Qualifications for Reimbursement

1. All attendees are required to stay in the Grassroots Hotel Room blocks during Connect shows. Failure to do so will result in total loss of reimbursement funds.
2. We ask that retailers who attend Connect are fully engaged and have a full schedule of appointments.

Areas of Focus for Reimbursement

The Grassroots Connect Reimbursement program has three areas of focus that determine each retailer’s reimbursement: total appointment hours, travel, and business meeting hours.

Total Appointment Hours: This calculation rewards retailers who remain busy at the show and take full advantage of supporting the vendors who pay for the reimbursement. We ask that retailers refrain from scheduling appointments to only fill up time slots as this is a disservice to the vendors who work hard to provide engaging presentations.

Travel: Travel dollars are calculated in much the same way as hours. All of the travel miles (based on store location to convention center) are summed up and allocated. This allows us to help offset travel expenses more fairly since retailers travel from all over the country to attend Connect.

Business Meeting Hours: Principals who come to the show primarily for business meetings benefit directly from the Business Meeting calculation. This reimbursement area of focus is structured similarly to total appointment hours. It is allocated specifically to provide and encourage retailers to take opportunities to have specific business (top-to-top) conversations with brand leadership at Connect.

Each area of focus is calculated separately from the others and allows the buyer/principal to make decisions that bring the best value to their store. As the show reimbursement is paid for mostly by the vendors, we ask that retailers plan their time at Connect strategically and intentionally, helping to maintain the value, productivity and efficiency that Connect provides.