What could be done to improve the LIBS?

Did the NEC host a boat show many years ago? I remember going to one with my Grandfather and i'm sure it was at the NEC.
 
theoldsalt said:
Move the show to somewhere more accessable to most people eg NEC. or return to Earls Court.
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Earls Court is to be demolished, and has same problem as NEC, road access is not great which means as boats are now much bigger than before you just wouldn't get them there, it needs to be somewhere with water access as well. There's far worse places than Excel to get to, I don't think the show is what it is because of the venue.
 
aquapower said:
Earls Court is to be demolished, and has same problem as NEC, road access is not great which means as boats are now much bigger than before you just wouldn't get them there, it needs to be somewhere with water access as well. There's far worse places than Excel to get to, I don't think the show is what it is because of the venue.[/QUOTE

Apart from congestion and getting really big stuff (80' plus) I wouldn't think road access would be a problem at NEC
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DTIM said:
aquapower said:
Earls Court is to be demolished, and has same problem as NEC, road access is not great which means as boats are now much bigger than before you just wouldn't get them there, it needs to be somewhere with water access as well. There's far worse places than Excel to get to, I don't think the show is what it is because of the venue.[/QUOTE

Apart from congestion and getting really big stuff (80' plus) I wouldn't think road access would be a problem at NEC
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Anything over 16ft tall would be a problem, most 50ft upwards boats would need serious dismantling done to put on the road, this all adds to cost, why have a boat show so far away from the water?
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what about all the boaters that live north of Watford there are plenty of boaters that live above the midlands and over the broads area and iknow a few are just not willing to travel to either LIBS or SIBS so nec is very central but as stated moving a large boat is a lot of work even though the nec is just yards from a motorway

how do they get the huge yachts to LIBS though they cant take them all via water or do they ??????????
 
lanerboy said:
what about all the boaters that live north of Watford there are plenty of boaters that live above the midlands and over the broads area and iknow a few are just not willing to travel to either LIBS or SIBS so nec is very central but as stated moving a large boat is a lot of work even though the nec is just yards from a motorway

how do they get the huge yachts to LIBS though they cant take them all via water or do they ??????????
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I suspect the larger ones they have to!

As for having the show further north, I suspect its a non-starter, London and the south (I'm guessing) represents the biggest market and its unlikely people from that catchment area would be willing to travel further north to an Inland boat show when Southampton is easy enough to get to from London and on the water. If London goes I struggle to see anything else taking its place.
 
I travel from Northern Ireland every year. Excel for me is a good location which is easily accessed with the DLR. I visited the show on Saturday and if I was to hope for access to the big boats I would have wasted the day standing in queues. My mistake, I usually visit on Mondays which are always less busy. How to improve the show ? I would offer the same advice I have offered on previous years. The sales men and woman who would not be there without customers need to remove their heads from their backsides and realise that someone who doesn't wear a solid gold watch nor a silk tie might still be a potential customer and even if they are not they have paid to gain access and deserve respect.
 
derekh said:
The sales men and woman who would not be there without customers need to remove their heads from their backsides and realise that someone who doesn't wear a solid gold watch nor a silk tie might still be a potential customer and even if they are not they have paid to gain access and deserve respect.
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I must admit most of the sales people were pleasant to me and swmbo and treated us with respect we did go smartly dressed but I don't have a rolex or a huge sum to buy one of those boats, but we were grunted at a couple of times by blonde bimbo's who think the boats are there own and know nothing about them some of the girls did have a chip on their shoulder I thought

I also think if you have paid your money to go and look at their boats then you should be allowed to do just that, I did hear one couple get turned away on the princess stand on one of the large boats why, I don't know?? they seemed perfectly nice people to me and were polite in asking to view but were refused entry

its not just the London show that is like this sibs is no different in my experience, we were lucky and new someone at the show who new people on both the sunseeker and fairline stands so we possibly gained access that we would probally have been denied other wise

all in all though we still had a very enjoyable day and would say that 95% of the people working there were friendly throughout the show which must be hard day after day
 
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Its simple. Its supposed to be an international boat show but there is a distinct lack of boats, not from British yards but from international builders, both motorboat and sailboat. The organisers have to find a way of encouraging those foreign builders to come back. That might piss off the British motorboat builders who do almost completely support the show now but they have to realise that the show cannot survive as a showcase for British motorboats alone. In any case, if thats what British builders want, there are much cheaper ways to do that than hauling millions of pounds of boats to a shed in E London
 
lanerboy said:
its not just the London show that is like this sibs is no different in my experience, we were lucky and new someone at the show who new people on both the sunseeker and fairline stands so we possibly gained access that we would probally have been denied other wise
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It is Company policy that anyone is welcome to look over the Sunseeker boats.

No one is EVER refused.

If you are a known client you are shown over the boats by your contact with the distributor, and if you are a casual looker you have to stand in line with all other interested parties.

But all are treated with respect and curtesy.
 
lanerboy said:
what about all the boaters that live north of Watford there are plenty of boaters that live above the midlands and over the broads area and iknow a few are just not willing to travel to either LIBS or SIBS so nec is very central but as stated moving a large boat is a lot of work even though the nec is just yards from a motorway

how do they get the huge yachts to LIBS though they cant take them all via water or do they ??????????
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I have to say that I have never really understood the view that people aren't prepared to travel. We are on the Broads and I find Excel an easy journey. I also have no issue with travelling the longer journey to Southampton for SIBS. Location doesn't matter to us in terms of travel, perhaps because our capital city and the 'capital' of boating (the Solent) seem to be perfectly logical places to hold boat shows. A venue in central England may not hold the same attraction.. :)
 
Most boats come by river then lifted. The venue was built around this with ramps and doors to accommodate this.

Kensington and Chelsea simply cannot cope with the size of boats built now. As in the ones the went to Chelsea lifted then into Earls Court.

As for the NEC if you want a show that has it's largest boat being 50 ft ( with a struggle) then keep campaigning for it. There is a reason why that show died.
 
Many moons ago I was involved in outdoor markets, which believe it or not are not unlike putting on an exhibition. If you had a failing Market it was common to drop the rent for traders to attract a good selection, advertise like mad to the public & hope the two clicked. Sometimes you would end up with a goldmine, other times not so good. I think this approach at LIBS would take at least three years & lots of cash to turn it round, or not as the case may be. Tricky one me thinks.
 
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