What a difference a year makes!
In this week’s Coffee Chat, Smart Meetings Multimedia Editor Eming Piansay reflects on her second experience at IMEX America and the unexpected realization that somewhere along the way, she went from feeling like an outsider to finding her place in the meetings industry.
From reconnecting with familiar faces and dancing late into the night at MPI Rendezvous to navigating packed schedules and occasionally forgetting to eat lunch, Eming shares the highs, challenges and lessons of another whirlwind week in Las Vegas.
She also explores what it means to feel seen in an industry built on connection, the importance of making newcomers feel they belong and the ongoing challenge of taking care of yourself while making the most of every opportunity.
Grab your coffee and join Eming for a personal reflection on finding community, embracing growth and remembering to eat more than two cookies for lunch.
Further Resources
IMEX America 2026 Recap: Smart Monday
IMEX America 2026 Recap: Day 1
IMEX America 2026 Recap: Day 2
IMEX America 2026 Recap: Day 3
[Intro music]
Eming Piansay: How’s it going, Smart Start Radio family? Once again, it is I, Eming Piansay, your hostess, back for another weekly Coffee Chat.
It’s been a while. I realize that, but I hope you guys understand that it’s been a crazy couple of weeks. I was at IMEX America, and you heard the episode last week, so you can probably understand that I’ve been kind of everywhere and slowly regaining my sleep schedule, slowly but surely.
I wanted to take one Coffee Chat episode to do a little self-reflection because this was my second IMEX experience, and there were some things that I reflected on and picked up on.
So grab your coffee, your matcha, your tea. In my case, that’s decaf coffee because that’s all I have with me right now, unfortunately. Maybe I’ll get some actual caffeinated beans eventually, but for now, we’re going with decaf.
Or just water, which is also great because I did not drink enough water on the show floor. That was very obvious to me.
So grab whatever it is that’s getting you through this planning season, and we’re going to unpack IMEX together.
I spoke to a lot of people who gave a lot of insightful feedback into the industry, but I also saw a lot of people I get to talk to. I saw some old friends and familiar faces from previous episodes.
I saw Yush Sztalkoper on the first day at Smart Monday, in passing. I had just missed her session, and I was really bummed about that. I saw Kate Patay, I think on Thursday during our Smart Women toast.
I saw so many people I was happy to see in passing but didn’t actually get to talk to at length. It was really great to see them.
And that’s what IMEX kind of is.
IMEX America has come and gone, and if you listened to the last episode, you’ve heard some of the great people I talked to throughout the week.
This week, I wanted to take a breather and break down a little bit of my personal experience compared to my first year.
My first year was very new, very fresh. I’d never gone before, never experienced it. It was that first-day-of-high-school kind of feeling, not knowing where your locker is, essentially. That’s what it felt like.
And not knowing anyone.
I’d been on FAM trips. I knew some people, but I didn’t really know anyone at IMEX my first year.
This year, I knew way more people, which I didn’t expect. I walked into rooms, and some people saw me before I saw them.
And I’m like, “Oh, people know me now!”
That’s not something I’m used to.
I got so used to being someone who still felt really new to the industry, walking around like an outsider. Everyone knew each other. They’ve been friends forever, and I was just there trying to figure out which way to go, which aisle to turn down to find whatever booth I was trying to locate.
Fast-forward to this year, and everywhere I turned, I felt like I knew someone.
I wasn’t expecting that. I was expecting to feel the same way I felt before, where I was still the newbie, still trying to find my way around.
I’m like, “No, no, no, girl. You have arrived. You have arrived inside the club of hospitality, and you are inside the club now. You don’t even know you’ve been inside the club!”
That was my sudden revelation. You thought you were the outsider? No, no, no. The gate has opened, and you are now inside without even realizing you’re inside the club.
If there were a club, I feel like I’m finally inside now, which is a really cool feeling because that’s the whole point of our industry. It’s about connection and making people feel like they belong somewhere.
And now it’s like, do I belong here now?
You go from feeling relatively new to thinking, maybe I’m not so new anymore.
Technically, I’m just the scribe of the meetings industry. I write about the industry, but I know a lot about the industry, too.
Even though I’m not a meeting planner, people recognize me. It’s like, “Oh, Smart Meetings. We know you!”
And I’m like, “Oh, that’s cool!”
It definitely feels good and validating, like I got a cool membership card I didn’t know I had.
It’s a nice feeling to have, to feel validated in that experience and to feel welcomed, not only by planners but by my fellow colleagues who also write in the industry.
They’ve seen me around. We’ve been on trips together. They recognize me. They know me.
It just feels good after being in the field for a number of years and finally feeling seen.
After writing about those themes in the industry and having them line up with my own experience, it’s like, OK, I finally see myself in this industry now.
