Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association: Stress-Free Check-In with Expo Pass

Images from the FRLA Summit 2025 (Source: YouTube)

The Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association (FRLA) is one of the largest state hospitality associations in the country, representing thousands of restaurants, hotels, and suppliers across the Sunshine State. Throughout the year, their high-profile events bring together hundreds of leaders from across Florida’s thriving hospitality industry.

We sat down with FRLA’s Director of Membership Marketing, Ashley Jackson, to discuss how Expo Pass helped them deliver a smoother, smarter, all-in-one badge, check-in and registration management solution.

The Challenge

Prior to Expo Pass, FRLA’s badge printing and registration process was labor-intensive, inefficient, and stressful for staff and attendees alike.

“Before [Expo Pass], it was really stressful on our staff on-site at these events.”

Not only was it hard on her team, trying to manually keep track of on-site registrants and follow up for payment was a nightmare:

“We were having to keep a list of the people that came on site and then send them an invoice after. Collecting that payment is just really hard, and nine times out of 10, they just didn’t get paid.”

The Solution

Expo Pass provided FRLA with a plug-and-play badge printing and registration system tailored to their flexible formats, from large summits to smaller board meetings.

“At our summit event, with 500 to 600 attendees, we have two lanes that consist of four iPads. It goes really smoothly. For our board meetings, we have one lane with two iPads.”

Photos from the FRLA Summit 2025 (Source: YouTube)

Less Stress, More Efficiency

Expo Pass on-site badge printing doesn’t only mean easier set-up and fewer bottlenecks at check-in; it enables Jackson and her team to focus on other aspects of the event beyond registration:

“I can’t stress enough the value…”

“It really only takes one or two staff members to run registration. And sometimes we don’t even have a staff member at registration, we’ll just have the ipads facing outwards and you can type in your name and print it out on your own. It’s a lot less stress on our staff members.”

Elevated Attendee Experience

A smoother, polished check-in flow has also impressed attendees:

“When people come to our events, they’re like, ‘whoa, this is fancy.’ You know, it’s on par with the 5,000 plus conferences that people go to, even though it is a smaller event.”

Powerful Reporting & Sponsorship Opportunities

Beyond the day-of enhancements, having all their registration, payment, and check-in data automatically synced and organized has been a big improvement.

“Having the ability to see who’s purchased a ticket, who’s used a promo code, being able to register more than one person. It’s just really easy to use.”

And the professional check-in tech provided FRLA with an additional, high-touchpoint sponsorship opportunity.

“Being able to customize the display on the screen, we were able to sell a name badge and registration sponsorship. So that helps offset the cost for us.”

Quality Support

For Jackson, it’s not just the process improvements that make her recommend Expo Pass, but also the relationships and dedicated support:

“With [our previous PoS provider] it’s like you can’t even find a phone number to call for support. With Expo Pass, it’s like I’m truly like one of your clients and you help me out whenever I have questions. “

Key Takeaways

✅ Reduced staffing needs at registration and check-in.

✅ Streamlined on-site payments eliminating lost invoices.

✅ Enhanced attendee perception with tech-forward, polished check-in flow.

✅ Monetized registration stations through sponsorships.

✅ Trusted, responsive support team