2020 Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show: POLL

Guess we'll see at FLIBS. Wonder what the people working the show are thinking right now. ('Let me sit on an aft deck for a few days letting people breath, sneeze, cough and sweat on me and make sure they can see my smile cause I'm invincible' or 'OMG I'm a clay duck in a shooting gallery and I don't even know who has the gun').

Maybe the title of the thread should be changed to Will you attend the 2020 Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show now that you know that masks and social distancing are optional?

Here in Fort Lauderdale, bars without food, have been closed since April. So I guess they can re-open.

Most manufacturers I've heard from are NOT attending the show, their booths will be empty. Honestly, I laugh and think WHAT SHOW? They've already made that decision a few weeks ago. They had to as it takes months of planning to get everything ready for it.

Party like it's 1999. Of course you may not see 2021.

There is absolutely nothing preventing FLIBS from setting any rules they want. We own businesses and will continue requiring masks and distancing and temperature checks. There is nothing preventing us from setting our own policies or FLIBS from doing the same.

If it goes ahead I think it will be a very sparse show. I am aware of quite a few vendors who are not going. I suspect everyone is keeping quiet due to refund policies in the hope that FLIBS is cancelled. Pulling out may incur loss of deposits. Cancellation or postponement by FLIBS will hopefully mean deposits are carried over till the next show. Cost of the show is significant and a big chunk of smaller companies marketing budgets.

A good judge of what is going on will be watching the advance shipment warehouse. It is open now and would normally be filling up. As Capt J says - "They've already made that decision a few weeks ago". For overseas exhibitors it is months ago.

On a positive note, the tents are likely to be extremely empty, combined with lower show attendance allowing easy social distancing.
As a boat buyers show maybe it will be a success with a serious buyer and seller having more time and space to achieve their goals.

The safety and health of our employees is more important to us than the sales we expect at the FLIBS. YACHTSIGN will therefore not take part in the FLIBS this year.

If you want to get an indication of who isn't coming and who may be in question, you can do so from FLIBS website. They have now removed many builders from their list of exhibitors. Others then are shown in locations TBD.

From my brief looking, among those you won't find listed are Westport, Hatteras and Burger from the US. Won't find Sunseeker from the UK. Won't find any Ferretti Brand or Fipa Group or Benetti Brand or Sanlorenzo. Just missing the top builders. Also, no Grand Banks or Palm Beach shown. If anyone sees those and I just overlooked them, please correct me. I've known many of these a while but was waiting until there was public information and I'd consider FLIB's list of Exhibitors to be that.

I have been exhibiting at the show without interruption for 31 years.....We made the decision not to go because of travel to and from the show, the difficulty of showing a boat, wiping the surfaces and we dont think it can be a safe environment for the salesman and/or clients that visit. After show hours, how can you safely go to a restaurant after the show or have breakfast before the show? I don't quite understand why there is a show; if so many other boat/car shows are all cancelled. Honestly I find it irresponsible from Informa to continue with the show and I do think they are afraid of the entire world taking a turn and with so many good media tools available, are the days of very expensive boatshows becoming a thing of the past, similar to boating magazines with printed advertising??? just saying....

I think Informa is afraid to one degree or another of many things including the show losing it's importance. However, skipping a year I believe causes far less damage than a half-a... show with shortages of exhibitors and attendees or than a show cancelled a week before. In a normal year if I had plans to attend and hotel reservations and airline tickets then I'd just enjoy South Florida instead and maybe fly across the the Bahamas for a day or two. I'd be upset over no show or a horrible show but still make the best of it. However, if I took a chance on a flight, got a hotel room and then it was a disaster or last minute cancelled, I'd be extremely upset.

I believe if things are better by next summer and they went on and cancelled this show, then next year could be one of the best shows they've had with a couple of years of exhibitors and attendees.

Tested negative for the fourth time since April.

That's the spirit, American proud. I will be sure to stop by and elbow bump you.

Lets make this easy, if you do not think FLIBS should happen, just do not go. Let those of us who are comfortable with public venues live our lives. I promise I personally will not get near you so I am not a threat to your well being and probably none of the other attendees either, so please stop attempting to take a wizz in our cheerios.

The arguments for an against strict lock downs show how much damage can accrue whether a locale goes strict or lax. New York City is now showing a very low infection rate, possibly due to the city's draconian lock down regulations. But a report issued today by a NY Official states 33% to 50% of all New York City restaurants will close for good. The report goes on to say restaurant closings will cause 150,000 people in NYC to be unemployed, most of them from minority groups. Unemployment rates in New York are among the highest in the USA.

Florida's more lax lock downs have probably been responsible for a huge infection rate, but Florida's deaths per capita from Covid 19 are actually well below New York. Florida's unemployment rate is better than New York's even though Florida relies heavily on tourism which has been crushed.

I understand why New York had to be shut down so hard -- it's initial spike of Covid 19 was staggeringly high. But the long lock down since March may kneecap the city for years -- it is hard to envision businessmen or tourists thronging to a city where 50% of the restaurants and probably many storefronts are boarded up and dark. The streets will feel unnervingly empty and unwelcoming.

Hard to know what is best for an area. Sweden took a very "lax" approach to Covid 19, with no business or school shutdowns, no mandated social distancing, minimal mask wearing after the first month and ended up about in the middle of European rates for infection and deaths per capita from Covid 19. From all reports Covid 19 infection is minimal in Sweden now and Covid 19 hospital wards have all been dismantled.

Could we possibly get back on the subject of FLIBS and whether people are attending and whether people are showing. I don't care who attends, but have been clear in expressing doubts about what level of show is possible and the exhibitors and attendees. Nothing to do with NY or Sweden, unless discussing whether those from NY and Sweden are attending, Nothing about the President or Governors of any states unless they're planning on attending.

Just because a few Americans feel comfortable attending doesn't make it a successful show. If six of the top eight boat builders don't show, is it a successful show? If no European or Asian customers come, is it a successful show?

As someone living in Fort Lauderdale and concerned about Covid 19, FLIBS is the least of my worries in that regard. I don't fear anyone coming in as our rate is above theirs's in all likelihood. I think the rate of Covid 19 in FL would concern many, but the show is nothing compared to the parties and bars.

Add to the not going:
Azimut
Bertram (I've heard but still on list)
Delta
Feadship
Hinckley
Hunt
Merritt
Searay
seavee
ZF

I don't think you could classify it as a successful show just by the manufacturers NOT going. How do you call it an International boat show.........

Sea Vee is still on the list too, but that doesn't mean they're going even though a very short trip for them. I just went through the largest builders earlier, but the list goes on and on.

We're on C dock at Bahia Mar now. Valet parking begins shortly as they are taking over the lots for the show. They are building a huge tent building and lots of floating docks ready to be installed. The town is lively too. Weather, superb.

I just checked room availability at the Riverside on Los Olas. All the rooms you want. Cheap. That speaks volumes