Expert Takeaways from IMEX America 2025: Next-Gen Medical Meetings and the Case for Purpose-Built Venues

The 2025 IMEX America trade show made it clear that the events industry is undergoing a significant transformation, with a pervasive shift towards experiential and personalized gatherings. Our team's engagement with clients and industry leaders highlighted a strong 'flight to experience,' where planners are actively seeking to move beyond traditional settings to create memorable moments that foster deep connection and enhance content retention. The central theme from IMEX America was making every event a distinctive and lasting impression.

Our event planning experts at Convene Hospitality Group (CHG) break down highlights from the annual events industry trade show and why the impacts are far-reaching.

Left to right: Convene Hospitality Group President and Co-Founder Ryan Simonetti speaks during a Lunch and Learn session at the CHG booth. | The CHG booth recreated the hospitality atmosphere of a Convene venue on the trade show floor. | View of the CHG booth at the start of the day at IMEX America.

The Demand for Experiential and Bespoke Events

Jenny O’Sullivan, senior enterprise sales manager

A dominant trend emerging from recent discussions, particularly at IMEX America in Las Vegas, is the escalating client demand for experiential events. A major topic of conversation at our IMEX booth was the demand for more personalized experiences with a particular focus on bespoke coursed dinners. This complemented the announcement of The Mallory at Terminal Warehouse, our newest independently branded venue, designed to deliver on this need and align with the expectations of a high-profile gathering.

The multi-brand approach, once reserved for hotels, is moving beyond standard gatherings to incorporate personalized, high-touch experiences, with a growing interest apparent from the trade show centered on gala dinners, wedding celebrations, award ceremonies, and annual celebrations. This trend of experiential and bespoke events underscores the value of CHG's multi-brand strategy and our intentional effort to segment our portfolio to meet diverse event needs.

Not only that, but we're putting it into practice, most recently holding a client appreciation dinner with curated menus, detailed decor, and anticipatory service at etc.venues County Hall in London, a historic venue overlooking the Thames. Many of the clients we spoke with at IMEX America are looking to elevate their events by incorporating more personalized experiences, with a particular focus on VIP dinners. More hinges on an event planner’s ability to design and deliver memorable experiences that elevate both corporate and celebratory occasions.

Our stakeholder conversations remarked on how design and atmosphere together foster a sense of occasion. It’s clear that creating memorable moments is becoming a key priority across the events industry, and CHG is excited to partner with clients to ensure we deliver on this.

Challenging the Standard: Unique Venues for Next-Generation Medical Meetings

Jim O’Donnell, vice president of enterprise sales

At Convene, I've observed a clear trend: next-generation product launches, regional medical sales meetings, and educational symposiums are increasingly centering impact as their main objective. This not only contributes to immediate satisfaction but also improves post-event content retention, both of which are crucial for a planner's return on event.

A highlight of the invigorating IMEX 2025 week in Las Vegas was Meeting Professional International (MPI) Smart Monday. I was honored to participate in a panel discussion called ‘Unique Venues for Medical Meetings,’ an event that was part of MPI's Healthcare Meeting Compliance Certificate and Medical Meeting Professional certification courses. Panelists included industry leaders, including Brian Macaluso at Sonesta, Shawna Riggs at Tampa CVB, Aubrey Arreola at Viticus Group, and Andrea Rice with MPI Academy. Moderated by Cheyenne Nelson, Director of Strategic Accounts at MGME, we spoke to medical meeting planners about the importance of shifting medical meetings from typical venues to more experiential and unexpected locations. 

The discussion highlighted the importance of choosing inspiring locations where design elements, such as natural light and visual storytelling, can enhance the on-site experience. This not only contributes to immediate satisfaction but also improves post-event content retention, both of which are crucial for a planner's return on event. Medical meetings are highly standardized for compliance reasons and, therefore, quick to be placed in unimpressive and unassuming sites such as airport hotels with grey or beige meeting rooms or back rooms of chain steakhouses. The panel session was fun because it challenged meeting and event planners to consider venue selection from a fresh perspective.

