"Something walks off the floor at every show." With a sigh, rolling eyes, and a shake of her head -- along with something that can only be described as a tired half-laugh, half-groan -- Carol Fojtik sums up the frustrations and plight of dozens and dozens of planners, who like her, do business at convention centers. "No matter how much security I hire, theft inevitably occurs," says Fojtik, senior vice president at Hall Erickson, an exposition management company based in Westmont, Illinois. Paul Stratton knows exactly what she's talking about. "At least one laptop goes missing from each show." He plans three events a year as group show director for business exhibitions at Primedia, a media company in Greenwood Village, Colorado.
"At our show this past February, a guy walked off with six to eight shoes that were left on display overnight," adds Chris Aiken, executive director of the Newport Beach, California-based World Shoe Association. The culprit, who apparently registered falsely for the retail badge he wore, was nabbed by security guards as he tried to make a break. (For the record, it's likely he was planning on creating cheap knock-offs -- he couldn't wear the shoes, considering his booty didn't yield a single complete pair.)
Nolan Apostle at That's Entertainment Productions, a special events company in California, remembers clearly the time one of his clients had a box of leads lifted from a booth during off- hours. Adding insult to injury, "many of my other clients have had random items stolen" at a number of shows he's planned.
All four thievery-plagued planners agree: Theft rates at convention centers would go down considerably if exhibitors and show managers took greater responsibility for their "stuff," securing it under lock and key, and out of sight, after hours and overnight. And while that may be true, there is still plenty a planner can do to, if not stop thieves from attempting to rob their shows blind, prevent the bandits from getting away with the goods, morning, noon, or night.
Ounce of prevention
Well before ever setting sight on the security guards who will be the eyes and ears of your next trade show, convention, or meeting, get up close and personal with the security procedures in place at the convention center. "Planners should make sure every security officer working at the center [be they in-house or contracted], has had an extensive background check," says Alan Davis, director of public safety at Atlanta's Georgia World Congress Center. Checks -- usually going back about a decade -- on in-house guards (and employees in general) are becoming standard at convention centers around the country. That's a necessity, says Steve LaManna, who'll never forget the time a show producer's laptop "disappeared" right under the nose of a security guard. "She sat not twenty feet from the device," says LaManna, now with Strong Communications, a production and staging company in Orlando, "yet she had no idea what happened to it, or so she said."
Many facilities will even run a check on the officers a planner hires from private firms, free of charge, notes Davis. "If that's something you want -- and it should be -- ask for it and put it in the contract."
While still in the contracting phase, "Make a point of limiting access to the show floor," offers Fojtik. At a show earlier this year, one of her exhibitors lost a laptop that was placed in a duffel bag and stowed overnight in a closet built into a booth. "This happened even though I'd hired private security officers to supplement the convention center's force," says Fojtik. "Too many people -- from exhibitors to maintenance workers -- have unlimited access."
Stratton agrees, though he points out that, while "exhibitors tend to blame theft on less-than-scrupulous security guards and cleaning personnel, more often than not, it's an attendee or a competitor" with the sticky fingers. And it's a crime that's so easy to pull off, he says. "They see something sitting out in the open, and they take it." What's more, "They're wearing a business suit, so they don't look the least bit suspicious as they walk away with a laptop under their arm." (Some have been known to waltz right through propped emergency exit doors -- something savvy planners know to watch for.)
Stratton's first rule of thumb for exhibitors who (naturally) want to prevent theft: Eliminate the eye candy. "If nothing catches a potential thief's eye, nothing will get stolen." A couple of years back, an exhibitor lost photographs of a prototype of a security camera that were left Velcroed to a booth wall overnight. They showed the inner workings of the equipment and, if you ask Stratton, were snatched by a competitor.
Rule number two: "If you think of a hiding place in your booth, you're not the only one who's thought of it." He says planners should advise exhibitors that they'd be better off taking their valuables with them during off-hours, re-calling the time a prototype of a two-way radio "vanished" from a booth. In this instance, however, the exhibitor had the last laugh: "It was a fake prototype, meaning it was hollow inside."