And that’s kind of cool.
For example, on Tuesday night, I was supposed to go to MPI Rendezvous at the Vanderpump Hotel. It was the very last thing I was supposed to do, and it had been a very long day.
My plan was to go for 30 minutes because, as far as I knew, no one I knew was going to be there.
So I was like, “OK, I’ll swing by for 30 minutes, take some photos, and I’ll be out. Then I can go back to my room and finish my reports and post whatever I have to do for the day.”
I got there and was walking around, taking in the sights. It was a functioning club for that period of time.
And I turn one corner. Just one corner.
Me saying I’d entered the club of hospitality was very literal because I turned a corner and saw three people I’d been on a FAM trip to New Zealand with, who were meeting planners.
They’re like, “Hi!”
And I’m like, “Hi!”
And I knew immediately, there’s no way you’re leaving in 30 minutes.
So I was with them until almost 1 a.m. We were having fun and dancing, and it was great.
Obviously, I’m not a planner, but we bonded through our shared experiences in New Zealand. Meeting up at IMEX was really great, and it was fun to see people you’ve spent time with outside of those experiences at another industry event.
It felt very validating.
And also, who doesn’t like dancing and singing to Avril Lavigne at 12:30 in the morning? Night? Morning? Night? Who’s counting?
Either way, it was great.
It was a great experience. An exhausting experience, but a great experience.
IMEX days always start early and end late. That was one of my later nights, but my days would start around 7:30 a.m.
I’d be up at 7:30 because I had sessions, interviews and meetings. Everything was happening throughout the week very quickly.
My schedule was always back to back to back, and I wanted to do it all.
I wanted to cram as much as I possibly could into every day I had available. I wanted to be present. I wanted to learn. I wanted to talk to people. I wanted to take advantage of the opportunities around me whenever they were available.
These were the days I was there. This was the space for me to do it, so I was going to do it.
And if you know me, you know I will do such a thing if afforded the opportunity.
But I also forget something about myself because I’m so focused on getting stories, meeting people and talking to people.
I forget to do basic human things, like drinking water and eating lunch.
There was literally one day when I had two cookies for lunch because I’d scheduled myself so tightly.
I was in the press room, and shoutout to the press room, by the way, because they always had it stocked with cookies, coffee, water and tea.
That place was really the base of operations for everyone who was press.
The press room was life. It really was.
And I appreciated that because I needed it at various points throughout the week.
When I’m on FAM trips, we’re usually provided food. Our days are scheduled very tightly, but we’re given breakfast, lunch and dinner, usually for the most part.
For something like IMEX, we have to think about our own schedules and when we’re eating.
I’m not always thinking about how to feed myself, and going over to get really costly pizza was not something I was super excited about doing, quite honestly.
I have a bad habit of getting so focused on what I’m doing that I forget to take care of myself or check in.
Do I need a nap? Am I hungry? Am I tired? Do I need a break? Do I need to slow down? Do I need to go sit in a corner somewhere and just take a breath, take a beat, chill out and stop thinking about work for five seconds?
I know that’s really hard to do for a lot of us.
But I’m always pushing through whatever I’m dealing with, and I miss the chance to take care of myself.
Because your whole goal is that you’re responsible for other people’s needs a lot of the time. You’re managing schedules, solving problems, meeting deadlines and trying to craft experiences for other people seamlessly.
Thinking about yourself isn’t always front of mind, I’m assuming.
So let me know. I’m curious.
Where do you put yourself on the list of who’s important in that moment, especially when you’re at a trade show trying to talk to people and gather information?
Are you still a factor? Or are you too focused on gathering information?
I’m personally really proud of all I accomplished at IMEX. I’m really proud of the show I made.
I’m really proud of being able to put myself out there, even though, as an introvert and someone who doesn’t always like the sound of my own voice or feel comfortable talking to people, I was able to do my best to be present while being incredibly exhausted.
Because being on the show floor was so exhausting.
So before I go, two questions.
First, for people who have been in the industry for a minute, what was the moment when you went to a big event like IMEX and felt seen after maybe feeling like you weren’t sure you belonged in the industry or didn’t feel seen?
Second, for folks who are newer to the industry, what can be done at events like IMEX to make first-timers feel not just welcomed, but seen?
Drop your comments wherever you see this episode and let me know, because I’m super curious.
Thank you guys so much for being here. I’ll see you next time.
And if you have a suggestion for a future Coffee Chat, let me know. I would love to hear it, and maybe that’ll be the next episode.
I’ll see you guys next time. Bye!
[Outro]
You’ve been listening to Smart Start Radio, a Smart Meetings production. Interested in being our next guest? Connect with us at [email protected].
