EVENT PREVIEW
The ARA Show
All Encompassing
The ARA Show 2026 offers something for everyone
By Seth Skydel
Billed as the world’ s largest equipment and event rental industry trade show, The ARA Show 2026 is gearing up to welcome more than 10,000 attendees, including equipment and event rental business owners and personnel and manufacturers and suppliers of rental equipment, products and services.
During the five-day event at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida from February 28 through March 4, attendees will have access to a wide range of informational, educational and networking programs, and nearly 20 hours of trade show time to explore the industry’ s latest products and solutions.
Networking
The ARA Show 2026 attendees will enjoy opportunities to make valuable business connections. Included are:
• ARA’ s Women in Rental group will feature insights from Henna Pryor, a world-renowned speaker, author, columnist and workplace performance expert.
• Young professionals will discover valuable insights during an interactive session where they will hear from a panel of peers as they share their experiences and advice, including proven strategies for career growth.
• The ARA Industry Awards Dinner &
ARA Foundation 50th Anniversary Celebration will feature an equipment and event rental focused awards show, the induction of standout industry professionals into the Rental Hall of Fame and a live ARA Foundation Charity Auction.
• Regional Receptions, hosted by ARA’ s ten regions, will give attendees the chance to meet others from their area, exchange business insights and strengthen local connections.
• Government Affairs Breakfast will feature an update from Kevin Gern, ARA’ s Vice President of Advocacy, on the critical state and federal issues that affect the rental business.
Education
A highlight of The ARA Show 2026 programs will be a keynote address by Johnny Cupcakes founder Johnny Earle who will share how he turned a t-shirt business into a sought-after worldwide brand.
EventsU, a one-day education program for the event rental industry, will offer sessions, including:
• Stand Out Without Selling Out: Competing on Value in the Rental Market
• Catch & Keep: Building a Labor Force That Sticks
• Chasing Curves: How to Ride the Waves of Design Change
• Ignite Your Marketing with AI
• Future-Ready Change Resilience
Providing a range of educational sessions tailored for the equipment and event rental industry in one day, The ARA Show 2026 will offer sessions on:
• Driving Business Value
• Beyond Resilient
• The Chaos Advantage
• Why Every Employee is in the Customer Experience Business
• Exceeding the Expectations of Today’ s Rental Customers
• Build Loyalty, Elevate Experience and Outshine the Competition
• Leading for Service Excellence
• Strategies to Enhance Performance and Engagement Among Emerging Talent
• Building Cross-Generational Teams
• Culture Shift: Building Better Teams
• Unstoppable Leadership
• Activating the Three Vital Forces that Elevate Leadership
• The Secret to Everyday Engagement and Motivation
Showcase
Hundreds of exhibitors will display their products for the equipment and event rental industry during The ARA Show 2026. At the trade show, attendees will have the opportunity to make connections between rental operators and manufacturers and discover rental-ready solutions.
For more information, visit www. arashow. org.
18 l November-December 2025