Vegas People and Jobs: Being Prepared…for Travel

by Diane Taylor

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Since moving to Las Vegas, my husband and I have felt as if we were on a permanent vacation. But after attending the Travel Goods Show last week at the Las Vegas Convention Center, the travel bug has hit….mainly because it means I can now spend days going shopping to REALLY be prepared.

PB Travel makes 'can't miss' initialed luggage tags.
Photo by Diane Taylor

I can purchase portable slippers made by Spare Soles eliminating the need for me to pack a pair of slippers. I’ll put my shampoo in a cute unbreakable Smart Tube from Travelon. If I’m worried about germs from airline pillows, I can buy a pillow cover provided by Just in Case. And of course I’d bring along quick-drying performance underwear from Give-N-Go. (What “performance” I’m going to give is another question.)

If I encounter a natural disaster such as fire, flood or terrorism, I can have with me a folder-sized emergency kit from Relief Pod. (Drop me in a jungle, please.) For personal summers, a powerful Design Go mini-fan, small as a book of matches, is available. And if I want to find MY black bag among many, I’ll install a large PB Travel luggage tag or a Naftali wireless luggage finder.

A company named Bedvoyage promises “the sleeping companion you’ve been searching for when traveling.” Excuse me? What the company really provides are 100% organic bamboo bedsheets. (I used to like the crisp white sheets on hotel beds – now, after SARS and swine-flu, I bring my own?)

A Disney bag with laser highlights will be available this summer, says Heys USA Natonal Sales Manager Gary Perella
Photo by Diane Taylor

Though the items above struck my fancy, many of the 177 exhibits at the Travel Goods Show featured luggage. The trend, says Garrett Lai, Communications Editor of the Travel Goods Association, show producer, is hard-sided luggage using light-weight ABS plastics.

Heys USA uses just such a material on its soon-to-be introduced line of laser-lit Disney-themed luggage for the younger set. (Yes, Timmy brings his own carry-on these days.) Gary Perella, Heys USA National Sales Manager for the Disney Division, notes that cloth bags if used regularly have a life of about five years whereas the new light-weight plastics will last a lifetime. The Disney Lights bags (requiring three AAA batteries) will be available in June, priced at $89.99. “We’ve seen no pushback on the price,” says Perella, (Grandma, get out your credit card.)

My favorite exhibit? (This next part is for women only.) It’s a product called “Go Girl,” and its inventor, Sarah Dillon, was on hand at the show. Go Girl is a $10 kit that allows a female the convenience of standing up while peeing. If a female has ever had occasion to “squat” while tinkling in the woods or trying to avoid a particularly grungy toilet, this product makes sense. Used properly, the silicone product creates a sort of male appendage out of female parts. No more dribbling on shoes, pants, etc.

Dillon, a former stay-at-home Mom from Minneapolis, has already shown her product on numerous TV shows and has world-wide distributon. She predicts that within a few years, she will have a $20 million business, though Dillon admits her children are somewhat embarrassed at Mom’s invention. Among the fans of Go Girl, says Dillon, are women in the military who find the product extremely useful.

Sarah Dillon, the inventor of GoGirl, notes that women no longer
need take 'life sitting down'.
Photo by Diane Taylor

Although the London Fog folks featured Ed Hardy designed umbrellas in the $55 range retail, umbrellas aren’t exactly a staple item in Las Vegas. But inventor Toby Hollander had a slick hands-free water bottle holder to clip on a belt loop or purse, and that would be a Vegas item…even for us permanent vacationers.

And finally, the last inventor met at the show was Ian C. Ivarson who demonstrated the “reinvented backpack”. “You know how in regular backpacks everything falls to the bottom?” he asked. “That doesn’t happen with our backpack which uses a patented shelf system to deliver superior weight distribution.“ Another of the 3000 show attendees happened to try on the backpack while I visited and said, “Wow, I can stand up straight with this thing.” So Ivarson probably has a winner, though I’m a wheels girl myself. (The new Ivar Shelf System backpacks will retail for between $60 and $110.)

The Travel Goods Show was filled with nice people and interesting products, so I loved being there. The show is produced by the Travel Goods Association which had the show in Las Vegas last year as well. However, next year the show going to Chicago to co-locate with the International Home & Housewares Show. If that move is successful and if the housewares show never comes to Las Vegas, sadly, this year might have been the last for the Travel Goods Show in Las Vegas.

Rate this post:
(2 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)

 Loading ...