The Smart Meetings team was on the ground running at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas for IMEX America 2025, spending time talking with the community and learning about the latest development coming out of destinations such as Singapore; Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB); Destination DC; Hawai’i; and Joint Meetings Industry Council (JMIC).
Join us on our adventures from the first day.
Destinations Emphasize Sustainability
While our conversations were wide-ranging, one topic stood head and shoulders above the rest—sustainability. As David Whitaker, president and CEO of the GMCVB said, “We care about sustainability because our clients care about sustainability. The second question they always ask is ‘what can you tell me about your sustainability program?’ Clients want to know that a city is being responsible.”
The Singapore Tourism Board hopes to have 80% of suppliers certified as sustainable, as measured by international standards, by the end of the year. “It’s not always an easy topic,” said Oliver Chong, assistant chief executive, international group of the Singapore Tourism Board. “It’s a big topic right now. When we try to get hotels to think about sustainability, they sometimes don’t know where to start. We provide a roadmap for that to help them hit targets.”
Global Leaders Featured
Events Industry Council (EIC) Global Leadership Awards Celebration at Bellagio honored resiliency, innovation and humanity. Hall of Leaders inductees included Matthias Schultz, Al Hutchinson, Claire Smith, Gary Shapiro and Bob Gilbert. Pacesetter Award went to Michel Wahlmuth, Adaption and Innovation Award to Gevme and Social Impact to Meeting Tomorrow.
EIC also released its Global Events Barometer for 2025 Q2, which found that global RFP activity reached pre-pandemic benchmarks and hotel group room nights moved closer to 2019 levels over the last six months. However, the report also uncovered an uneven regional recovery and persistent headwinds from slower global growth and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty.
Miami Announces New Convention Center Hotel
Turnberry is developing a new 800-key, Grand Hyatt-branded luxury hotel that will serve as the central anchor of Miami Beach Convention Center District. The Grand Hyatt Miami Beach will feature 12 floors with 800 guest rooms, two floors of meeting spaces and ballrooms, a pool deck with panoramic views, six restaurants and retail space at street level. An elevated skybridge will connect to the convention center. It is expected to open in Fall of 2027.
More Disney Magic Making
Disney Meetings and Events is enhancing options to create magic by announcing refurbishment of Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa Convention Center at Walt Disney World Resort and a reimagining at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort at Walt Disney World Resort.
Also growing is the availability of turnkey team-building activities such as “Toy Story – Out of the Box” is a brand-new, team-building activity inspired by the beloved series of Disney Pixar animated films.
Expanding Convention Center in Orlando
Orange County Convention Center’s Grand Concourse Expansion will bring an additional 44,000 square feet of meeting space and a 100,000-square-foot ballroom to the OCCC’s North-South Building. Construction will begin in 2026 and is expected to finish in 2029.
An expanded live virtual site inspection platform, Orlando Virtual Tours features 14 neighborhoods, 14 new or upgraded hotels and six attractions and venues. Each location also includes detailed site information such as square feet.
DC Is Open and Meeting
Destination DC (DDC) launched a “DC is Open” campaign to combat perceptions from a federal government shutdown. Real-time information and resources are available at washington.org/dcisopen.
“Our convention strategy is centered on long-term growth, even as we see certain segments pull back in the short term,” said Melissa A. Riley, senior vice president of convention sales and services.
In 2025, convention center business will generate 454,632 room nights and over $400 million in estimated economic impact.
DDC’s Connected Campus initiative expands meeting options beyond Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The program features five new campuses centered around the hubs of Capitol Riverfront, Wharf, National Mall, Connecticut Avenue Collection and Downtown DC—each pairing hotels, venues and attractions to give planners flexibility and attendees a vibrant experience.
More than 20 new or renovated hotels and more than 3,000 rooms in the pipeline. Highlights include renovations at Willard InterContinental and Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill, along with new boutique and lifestyle options such as Sixty DC and Canal House of Georgetown.
Luxury Advances in The Palm Beaches
New and renovated venues added options in South Florida for meeting professionals in 2025. In West Palm Beach, CityPlace is in the midst of a $10 billion redevelopment that includes a 3,000-seat Live Nation venue, campuses for Cleveland Clinic and Vanderbilt University and a new Eataly Italian Market. Tiger Woods-developed PopStroke combines two 18-hole putting courses with a full-service restaurant, multiple bars, a rooftop pools and sushi bar for a unique team-building experience. Still to come is Phase 1 of NORA mixed-use development with wellness studios and green space. Phase 2 of a 210-room Nora Hotel and residential is planned for late 2026.
Downtown, Roxy’s Top of the Rox is a new rooftop off-site venue that can accommodate up to 500 people day and night.
