HTSA’s fall conference in Dallas kicked off in late October with a significant crowd and a significant commitment to doing the serious work ahead.
Said HTSA Executive Director, Jon Robbins, “We have done so much work and have so much yet to do. The group’s purchases with vendor partners through September were up 15.2 percent over the same period last year. For going forward it’s all about acceleration. By year’s end, we want to finish over 20 percent over 2018.”
Jon Robbins opens the conference
Hitting some of the highlights of the training year, Jon was quick to point out that 248 HTSA members had gone through the HTSA masterclass series in 2019, “We are unmatched in this space. An additional 94 attended Tom Doherty’s Toomapalooza just prior to CEDIA EXPO for even more education.”
A series of topics during the conference cemented the group’s commitment to education and proactivity in innovation and progressive development.
The Wellness Panel
Keith Esterly moderates the “Wellness” panel
The Wellness panel was moderated by HTSA’s Chief Learning Architect Keith Esterly and HTSA partner Delos’ Anthony Antolino, Barrett’s Brian Perreault and HTSA’s Tom Doherty. They discussed how combining building and health sciences can improve the health outcomes of homeowners, and be another business opportunity for HTSA members.
Delos’ Anthony Antolino, Barrett’s Brian Perreault and HTSA’s Tom Doherty discuss the topics surrounding Wellness and the HTSA member
Said Keith Esterly, using previous phraseology from Jon Robbins, “Wellness is a new approach that can really help accelerate your business.”
Delos has made headway in the commercial space, including premium-priced “Stay Well” hotel rooms already in place at the MGM Las Vegas, where lighting, air and water filtration and Deepak Chopra-guided meditation are elements of the space. Builder KB Homes is also on board providing aspects of the program within some of its projects. Said Esterly, “Wellness is a tangible asset. But power partnerships with specifiers, integrators, and architects are what make Delos work.”
Added Tom Doherty, “Our industry has gone through many trends…we invited Delos to the spring conference 18 months ago. My role has been to educate Delos about what our channel can do and does, and then we can leverage our resources. Feedback from the 40 HTSA members that have been trained on the program is that this will open doors for us.
“Architects will bring you in and you can be the expert in the room. Their clients need to be brought in as early as possible…they want to know about this. The architect is the best place to start the conversation about health and wellness. They are always looking to learn and understand new technologies and they know what the LEED standard is about.”
Added Tony Antolino, “We are getting lots of publicity. Hanley wood research says people are reacting to their homes, however, overall the consumer is stymied. This makes it an enormous opportunity for the DELOS Team and all of the HTSA members. We are here to train and to improve your bottom line and help your customers get healthier.”
Said Brian Perrault, “This is something that is going to be brought into the discussions because people are hearing the word “wellness” every day now. We brought in 15 specifiers to NYC. They were completely engaged and wanted to know about Delos and the Darwin platform and what it can mean for the homes they are working on. They are hungry for knowledge and we need to fill that role and capitalize on this, it is an enormous opportunity.”
Delos has spent five years doing the science and it is not about just treating one room. It has been done in conjunction with the Mayo Clinic and is based on evidence, science and research.
In concluding Tony said, “We represent the highest levels of integrity in the industry and we have reams of data to prove what we do.
“Wellness is such an intimate topic. For different people around the world. This is not just flipping on a light switch and going from 0 to 60. This is a long game and it will take time and is still nascient. It will take time for people to come around to this. Delos is in this for the long haul and we’ve been in business 10 years and we are really just getting started.
“Delos is right there with you, we are fully vested in this process. We are side by side with the HTSA member. 100% committed with experts at every step of the process and we will help guide you.”
Attendees ask questions during the “Wellness” panel
After the panel discussion, Jon Robbins said how HTSA being actively involved in the wellness space gets members into the specification conversation much earlier; it’s another access point. “Delos and HTSA are now working together on exploring the science of music and wellness. We are continually trying to stay ahead and find niches we can influence.”
After hours with Mike Hench, Coastal Source and Dave Donald, Wilson Electronics
Jim Sanfemio, Wicked Smart Homes and Steve Berhar, Stereo Planet
Franklin Karp, Audio Video Systems and Roger Koehler, Electronic Integration
Rich Vreeland, JL Audio and Greg Finger, Sound Components
Stay tuned next week for more from the HTSA Fall Conference in Dallas!