By Allen Stalker, VMware Sales Engineer
It's hard to believe we're only a couple months away from VMworld 2017! This will be my 5th year in a row attending VMworld so I thought this would be a great opportunity to cover some of the basics for those who have never attended. Start your planning now because July is going to fly by and VMworld will be here before you know it!
Where?
I'm sure many of you know that VMworld is in Las Vegas again this year. While I prefer VMworld in San Francisco, a lot of fun can be had in Vegas! The conference is held at the Mandalay Bay convention center at the Mandalay Bay resort. Bring your walking shoes because that place is huge! It's over 1 million square feet!
When?
August 27 - 31, 2017
Partner Exchange - Sunday August 27, 2017
Tips and Tricks
- Vegas is hot this time of year, I mean HOT! I remember a couple of days last year were well over 115° F. Be sure to dress appropriately and drink lots of water. The dress is business casual, so a golf shirt and nice pair of shorts is fine.
- Getting around can be confusing. Most hotels that you can book via the VMworld registration site have a shuttle service that run between the convention center and your hotel. If you don't know where the shuttle picks up and drops off, just check with the front desk upon check in. Click here for the full shuttle schedule.
- If you don't fancy waiting for a shuttle, Lyft and Uber are a great alternative. It's usually pretty cheap from most of the area hotels to the convention center ($5-$7 one way). It's also a cheap way to get from the airport to your hotel. If you've never used Lyft or Uber before, download the apps and use the following promo codes for free rides:
- Uber promo code: VMworld2016
- Lyft promo code: VMworld
- Check out the content catalog early and figure out which sessions you want to attend. The content catalog contains all the sessions for VMworld 2017 with descriptions, speaker, and location information.
- The schedule builder will go live sometime around mid-July. Once it's live, login to your VMworld account and book the sessions you want to attend. A lot of the sessions fill up quickly and then you must wait in standby in order to attend. The schedule builder and full content catalog can be found here.
- Bringing your wife, husband, boyfriend or girlfriend? Check out Spousetivities! A group of non-attending wives put together some great events for other spouses that are in the same boat. From walking tours of Las Vegas to helicopter tours of the Grand Canyon, it's all great fun for them while we're busy at the conference. While the registration isn't ready for Spousetivities 2017, it should be ready by early July. You can find more information here.
Check back for another blog post in the next couple of weeks. I'm going to tell you where to find all the information about awesome events hosted by sponsors and how to get invited!
Come visit me at the VMUG booth this year. I'll be volunteering throughout VMworld and I'd love for you to stop and say “Hi!” I'll be tweeting from @stalkerface throughout the event, so be sure to give me a follow!