Ship Up
After-hour filching is a favorite m.o. of those who prey on the convention industry, but going in for the kill in broad daylight while everyone's distracted is apparently just as popular. "In my experience, most theft seems to occur during move-in and move-out when it's hectic and everything's in a state of utter chaos," says Carlsbad, California-based trade show consultant Candy Adams, a.k.a. "the booth mom." This is a good time, she points out, for planners to hire security guards to keep watch over each and every booth. "Especially during move-out, when exhibitors are busy pulling out cords, unplugging laptops and setting them aside in anticipation of getting their shipping cartons back, and running off to return lead gathering systems, phones, and other borrowed or rented equipment."
Although it's difficult to control at virtually any time throughout an event, access to the show floor during setup and breakdown, in particular, should be strictly limited to key individuals. "Freight people and those who set up booths and displays -- decorators, as we call them -- are often cheap labor and the company they work for rarely checks their backgrounds," says Ralph Duran, security manager at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas. Which is why he requires all decorators wear identification badges, to "at the very least, prove they work for whom they say they do."
Putting a label on those coming in and out of the convention center is a good idea, but labeling the boxes containing materials and displays is not. "It's an open invitation to thieves. May as well write 'Sony TV, please steal me' in big, black letters," quips Davis, in all seriousness. "Like a freight loader would ever look at the label on a box and say, 'I won't cart the display rack, but I have no problem with the plasma screen TV.' "As an alternative, planners and exhibitors should simply number their boxes, keeping track of what's contained in each. You can even have a little fun with it, suggests Adams. "Write 'fishbowls' on boxes containing computer monitors. Who's going to go out of their way to steal a bunch of fishbowls?"
Virtual Robbery
A crack security officer can nab a bandit attempting to make off with just about anything from a fishbowl to exhibit products, computer equipment, or personal belongings, but what about the items of value he or she can't exactly get a grip on? "Any time there's a network -- in the form of a computer lab, a cyber cafe, or laptops in your conference or show office -- a determined hacker can get into it," notes meetings technology consultant Jeff Rasco, president of Attendee Management, a registration services company in Wimberley, Texas. However, there are ways to thwart the efforts of the average information pirate.
"First of all," says Rasco, "you want to make sure your tech contact at the facility is concerned about security." Do this by asking a lot of questions -- though if you don't feel comfortable or don't consider yourself well versed in techno lingo, have the computer people at your office do it. "Find out if there are firewalls on the facility's system." If you're renting the machines, ask the same of the rental company.
While hackers are adept at discovering passwords, two-bit communication thieves are often handed a free lunch. "If your computers have browser-enabled cookies, which retain e-mail passwords, anyone can read private e-mail exchanges," says Rasco. Prevent this by, again, asking questions.
Now that many convention centers are beginning to wire themselves with ultra-fast Internet connections, everything computerized -- from the soda machine to the lights -- has an IP address. So if someone learns the address of the computer at your booth, they're in like Flynn. "This is why it's crucial to determine who has access to the servers and when, and if the equipment is under lock and key." In a nutshell, Rasco advises, make sure that at every level, there is a cop of some kind (electronic or otherwise) managing the system.
Extra-bold planners could ask to see a facility's network security policy in writing, though they may not have much luck. "We would never broadcast our procedures because that would defeat the purpose -- hackers would learn exactly what they need to do to gain access" says Michael Hall, network manager at Texas' Austin Convention Center. To combat this, Rasco suggests you get it in writing that tight security is in place, and if there are any breaches the center will take responsibility.
It's Up to You
In the end, a secure stint at a convention center is up to the planner, the show manager, whoever is at the helm and running the show. It requires a little extra legwork -- in the form of question after question in an effort to get a solid grasp of the facility's security procedures. It may mean a deeper reach into the pocketbook -- in terms of additional security guards at individual booths. Most importantly, extreme vigilance and what can only be described as an "obsession" with security is your ticket to a theft-free event.
Of course there are exceptions to every rule, but why should your event be counted among them?