The medical panel discussion tied into a wider theme throughout the week at IMEX: the desire to make moments matter more through the coming together of people in unique spaces supported by thoughtful hospitality. This was demonstrated powerfully at SITE NITE North America, where hundreds of us networked on Monday night. The event was held at The Industrial, a former warehouse and parking lot turned unconventional event space. The venue's inherent story of transformation and focus on creating atmosphere through a throwback ‘90s theme made it a destination event, despite other more logistically convenient spaces and plenty of competing events happening.

IMEX Las Vegas proved these aren’t just Instagrammable moments; these are moments that matter. Selecting a unique venue and creating an immersive experience. Taking the steps to build an emotional connection and make a lasting impression. Distinctive environments and immersive activations break the pattern and monotony of a blurry calendar of uninspiring events, making your event, your content, and your people all stand out as memorable exceptions, which is what we’re all after as event organizers.

Learn more about Jim O'Donnell

The Hidden Cost of Uniformity: Why Planners Are Choosing Intentional, Full-Service Venues

Rachel Levy, director of strategic partnerships

We’re observing a significant shift in the meetings and events landscape, driven by an attendee-led demand for experiences that are both more authentic and more stimulating. For decades, hotels have remained the default venue choice, primarily due to the logistical convenience of co-locating lodging and meeting space. However, this model is beginning to show its limitations, forcing stakeholders to re-evaluate the true cost of convenience.

I often hear how this uniformity results in an experience characterized by "hotel fatigue," where attendees, confined to windowless conference spaces and generic environments, sacrifice a connection to the city they're visiting. The feedback is increasingly clear: Events that feel the most energizing and productive take place in environments intentionally designed for collaboration, not just adapted for it.

This move away from the traditional, generic ballroom is a strategic response to two key issues. Attendees are seeking an experience that encourages immersion: the ability to step out for a coffee at a local shop, interact with the neighborhood, and feel a genuine connection to the event's location. This authentic, location-driven experience is what the insulating hotel environment suppresses. Also, beyond generic design, planners continue to grapple with the lack of creative control and high, non-negotiable costs associated with mandatory in-house services, like AV technology and any food and beverage.

I reached out to Jonathan Young, senior vice president at ConferenceDirect, to bring in additional industry perspective. Young shared that this is not just a preference; it’s a strategic requirement. His clients are increasingly looking for venues that "reflect their purpose and enhance the event experience."

I’ve found that planners are expressing a desire for the best of both worlds: an elevated, purpose-built meeting environment coupled with flexible, convenient—but separate—overnight options. This decoupling of meeting space and accommodation is redefining value. By selecting a venue-only space, event planners and decision-makers gain creative control, cost flexibility, and most critically, the ability to deliver a more dynamic and memorable experience that inspires creativity and reflects the event’s purpose. The value of true connection and unique environment is beginning to outweigh the value of mere proximity.

Find out more about Rachel Levy

Convene Hospitality Group’s venues offer distinctive environments for memorable events

The collective insights from our on-site team at Convene Hospitality Group confirm that the future of meetings and events hinges on elevated experiences and thoughtfully designed spaces. There is a clear, escalating demand for unique venues and personalized experiential elements—from VIP dining to inspiring design—that break the mold of typical event attendance. Event planners are driven by a desire to create emotional connections and ensure that content and events are memorable exceptions rather than forgettable entries in an attendee's calendar.

By focusing on purpose-built spaces, full-service venues, and prioritizing the attendee experience through high-touch hospitality and distinct settings, our portfolio of brands at CHG are perfectly positioned to partner with clients seeking to deliver these next-generation, impactful events.

Learn more about our properties, including value-driven spaces for small to medium events at etc.venues and purpose-built venues in nine cities, by reaching out to our team.