The end of the largest early registration discounts for the Marine Dealer Conference and Exposition is approaching.
Registrants can save $140 per person if they register by Sunday, says Matt Gruhn, president of the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, which owns the show and co-produces it with Boating Industry magazine.
“The savings are a total of $75 for the MRAA member discount, $40 for an early bird registration discount, and there’s an additional $25 that we call ‘early early bird’ discount for people who register in the month of April,” Gruhn told Trade Only Today. “We typically get a lot of people interested in that additional savings.”
This year’s MDCE, which runs Dec. 10-13 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla., will include a new educational lineup, with speakers and keynote presenters, Gruhn said.
“As we continue to grow and expand what we’re doing, dealers tend to be more and more satisfied every year,” Gruhn said. “We’ve taken their feedback and insight and coupled that with another survey this year, asking them what they want to learn about at the 2017 event, and we’re building the conference based on exactly what they want.”
Dealers responded positively to an inaugural roundtable session, in which organizers set up about 40 tables of 10 to discuss various topics, so organizers are adding two more days of sessions, Gruhn said.
“The other thing is that our expo hall continues to get stronger,” Gruhn said. “We typically have 100 or more exhibitors in the hall. Every year we hear from dealers that they enjoy networking with people they’re already doing business with and finding one or two new organizations that have new products and services that can offer them greater success in the marketplace. It’s a really well rounded program.
“We use April to promote it and give attendees the biggest savings they’ll get all year long. It’s a great time for them to get it on the calendar and start prepping for the event.”
