near Disneyland or the Anaheim Convention Center will be Uber-friendly, though. Myself, I prefer the Sheraton at the convention center:
[www.sheratonparkanaheim.com]
I've stayed there when working other conventions and it's probably the nicest non-park-related hotel in the area...and free if you have Starpoints!