EACA News
EACA Response to Coronavirus Concerns. The EACA is working diligently to identify and acquire sources of support for our members due to the postponements and cancellations caused by the outbreak of the coronavirus. The Executive Committee has had several calls to discuss ways that the EACA can reach out to sources of government funding as part of stimulus bills being considered by Congress to assist our members in their time of need. Be assured that the EACA will be there for all our members to find ways to utilized our collective strength to any and every possible advantage.
Help Us Help You. The EACA Board is working on a letter we plan to use to tell our collective story as we seek financial support for our members to get us all through this crisis. As we work on our messaging to engage with elected officials and report on the extent of lost business, please continue to share with us how this crisis has impacted you. Any information that you share we will of course consider confidential, we just need to aggregate numbers that convey how profoundly the virus is hitting us.
EACA Member Support
SBA Disaster Relief Fund. We are being told Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program has $300 billion in small business loans as part of the recent stimulus proposal. The SBA will offer businesses access to up to $2M in emergency loan capital with rates capped at 3.75%. Click the link above to learn more about the programs in your state. If you’d like to correspond directly to leaders of the Small Business Administration here are their names and email addresses:
Small Business Administration Administrator: Jovita Carranza [email protected]
Small Business Administration Chief of Staff/COO: Pradeep Belur. [email protected]
United Way Fund. The United Way has established a COVID-19 Economic Relief Fund that can help families in need with things like bills, rent and food. Call 1-866-211-9966 and provide your zip code to obtain a list of local agencies that can provide assistance.
Orlando’s Orange County CC Parking Lot Will Be COVID-19 Testing Center. The parking lot of the Orange County Convention Center will be used as a testing zone for coronavirus, according to convention center officials.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency will provide drive-thru tests in tents and the Florida Division of Emergency Management will also utilize the parking lot space. The testing will take place in the Destination Flat lot, which is located on Destination Parkway across the street from the Hilton hotel. The convention center said testing may start sometime next week and may last for two weeks.
Employco USA Issues Coronavirus Bulletin. As the number of reported cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to rise, employers are increasingly confronted with the possibility of an outbreak in the workplace. Employers are obligated to maintain a safe and healthy work environment for their employees, but are also subject to a number of legal requirements protecting workers. For example, employers must comply with the legal obligations and be aware of best practices in their approach to dealing with COVID-19. Read More.
Company Layoffs v. Furloughs. Employco USA has also offered employers information about these cost cutting decisions.
Industry News
CEIR Impact Statement. CEIR reports that there are about 9,400 B2B exhibitions held in the U.S. annually. The updated figure for the industry’s total impact on the U.S. GDP is $101 billion in 2019, up from $97 billion in 2018.
As of 15 March 2020, 50 B2B events have announced their cancellations. Notable events that have canceled include:
- Inspired Home Show by the International Housewares Association (over 800,000 net square feet [NSF]);
- HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society) Global Health Conference and Exhibition (over 600,000 NSF);
- ASD (Affordable Shopping Destination) Market Week (about 600,000 NSF); and
- Natural Products Expo West (nearly 600,000 NSF).
These 50 events amounted to a total loss of 5.2 million NSF and $318 million in show organizer revenue. Taking into account direct spending of exhibitors and attendees, the loss to the economy stands at $1.8 billion. There are a total of about 2,500 B2B events held between 1 March and 15 May each year. CEIR believes that about 50% to 80% of those events have already canceled or will likely cancel in the coming weeks. Based on the cancellations reported as of 15 March 2020, CEIR calculates this will result in a loss of 41 to 65 million NSF and $2.3 billion to $3.6 billion in show organizer revenue. Combined with direct spending by exhibitors and attendees, CEIR estimates the total loss to the economy to be $14 billion to $22 billion.
US Travel Association Meets with VP Pence Task Force. The U.S. travel and tourism industry is seeking $150 billion in relief to help grapple with the coronavirus pandemic that has ground travel to a halt. Lobbying groups representing the country’s travel and tourism industry met at the White House on Tuesday with President Donald Trump and other officials to discuss the devastating economic impact of the pandemic.
U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow, along with American Hotel & Lodging Association President and CEO Chip Rogers and multiple hotel executives, met with President Trump, Vice President Pence and Commerce Secretary Ross to discuss the impact of coronavirus on America’s travel industry and a disaster relief package to help support the millions of travel workers and businesses, including those in the trade show industry—83% of which are small business—affected by these incredible circumstances.
In the meeting, U.S. Travel released new analysis, in conjunction with Tourism Economics, that paints a horrific picture: by the end June, the travel industry in the United States will lose 4.6 million jobs and $355 billion in revenue, for a total loss of $809 billion in economic output.
ExhibitorLive is Postponed. If you haven’t already heard, an announcement was made on Friday the 13th (no pun intended) to postpone ExhibitorLive until sometime in the fall. Stay tuned for updates.
Las Vegas Randy is Postponed. As you might expect the Las Vegas Randy, to have taken place on Sunday March 29, is also postponed. The Las Vegas Randy will closely monitor the timing of the dates that ExhibitorLive intends to re-convene and announce our new dates at that time.