In their recently published article, 2024 International Builders’ Show Attracts Largest Attendance in 15 Years, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) highlights the growth that is defining this season’s building show experience. While it is vital in today’s marketplace to build a strong online presence and ensure that your business is digitally accessible, what the NAHB article suggests is that maintaining face-to-face interactions and providing access to in-person examples of material products remains a formidable business practice and should be a priority. In this digital age, never underestimate the impact of human connection and relationship to propel your business and push the industry forward.
2024 International Builders’ Show Attracts Largest Attendance in 15 Years
Article written by NAHB contributing authors and published on February 29, 2024 at nahb.org. Used here with permission.
More than 76,000 builders, remodelers, developers and other home building professionals filled the exhibit halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center as the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) hosted the 80th NAHB International Builders’ Show® (IBS), the largest annual light construction show in the world, Feb. 27-29. This milestone attendance, representing more than 100 countries and the highest level since 2009, reflects the bullish outlook of the residential construction industry.
Attendees visited more than 1,800 exhibitors – including 800 new exhibitors – over 678,000 net square feet, exploring innovative building products and technology to advance the industry and enhance new homes. Reflecting the strong growth of the show over its 80-year history, the size of the show floor increased nearly 12% from the 2023 show.
“The energy and enthusiasm of attendees on the exhibit floor matched the positive feedback we received from our exhibitors,” said NAHB Chief Revenue Officer Geoff Cassidy. “To help attendees maximize their experience, we organized this year’s exhibit floor into six distinct product segments. Many IBS attendees told us they wanted floor segmentation, so this was a direct result of us listening to their needs.”
“This has been a great show. I can’t believe how many people are here. They are engaged and excited about our products,” said exhibitor Dane Merriman, sales manager of Schlage.
This year also marked the 11th anniversary of Design & Construction Week® (DCW), the co-location of IBS and the National Kitchen & Bath Association’s (NKBA’s) Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS). DCW drew over 117,000 attendees, and more than 2,400 exhibitors occupied over one million net square feet of indoor and outdoor exhibits.
IBS attendees enhanced their industry knowledge by attending any of more than 120 education sessions led by experts on a wide range of industry topics, including artificial intelligence, building technology, research and trends. Attendees also took advantage of numerous networking events throughout week and visited The New American Home™ that showcased the latest trends and innovations in home building.
“The booths keep getting bigger and [better] each year,” said Matt Bieschke, partner at Alair Homes in Alexandria, Va. “We only wish we had more time because there’s just so much to see and do. Coming to IBS made it super easy for us to have direct access to meet with a variety of national reps, and all of these face-to-face opportunities are really important to building those relationships that benefit our business.”