Snap One has pulled out of CEDIA 2021 with Blustream tipped to follow, as a result several brands are claiming that the US event could be cancelled altogether due to COVID and the high price that hotels are asking for accommodation.
In a recent email the Control 4 distributor Snap One said that the business will “no longer be attending” the event in any form.
they blamed the move on the risks of attending “in person a large event” due to the COVID delta variant. The email was signed by Jeff Hindman Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Snap One.Potential attendees to the event have also taken to forums to also complain about the rising costs of accommodation in the USA as hotel groups try t recoup lost revenue.
PWP Studio 2018
Jerry Del Colliano writing for Audioholic said of the rising costs of accommodation in the USA ‘Just check the current price at any 4-star or 5-star hotel within driving distance of Los Angeles or San Francisco. $1,000 (A1,374) a night is often now considered a bargain.CEDIA was scheduled to be hosted September 1-3 in Indianapolis, Indiana, the event in the past has been attended by thousands of Australian industry executives.
The location has been described as “A very unpopular location with attendees on both coasts because Indianapolis is a tough city to get to by air from CEDIA’s most populous cities, such as Los Angeles and San Francisco which Australians often fly into.In the past, there have been literally no direct flights, which means more time in airplanes, airports, and airport lounges, as numbers of “breakthrough” COVID-19 cases are affecting younger and even vaccinated people at alarming rates.Del Colliano also pointed out that Indiana’s Governor refuses to have any kind of mask mandate in his State despite hospitals in the State are filling up with COVID cases”.
Other Companies that are concerned about the location of CEDIA 2021 are Sony, Sonos, Yamaha, Sound United and Klipsch. Savant is one Company that has already pulled out along with Samsung Crestron & Lutron.
The writer also pointed out thatat some people in the USA are turning up at trade shows that have gone ahead, wearing t-shirt saying “unvaccinated – unwilling – unscared” in a vertical stack.
