Meetings at IMEX

Pre-register for 2025

Meetings at IMEX

Book the meetings that matter using our online meeting system. Explore new destinations, hear about the latest products and services, and make powerful connections.

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Our video guide to scheduling meetings

What is a meeting?

A meeting is a 30-minute meeting with an exhibitor booked by you, the buyer. They are your opportunity to meet with exhibiting destinations and suppliers to get business done.

All buyers can book meetings, whether you are a hosted buyer or a buyer attendee.

85,000 meetings were made at IMEX 2024—they are the lifeblood of our show.

Hosted buyer meetings

As well as individual meetings, hosted buyers can also book booth presentations or may have group appointments allocated (pre-scheduled by us)—these are a great way to explore new destinations and ideas.

When you accept an invitation to be an IMEX hosted buyer, you're making a commitment to book genuine business meetings with our exhibitors.

We recommend at least six to eight meetings per day. These should be mainly one-to-one meetings, but can include some group appointments and booth presentations.

Managing your schedule

Meetings are scheduled for 30 minutes. We recommend allowing at least  five minutes at the end of each meeting to get to your next meeting on time. 

You can change the time of a meeting by selecting it in your schedule and then choosing Reschedule. If you need to cancel a meeting, send a personal message in advance. 

As well as scheduling meetings with exhibitors, you can also save events, activities and education sessions to your schedule.

Meetings FAQs

What is a meeting?: A 30-minute meeting with an exhibitor booked by you, the buyer. (Only buyers - hosted buyers and buyer attendees - can book meetings.)

We also make appointments for groups of buyers to attend exhibitor presentations - and some exhibitors offer presentations at certain times that you can book in to. See these as your opportunity to explore new ideas and destinations.
WHEN CAN I START BOOKING MEETINGS?: The meetings system opens around September 9 for all buyers (only hosted buyers and buyer attendees can book meetings).
How are meetings set up and who can book them?: All buyers book meetings, whether you are a hosted buyer or a buyer attendee.

Around four weeks before the show, and once you’ve received your welcome email, you’ll be able to sign in to your IMEX account, search our Exhibitor Directory and book meetings directly.

Buyers are also able to book meetings via the products search, attendee list and messages (with exhibitor team members only).

Meetings are only held between buyers and exhibitors. And, can only be initiated by buyers.
How do I send a meeting request?: Once the show platform is available, a few weeks before the show, you'll be able to sign in. You can then search our Exhibitor Directory or product list, click the meeting icon that looks like this:

You can choose to book a meeting with the company, or a specific team member.

Once you've selected the time and day of the meeting it will be automatically confirmed in your schedule and the exhibitor's schedule.
How many meetings do I commit to as a hosted buyer?: When you come to IMEX as a hosted buyer you commit to booking meetings with exhibitors, but you're in charge of your schedule at IMEX. We ask that you come to the show with business in hand.

The easiest way to do business and get value from the show is by booking meetings. We recommend at least six to eight a day.
What happens if I don’t book the recommended numbers of meetings as a hosted buyer?: We regularly check and audit the number of meetings being booked and held at the show. If we find that a hosted buyer is not holding meetings, we may decide to withdraw their hosted buyer status for future shows. This is why it is particularly important for buyers to use our IMEX systems to manage their time at the show.
What is a group appointment?: Group appointments are for hosted buyers. They may be scheduled by us for the hosted buyer group you are part of, and are part of your hosted buyer commitment. They can be a great way to learn more about a product or destination you may not have otherwise considered.

Group appointments are scheduled between 11am and 4pm. As a hosted buyer you have to be at the show between 10am and 5:30p.m on your program days. You should ensure your flight schedule allows you to do this.
What is a booth presentation?: Exhibitors schedule booth presentations to allow them to present an overview of their product or destination to groups of 10 to 15  buyers. We recommend attending a booth presentation if you’re fact-finding. They are open to buyer attendees and hosted buyers.

You can search for and add booth presentations to your schedule. If a booth presentation you want to attend is already full, try again closer to the show in case there are cancelations, or go to the booth when the presentation is scheduled in case there’s space.
Will I get a lot of email/marketing messages from exhibitors?: No, our exhibitors can only contact you through our online meeting system, and can only send messages to one person at a time (i.e. they cannot mass mail buyers). All messages will go into your message notifications – available once you sign in to your IMEX account (not your email inbox, unless you select this option in your notification settings).

Your guide to scheduling meetings

Check our useful video guide to walk you through:

Your show dashboard
Accessing your schedule
Adding blocks within your schedule
Checking your Group appointments
Making/ canceling and re-scheduling individual meetings
Messaging
Viewing the attendee list

Any questions? Check our FAQs page or contact us:

Call: +44 (0) 1273 227311
Email: hosted@imexevents.com

David Kries

Relationship Manager

Laura Jewell

Relationship Manager, Hosted Buyer Programme