Why Did Boston Seem More Vegas Than Vegas?

Pardon a few thoughts on AHCA/NCAL 2026 in Boston. It will be painless and take less than 2 minutes to digest, and you may not remember it much afterwards, sort of like eating a plain bagel with plain cream cheese from Dunkin.

1 – Boston. The overflow crowds of attendees, all seemingly waiting for the same Uber outside of the Omni Hotel on Tuesday night after the awards cocktail party, sort of summed up some things in my head this time around. Mainly, the throngs of people. Shocking.

This was not Vegas. This was Boston. When I first saw Boston as the sight for AHCA/NCAL, I asked why? I’ve worked for AHCA/NCAL and covered the conferences as a journalist and attended as whatever you want to call me now for Park Place, and Boston did not excite me.

I was wrong.

When I arrived, after a harrowing American Airlines flight from hell, I started to get why, what with the connections to the country’s 250^th birthday themed nicely in Clif Porter’s welcome address. I also sensed how the compactness of the city itself played a role – people couldn’t help but run into each other, even offsite of the convention center.

I ran into a pleasant Nebraskan attendee outside my hotel some distance from the conference, waiving our lanyards at one another as greetings, and had a great chat right there stranger to stranger. He mentioned that he loved the city so much he was thinking of moving there with his wife. That seemed a bit much to me, but if that doesn’t exemplify a happy conference goer, what does?

How many times did someone dragging themselves that extra two miles down the hallways of the Mandalay Bay while attending AHCA/NCAL say to you: “Gee, the wife and I would really like to move here.” None is the answer.

2 – Puppies. Having a pet playpen in the Exhibit Hall for people to play with puppies and maybe adopt was a stroke of genius. No idea on the particulars, I just happened to be camped out near the dog zone and the smiles of those in line and in the pen said it all.

3 – Youth. It may be my slanted opinion due to some recent happenings at Park Place, but the conference seemed to have a younger vibe this time around. Like I said, I am likely biased. In recent weeks, we have added three new thought partners/sponsors led by brilliant and energetic younger people – exacare ai, Norra, and voize. Just real energy and fun for someone well into mid-life to see in a sector in dire need of new ideas, new technology, new opportunities, and fresh faces get exactly that. The word is out that long-term care is a great place to innovate, make money, and put a mission-focused mindset to work for now and years to come.     

4 – Expo Hall Energy. From the exquisite carpeting at another of our thought partner’s booth – Reliant Rehabilitation – to the great idea to have educational sessions on the actual Expo Hall floor to the energy at the booths of others I visited -- First Quality comes to mind – it all seemed to work well this time around. I am not joking about the carpet; it took comfort to another level. I also like the one vendor who approached me, started selling me on XYZ product before I told him I am a media type, so no buildings, no software needs, no nothing. He appeared crestfallen. Then, I reminded him about the puppy pen around the corner.

5 – Lavallee. I also should have realized good things were coming to Boston with the energy Tom Lavallee gave us in his Welcome to Boston video a week before the actual event. The video was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to the red carpet the city rolled out to attendees. Boston has a lot of bars, a lot of food, and one Tom Lavallee to guide us all. It worked. It worked for Park Place. It worked for the association, and it seemed to bring joy to the thousands who call the sector home and who circle the calendar each year for what is an annual renewal.

Indianapolis 2027. You have a great act to follow.

Questions or comments? Contact Patrick Connole at pconnole@parkplacelive.com.