[ Note: an email with an incorrect headline, not approved by the author, was sent out in an email. The revised headline now correctly reflects the author’s opinion.]
The early bird registration discount for the Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO) Fall Conference in St Louis September 9-12, 2019 ends this Wednesday, July 17. This is a timely reminder of the remarkable value that one of real estate’s leading nonprofit organizations offers.
If you have never been to a RESO conference and want to be in the know about what’s coming next in real estate, you need to attend. RESO Conferences are all about data standards, and frankly, this is the arena that’s going to drive future change for our industry.
What makes a RESO conference different?
WAV Group, collectively, attends a lot of conferences. Sometimes real estate conferences get stuck in a rut and start to feel like an episode of Groundhog Day: they seem to be repeating the same topics, with the same speakers whom you’ve heard a dozen times.
RESO Conferences are dissimilar and unique in many ways. First, a RESO Conference affords you easy access to some of the best minds in real estate in a remarkably intimate setting. Attendance is limited to around 300 people. That in itself is pretty magical.
But the caliber of attendees at a RESO conference adds a layer that makes these meetings extra special. The audience is no longer just the Geek squad. Yes, company tech leaders including CTOs and CIOs dominate, but also attending are top industry management from broker-owner to CEOs and other C-level executives of leading real estate companies and tech firms that are playing in the real estate firms. It’s a great mix of representatives from established category leaders to hot start-ups, giving RESO gatherings a special mojo.
Fresh topics, fresh faces
What I especially enjoy about RESO Conferences is that I’m going to learn about something new and vital in real estate. Often, I hear about a significant emerging trend first at a RESO conference. A couple of years ago, for example, a presentation at a RESO conference dived into computer vision and machine learning, including the practical applications for real estate, from more intelligence searching to auto-tagging.
Nearly two years later, several leading real estate conferences began to explore that same topic. A RESO conference is kind of like real estate’s Off-Broadway stage: where new ideas are tested before breaking out making it to the bigger stage. You’ll see a lot of fresh faces and certainly many fresh topics.
Part of the reason RESO conferences area a hotbed of new topics and emerging trends often comes from the work of its Workgroups. Becoming a RESO member affords you a seat at the table to advance the next big thing when it comes to data standards.
Live Workgroup meetings
RESO leverages a massive amount of volunteer hours through its Workgroups. RESO Workgroup efforts result in a lot of breakthroughs for our industry that often go unheralded.
Beyond the immeasurable value, RESO Workgroups have delivered with the creation of the RESO Data Dictionary and the RESO Web API that is replacing RETS, efforts like the new open-source, free-to-all Universal Property ID, and Organizational Unique Identifier efforts are streamlining a massive amount of work that leading real estate firms to benefit from every day.
At a RESO conference, you get the unique opportunity to attend face-to-face Workgroup meetings, which are typically monthly conference calls. A lot of decisions are made at these RESO Conference Workgroup meetings, and nothing can replace the value of face-to-face interaction when it comes to brainstorming and problem-solving.
New cities to discover
Another overlooked benefit to the RESO Conferences is where they are held all over the U.S. The cities that RESO selects most often surprise and delight those who have never visited. Recent conferences have been hosted by Boise, Kansas City, Milwaukee and St. Louis. Each of these cities has a unique culture scene with some outstanding restaurants and bars.
The best part is the major sponsors of RESO Conferences often host receptions (with free drinks and food) in some of each city’s coolest venues.
Affordable to all
The RESO conference is one of the most affordable in the industry. It arguably delivers the best value when you consider that the cost of admission – early bird registration is just $350 for members and $450 for non-members– includes full breakfasts as well as lunches and snack breaks, along with those terrific sponsored receptions each evening.
All of these features probably explain why both the Spring and the Fall RESO Conferences have sold out the last several years. So if you want to attend, play it safe and save yourself some money by registering now for the RESO St. Louis Fall Conference at the Ballpark with all the rest of the details at reso.org/fall-conference.
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