IRVINE, Calif. — Building Industry Show’s (BIS) motto, “Not Your Typical Tradeshow,” isn’t just marketing hype designed to get attention. It’s the business model of the show — and the reason it was able to sell all of its exhibit space for this year’s event in months.
BIS 2026, which will be held at Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa, Indian Wells on Sept. 2-3, promises high-quality leads in Southern California’s homebuilding industry and high-energy experiences that encourage business activity. It’s no wonder that over 100 companies — including Panasonic, Cityside Fiber and Architerra Design Group — didn’t want to miss out.
Boosting Attendee Engagement for Exhibitor Success
Organized by the Building Industry Association of Southern California (BIASC), the BIS experience wasn’t always something that exhibitors feared missing out on. In fact, after doing exhibitor surveys, the organization found that companies were actually spending time with very few attendees. Although they loved the atmosphere, exhibitors found that the attendee conversations they came for were sorely lacking — leading to a low return on their investment.
“We looked at the surveys and said, ‘Wait a minute, how many builders did you talk to?’ They told us, ‘Oh, I only heard from three. I only heard from five. I only heard from two or 10,’” BIASC’s CEO Jeff Montejano explained. “It was like, ‘Wait a minute. We had about 60 or 70 of them there. Where’s that disconnect?’”
Related. Full Steam Ahead for Nineteen Group as Chicago Build 2026 Poised for Growth at McCormick Place
It turned out, the disconnect was that even though top-tier attendees were in the building, they were only stopping at five or six booths and spending the rest of their time doing other things. To address this, BIS incentivized attendees — which include homebuilders, developers, contractors and architects — to visit each and every exhibitor by creating an offer very few can refuse.
“The goodie bag is you get your hotel paid for, you get free golf and you get to go to the concert at Acrisure Arena for free,” said Montejano.
Also, the show has made it easier for attendees to connect with exhibitors by loosening rules about outside networking, because the deals don’t necessarily take place in the venue.
“The business is being done socially,” Montejano said. “It is not being done in a conference room one-on-one.”
Related. The Best of Both Worlds at Design & Construction Week 2026
Additionally, BIS is providing more fun activities, such as casino-style gaming and giveaways, to keep attendees on the floor longer.
“Our exhibitors have always said they want good floor traffic, so we have to keep our people on the floor. To keep them motivated, we have to keep a high tempo, a high energy level on the floor,” said Montejano. “Before, we weren’t allowing drinking. We weren’t allowing food. We changed all that. We had to go where the market took us. Our people said, ‘I want to be able to eat. I want to be able to drink. I want to have fun too,’ so we went in that direction.”
To get more events industry news, subscribe to TSE’s free e-newsletter on LinkedIn or through your email.
