Las Vegas
RESACON 2019!
Hey Everyone, I hope you had a great and restful weekend.
Jenny and I just came back from the most incredible time in Las Vegas at RESACON 2019! You know what they say though, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!! Haha, just kidding, we are here to share every last detail with you.
For those of you who aren’t familiar, RESA is the Real Estate Staging Association. It is a collaborative group of individuals within the staging, design and real estate industry who partner to elevate their skills and advance their professionalism. Centre Staged has been a part of RESA since the beginning and this is the first year we had the privilege of attending the event. We were pretty darn excited might I add!!
Vegas is such a happening spot that we chose to fly down a day early to explore and see what the amazing city had to offer!! Wow, we were not disappointed!! If you’ve never been, or are considering the trip, I’m here to bring you along.
DAY 1: Exploration!
We arrived a day early to explore the Las Vegas strip!! With the time change, we woke up bit earlier than expected so we ended up heading to the strip in the morning. Some of the staff looked at us like we were crazy…….. who goes to the strip before at-least noon? Well, two eager Canadian girls that’s who!
First on our stop was Caesars Palace. OH EM GEE this was incredible!!! Pictures really do not do it justice. The fine details that were put into this building were second to none.
Next we were off to the Shops at Caesars Palace. Here, we did some shopping…. Shopping for cookies lol! Who needs clothes when you can have cookies right??? If you haven’t already tried Honolulu Cookie Company, well then you probably should because you’re missing out! We intended on these sweet treats coming back with us…… but, temptation may have gotten the best of us.
Next on our stop was the pool! We wanted to make sure we enjoyed some relaxation to prepare for our busy days ahead. Jenny and I sipped Pina Coladas while we chatted about the upcoming conference and highlighted the sessions we wanted to attend. Is there any better way to work? I think not!
After some much needed R&R time we made our way back to the strip to enjoy a dinner on the town. We headed to Delano Las Vegas; a resort attached to the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. We decided on a French restaurant, Rivea for an incredible view and meal. We made our way up on a glass elevator to the top floor. Incase you are wondering, as someone afraid of heights, I would suggest looking into this before stepping in the elevator. Luckily, the views were so gorgeous I was able to put some fear aside.
Dinner was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. I would highly recommend heading over to Rivea if you are in Las Vegas. The French inspired cusine was to die for and soooooo flavourful. Not to mention, we overlooked the sunset and mountains as we ate.
Next up was the Bellagio! I had heard about the Fountains of Bellagio from my parents and several other travelers, but nothing could have prepared me for how truly beautiful the show was in person. This is an absolute MUST SEE.
DAY 2: Work hard, Play hard
We started our day with coffee and Belgian waffles at our resort in-house restaurant. With the conference approaching we decided to spend some time doing emails, talking to clients and taking care of any business that we couldn’t attend to during the following days.
Luckily with technology, it’s so easy to work from anywhere. We were able to stay in touch with our clients and keep up to date with our team back in Guelph!
Thursday afternoon quickly came and went and as soon as we knew it, it was time for registration! We headed over to the main ballroom and picked up our RESACON swag bags. If we weren’t excited enough already, this truly got our heads spinning!
We decided on an early dinner and cocktail by the pool before heading to bed. We wanted to get our best nights sleep before the full day ahead to come!
DAY 3: RESACON CONFERENCE DAY ONE
I think our excitement may have gotten the best of us. I woke up around 6:30 to Jenny already up and ready to start the day! We quickly headed down for breakfast and started to mingle with the most incredible ladies from all over Canada and the US.
The days consisted of 4 Sessions from a variety of different professionals and experts in their field. Fridays line up included some of the following leaders:
Sarah Karakainan– CEO of Nestr’s,
Ryan Marsh and Todd McAllister– Founding Partners of On Stage,
Debbie Boggs – Staging Studio
Kristie Barnett– Stager & Author of The Decorologist
By the end of the day our heads were spinning. So much incredibly inspiring advice and success stories from like minded women and men in our industry.
Right after, Jenny and I headed to the pool to chat about everything we learned and come up with a game plan when we came home. I don’t know about you guys, but when I get an idea, I need to write it down instantly.
Following the eventful day, we went back to the room to freshen up for the 2019 RESA Awards!! This is an opportunity for staging and design professionals around the world (Yes I said world, RESA is now international!!), to submit their work and be recognized for their incredible designs. We were absolutely blown away. We have some absolutely amazing projects underway and starting in 2020 that we can’t wait to enter. Maybe next year we will be the ones coming home with the gold ;).
DAY 4: FINAL DAY OF RESACON 2019
With the end of our trip approaching, Jenny and I enjoyed one last breakfast by the pool. We re-energized and prepared ourselves to absorb all the upcoming speakers!
Some of the speakers we heard from:
Shell Brodnax– CEO of Resa
Dottie Herman – CEO of Douglass Elliman
Tori Toth– Author and Stager
Diane Hamel – Hamels Staged to Sell
It was fascinating to hear what all these experts had to say. Specifically, Jenny and I felt honored to hear from Dottie Herman. Dottie was named America’s Richest Self Made Woman in Real Estate by Forbes magazine…. Incredible, I know! Hearing from her and how she got to be where she is today was truly inspiring. The biggest piece of advice I took away from her was to build personal, lasting relationships with clients. One reason I love working at Centre Staged is the wholesome, genuine environment. We truly love to work with our clients and build relationships. A little hard work and a genuine smile can go a long way!
It was truly an incredible week. As sad as we were to come home, we were thrilled to begin implementing our new ideas and adding more value to our clients. 2019/2020 is going to be an exciting year for Centre Staged, I can feel it!!
Anyways, back to work…. Talk to you all next month !
Kelsea
Design Manager & Home Stager
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