The Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show is scheduled for October 25–27, 2026 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, according to the organiser's show information page.
The event is presented as co-located with The Pizza Tomorrow Summit, which widens supplier exposure and increases decision noise for operator teams entering the floor without a pre-set framework.
An independent event listing confirms the same dates, so leadership can lock a preparation window now rather than treating attendance as an informal networking day.
The reading
1. Define three sourcing decisions before you travel. Name the three problems you must solve this quarter, assign one internal owner to each and reject all floor conversations that do not map to one of them.
2. Close the budget frame before first meeting. Set an exploratory cap, an approval cap and a no-signing rule on site so show discounts do not bypass governance.
3. Standardise your vendor questions. Ask every candidate the same core points: deployment lead time, total operating cost, comparable references and escalation path after launch.
4. Score on operating fit, not pitch quality. Evaluate each supplier against your service rhythm, staffing reality and guest impact threshold, then rank evidence over presentation fluency.
5. Leave with a shortlist and a decision calendar. End day one with clear next steps, named owners and due dates for validation, so post-show momentum survives once daily operations resume.
— Maison Pompon
Sources & image credits
Editorial sources