Skift Take
It's not something a lot of people want to think about, but with large gatherings increasingly becoming a target for violent attacks, meeting and event planners have to step up their security tools and protocols.
Held just one week after the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, attendees at this year's IMEX America event were unified in their message: We stand behind Las Vegas.
But mixed in among the 5,500 attendees and 3,200-plus exhibitors at the Sands Expo and Convention Center's 2,000-square-foot exhibition hall was a new and unusual sight: K-9 units, named Zeus and Hunter, both from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
"Talking to the security team at the Sands, it's not just that [the dogs] make people feel safer, but it is preventative as well, to a degree," said IMEX Group CEO Carina Bauer. "They said that dogs in particular can be a real deterrent to people" wishing to do harm.
The K-9 units were just part of a stepped-up security effort at this year's IMEX America. IMEX America planners and the Sands security team tightened security by hiring additional unarmed and armed guards, and increasing random bag searches. These extra ste