In Delray Beach, The Seagate completed a multimillion-dollar renovation of 157 guest rooms, upgraded event spaces, pool and dining options.
Palm Beach’s newest luxury hotel is Palm House with 79 guest rooms, a two-story presidential suite, Japanese-Peruvian restaurant and glamorous Palm Bar.
Palm Springs Gains Lift
Palm Springs International Airport (PSP) is planning an expansion that will add a new north concourse with 7 gates, a three-story rental car center adjacent to baggage claim, and a future-ready Federal Inspection Services (FIS) facility to support international travel. This is the foundation for doubling our airport’s capacity. Already, new nonstop flights have been announced to Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and seasonal returns to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Charles M. Schulz – Sonoma County Airport (STS).
Encore Debuts Immersive Journey Experience
Once again, Encore Global has leveraged IMEX America as an opportunity to showcase emerging audio-visual techniques, storytelling and AI technology. This year’s activation, Encore Express, built out a “train” with a lobby and messaging accessed via headphones. A welcome wall can be used to personalize the community for participants and messaging inside the train in screens designed as “windows” featuring video images of the benefits of using AV. AI technology even allowed producers to create a custom road trip song for the journey based on group suggestions of keywords and genre.
International Destinations Shine
As international business travel from the U.S. ramps up, all eyes are on what’s next for top destinations. Here is what caught our eye:
London’s calling—and the U.S. is definitely picking up. According to new data from Excel London, a whopping 60% of its convention and congress business now comes from U.S.-based organizations. Big names like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Salesforce and Gartner are crossing the pond for their European gatherings, drawn by a gleaming new $340 million expansion, already being dubbed the city’s “crown jewel.” With 1.3 million sq. ft. of flexible space, the venue now reigns as Europe’s largest fully integrated convention and exhibition center. “London was recently voted Cvent’s Top Meeting Destination and now, thanks to our expansion, we like to think Excel is on its way to becoming the best event destination in the world,” said James Rees, executive director of Excel London.
Ireland also deserves to share the spotlight, and in this case, it’s for the country’s ability to easily combine city convenience with incredible off-site excursions. Partnering with research firm RED C, Tourism Ireland surveyed more than 8,000 potential visitors across eight key markets (including the U.S., Britain, Germany, France and Italy). The findings? Adventure and authenticity still reign supreme: Exploration tops the list of travel motivators, closely followed by the desire to truly switch off.
Value matters, too. Americans are the most smitten, with 71% calling Ireland either “good value” or “premium and worth it.” Ease of access also wins points, especially among U.S. and British travelers, and Aer Lingus has announced 26 routes planned across North America for 2026, including a new nonstop between Dublin and Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina.
Don’t Count Hawai‘i Out
While the Hawai‘i Convention Center has gone offline until 2028 due to renovations, the destination is still very much prepared for planners of gatherings both large and small. A wealth of venue options awaits across the major islands, and the destination’s unparalleled focus on authentic hospitality certainly contributes to its recent #1 slot on WalletHub’s 2025 “Happiest States in America” list.
And in other exciting news, a new cross-Pacific partnership was unveiled at IMEX, as Hawai‘i Visitors and Convention Bureau (HVCB) and Singapore Exhibition and Convention Bureau signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen MICE ties between the U.S. and Asia.
Announced Oct. 8 at the Singapore booth, the agreement positions both destinations as collaborative gateways for associations and group business, with shared goals around sustainability, cultural exchange and long-term economic growth.
Dr. Aaron J. Salā, HVCB president and CEO, and Oliver Chong, assistant chief executive of the Singapore Tourism Board, were on hand for the signing. “This is a strategic step forward in amplifying our presence in key global markets,” Salā said.
MGM Grand Tour
Smart Meetings was treated to a tour of the recently renovated MGM Grand during the IMEX festivities. The $300 million renovation spanned 4,200 guest rooms over a 10-month period. The upgrades reflect years of planning to elevate the experience of meeting and convention attendees. The refreshed design focuses on bright, modern neutrals, which also includes under the bed built-in lighting, upgraded blackout shades, walk-in showers and refrigerators in every room, a major request from the meetings community.
MGM Grand also unveiled the new Emerald Suites. The new suites, yet to be seen by the public, were created by merging three to four standard rooms across three floors to offer spacious layouts.
Additional recent openings include the Palm Tree Beach Club, a Friends-themed experience, and an upcoming Morimoto restaurant, reflecting MGM’s ongoing investment in entertainment, and engaging activities for events of every size.
An Update from Universal Orlando Resort
Check out our recap of day two at IMEX America 2025!
