Viva Las Vegas: Hospitality majors experience the glitz and glam of one of the country’s hottest destinations

Picture this: rows of booths stretching across a convention floor the size of 10 football fields, each one buzzing with conversations as partnerships are built on the spot. Towering LED walls pulse with vibrant colors, a harpist welcomes visitors at Ireland’s booth and a the event planning company Encore invites attendees to board its “train”en route to a special experience. Welcome to IMEX America 2025, the country’s largest trade show for the meetings and events industry, and one of the secrets behind the glitz of Las Vegas.

This was far from your typical student field trip. Alongside nine other students from FIU's Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, I had the unique chance to go behind the scenes of an industry projected to grow to $2.5 trillion by 2035, according to Allied Market Research. But on this trip, we weren’t just walking the show floor; we were gaining an insider’s view of hospitality’s future, one booth, ballroom, and back-of-house tour at a time.

FIU Hospitality graduate student Emma Vitasse poses at the shared University Village booth.

The magic beyond the trade show floor

IMEX brings together the world’s most experienced event professionals alongside destinations, convention and visitors bureaus, airlines and hospitality tech companies. More than 17,000 attendees and 3,700 global suppliers from over 150 countries gathered this year to launch trends, seal deals and showcase cutting-edge technology that will shape events over the next decade.

For students like us, who have yet to enter the workforce full-time, IMEX offered a rare front-row seat to the real-world mechanics of hospitality and events. Listening to professionals who began as interns or transitioned into hospitality from other industries reminded me just how dynamic and open this field can be. Their advice was clear: Don’t wait until graduation to start building your network. Thanks to FIU’s support, that’s exactly what we did.

Beyond meeting industry leaders before we even join the workforce, we dived into the challenges, tips and strategies that will shape our careers by attending educational sessions. Yet, for me, the clearest connections between classroom theory and real life happened away from the trade show floor.

One unforgettable moment came during a backstage tour of the Cosmopolitan Hotel. The sales team guided us through the business of luxury, showing us everything from the 40,000-square-foot theater-style meeting space to a hidden bar we accessed through the on-site barber shop. We learned how the team pitches meeting spaces, tailors packages for major conventions and stays ahead of shifting guest preferences.

Students got a tour of The Chelsea, a theater-style meeting space inside the luxurious Cosmopolitan Hotel.

We also toured other well-known hotels like Caesars Palace, Flamingo and Paris Las Vegas.  A representative from the Vida\Estilo Hospitality Group, which owns several restaurants in these iconic hotels, walked us through their decision to expand from Miami into Las Vegas by adapting their brand to meet the demands of a fast-paced new market. At Caesars Palace’s Café Americano, we discussed how 24/7 operations, breakfast offerings and a long-term lease with renovation clauses helped secure a coveted spot on the Las Vegas Strip. It was like seeing a live case study unfold before our eyes.

From the classroom to the real world

Attending IMEX was about watching classroom lessons come alive. In one session, “How Smart Partnerships Between Event Organizers and Destinations Can Shape the Future,” I discovered how destination management companies act as a glue between event planners and local communities. I already understood the basics from my classes, but learning how planners can request customized itineraries for any event size or how Barcelona’s tourist tax benefits local development gave me fresh insight into the nuanced operations behind global events and destination management.

Another highlight was the “Media Power Panel: Uncovering Getting Covered,” which provided practical strategies for earning media coverage for events. I’ve already started applying these tips in my current job, using new techniques to craft press releases and pitch stories that capture the attention of media professionals, whose email boxes are flooded with AI-written content.

Scholarships that open doors

None of these opportunities would have been possible without FIU and the Eta Sigma Delta honor society, which sponsored our group’s participation. I’ve been fortunate to receive several travel scholarships through the Chaplin School that allowed me to attend industry events in Orlando and Switzerland. But IMEX was on an entirely different scale, both in size and impact.

IMEX taught me that real learning extends far beyond the classroom. It happens when you meet a global hotel executive, walk through a five-star restaurant during service or listen to a keynote speaker predict what hospitality will look like in 2035.

Students got lessons in guest experiences and how to sell a 40,000 square foot space.

Full circle

IMEX wasn’t what I expected. On the trade show floor, everything ran like a well-oiled machine. Attendees listened intently to speakers through high-quality headphones, blocking out the noise of the trade show and other sessions happening side-by-side. Outside the trade show space, some took part in breathwork or meditation or slowed down at the Resilience Room. Las Vegas, which looks like a movie set, further reinforced the lesson I learned during this trip: embrace bold, expressive ideas. Build your hotel around a replica of the Eiffel Tower, give attendees an opportunity to take a photo of their aura, create a bar with a three-story crystal chandelier.

To make an impact in an industry that has to keep guests engaged and impressed, you have to take risks and lean into creativity. That’s the mindset I’ll carry with me as I move forward in my professional journey.

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Bonus:
If you could not join IMEX America 2025, anyone can access the main takeaways from over 250 educational sessions that were available during the three days of the tradeshow here.