Christina’s 9 Tips for Thriving at CES®
If you have never been to CES®, this is not like any other conference. There are over eleven venues which span OVER 3 MILES. Even when I just limit myself to the top locations of Tech East (LVCC), Tech West (Sands Expo), and Tech South (Aria), it takes me three days simply to visit every single one of the 4,000+ booths, scouring them for suppliers, software partners, distributors, and industry trends. I’m intense because I map out my day from wake to sleep, with the exact times it takes me to walk from place A to place B, exactly when and where I can eat and for how long, which booth numbers and sessions I must not miss, and which day I will be at which venue. Here are my insider tips.
1. Wear walking shoes.
There are many reasons to wear nice clothes at conferences, and you can wear your best at CES®. But if you want to actually see anything cool, wear shoes that will treat your feet nicely for 12 or more miles a day. For me that means trick-cool shoes to go with my company’s black logo t-shirt or jacket (marketing opportunity here — bonus tip).
2. Business cards.
Frankly I live in LinkedIn. However, at conferences you can get even more information from a business card. For example, a lot of people don’t list their email, phone number, or office address on their LinkedIn profile, but they do on their business card. To be honest, I used to tape cards into my notebook and write notes. I am still so glad I did that in the beginning as I made solid relationships because I remembered those people by their cards.
After 800 cards/contacts my go-to app for scanning business cards onto my phone became CamCard. I sought out CamCard because it was one of the few apps where I could choose to not co-mingle my personal contacts with my business contacts on my phone, so I could share this business list with my co-founders without sharing private information like my mom’s address.
And, whatever you do, don’t forget your own business cards. You will want at least 50–100, even if this is your first time.
3. Map it out before you get there.
You don’t have to be as intense as I am, but before you arrive you should make a top-ten list for yourself of the sessions and booths that you don’t want to miss, and most importantly, in which venue they are located. It takes a lot of time to go from one venue to the next. For example, I try to maximize my time by spending 9 am until 1 pm at each of the three main venues, and if it is a bust or I think I can make it in time, I head back to the startup pavilion in the afternoon where the real innovation is going on: Eureka Park, Tech West, Sands, Hall G.
4. Skip anything with 4 wheels — Take the Monorail.
Yes, in other cities and even at other times in Las Vegas you might rely on Lyft/Uber/taxi/shuttle/bus. However, when nearly 200,000 people descend (https://www.ces.tech/About-CES/CES-by-the-Numbers.aspx) upon most cities, that means grid-lock traffic. Last year I was stuck in a conference shuttle for over an hour on the first day, and heard of others stuck in vehicles for over 2 hours to travel one short mile. You will miss sessions and important meetings (and dinner!) if you rely on anything with four wheels. Walking or taking the Monorail is the way to go.
The Monorail will be crowded, but even with some lines, and painfully inconvenient walking routes to and from the stations which purposely snake through casinos, it is still your fastest way to get to and from the farthest stops.
5. Buy or pick up your Monorail/Bus pass the night before.
-> 2019 Update: Mobile tickets are now available for the Monorail: https://tix.lvmonorail.com/purchase, and bus: RideRTC app.
Flying in the night before? Pre-order a pass online and pick it up that night at one of the Monorail stations. You will be grateful to by-pass the ticket line in the morning and stand in just the line for boarding. Just to give you a quick idea, below are my notes from last year for how late the stations are open to pick up your pass. You can double-check the times for each station office via the website. (https://www.lvmonorail.com/route-map/)
Monorail Customer Service Hours: MGM Grand, Sunday-Thursday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Friday-Saturday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Bally’s/Paris, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Flamingo, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Harrah’s/The LINQ, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Westgate, Sunday-Thursday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Friday-Saturday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. SLS Las Vegas, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
6. Pick up your CES® conference pass at the airport when you fly in.
An hour line up in the morning is nothing short of frustrating when you are trying to make it to an appointment or session. Of course, if you are driving in, pick it up the night before at the following locations. (https://www.ces.tech/Logistics/Badge-Pick-Up-and-Registration-Locations)
7. Stay at Hooters® (or nearby).
Whatever opinion you may have of Hooters®, in Las Vegas this hotel has the optimal location and price for someone on a startup budget attending CES®, and because of various cultural stigmas is usually the last hotel booked for those organizing at the last minute. Although the showers on the top floor don’t drain well (take short showers), the rooms are clean, and the hotel building is right across the street from MGM and most importantly — the last Monorail stop. Not only is it probably the shortest distance you will walk to ANY Monorail stop during CES®, but it also means you might have the luxury of sitting down (and saving your feet for walking the CES®floor) all the way to the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) which is nearly at the other end of the line.
8. Book Dinner Reservations for your Group NOW.
If you are traveling with more than just you, and your group wants (or deserves) a proper sit-down meal, plan on skipping the dinner hours of 6–9 pm if you don’t make a reservation in advance. In fact, last year I booked dinner reservations BEFORE getting the tickets, flights, and hotels.
Just saying, people. Food is important. And Las Vegas is Disneyland for the foodie in us all.
9. For those who don’t plan dinner: The Wicked Spoon buffet.
There are buffets, and there are BUFFETS. Albeit not cheap, the Wicked Spoon is a set price (plan on paying about $50 with taxes) and you can just walk in (okay, you may have to stand in a short line to pay). About the selection, let’s just say that the first time I went they had bone-marrow, and fresh-squeezed juice blends as a few of the endless gourmet offerings. It’s not your typical buffet, and it’s in the Cosmopolitan Hotel. https://www.cosmopolitanlasvegas.com/restaurants/wicked-spoon
-> 2019 Update: I will be hanging out at the Wicked Buffet waiting for my flight at 5 PM on Friday. Hope to see you there. And if you are in hardware, I will be eager to hear your story.
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Christina Cyr is CEO of dTOOR Inc. SPC, which specializes in “Non-Rectangular Phones for Non-Rectangular People” starting with a phone in the shape of a circle, called The Cyrcle Phone. In September 2016 dTOOR successfully launched a 2G version of The Cyrcle Phone to test the market (pictured here), and delivered all phones within 60 days. Since then dTOOR has been working on the 4G Android version of The Cyrcle Phone.
Note: CES® is a registered trademark of the Consumer Technology Association
