The Exhibitor's Travel Guide to Las Vegas

Las Vegas hosts more trade shows than any other city in North America. Over 60 million visitors pass through annually, and a significant portion of them are there to work a booth, walk a floor, or close a deal. The city's convention infrastructure is unmatched — but that scale also means the difference between a productive trip and an exhausting one comes down to planning. This guide covers everything an exhibitor needs to know before wheels touch down at Harry Reid International.

Convention Centers & Venues

Las Vegas operates three major convention venues, each with its own personality, logistics, and quirks. Knowing which one your show occupies changes every decision you make about hotels, transportation, and meals.

Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC)

The flagship. At 3.2 million square feet, it is the largest single-level exhibition facility in North America. The $1 billion West Hall expansion, completed in 2021, added 1.4 million square feet of column-free space. CES, CONEXPO-CON/AGG, SEMA Show, and SHOT Show all call LVCC home. The venue sits just east of the Strip on Paradise Road, connected to several resorts by the Las Vegas Monorail. Elon Musk's Vegas Loop — an underground Tesla shuttle system — also connects West Hall to the main campus, cutting what used to be a 15-minute walk to about two minutes.

Mandalay Bay Convention Center

Sitting at the far southern end of the Strip, Mandalay Bay offers 2 million square feet of exhibition space. It hosts major healthcare and retail events including HIMSS and Shoptalk. The on-site advantage is real: if you book at Mandalay Bay, Delano, or the connected Four Seasons, you can walk from your room to your booth in under ten minutes. The downside is isolation. Mandalay Bay is a solid 20-minute walk from the nearest cluster of Strip restaurants and bars, and rideshare pickups during show rush hours can take 15 minutes just to reach the designated lot.

The Venetian Expo (formerly Sands Expo)

Rebranded in 2021, The Venetian Expo offers 1.2 million square feet of flexible meeting and exhibition space directly connected to The Venetian and The Palazzo resorts. It handles CES overflow, Adobe Summit, and a growing roster of mid-size technology and marketing shows. The mid-Strip location is the most convenient of the three venues for dining and nightlife, and the Venetian's restaurant collection alone could keep you fed for a week without repeating a meal.

Browse all upcoming events at these venues in our Las Vegas trade show directory.

Best Hotels Near the Convention Centers

Las Vegas has over 150,000 hotel rooms. That sounds like plenty until a major show books 80,000 of them. The hotels below are listed by proximity to the venue you are most likely to need. Book early — rates during CES and SEMA can triple compared to off-peak weeks.

Near the Las Vegas Convention Center

• Renaissance Las Vegas Hotel (0.2 mi from LVCC) — $150–300/night. The closest full-service hotel to the Convention Center. Walking distance with no Strip traffic to navigate. Rooms are dated but functional. The rooftop pool is a surprisingly effective decompression spot after 10 hours on the floor.
• Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino (0.3 mi from LVCC) — $100–250/night. Connected to the Convention Center by a covered walkway. The sportsbook is massive. Rooms are spacious. The Monorail station is on-site. For pure convenience during an LVCC show, nothing beats the Westgate.
• Encore at Wynn Las Vegas (0.5 mi from LVCC) — $250–600/night. When the client dinner budget allows it. Walk to LVCC in about 10 minutes via the rear exit. The rooms are among the best on the Strip, and the restaurant portfolio — Sinatra, Mizumi, Cipriani — handles every client entertainment scenario.
• Wynn Las Vegas (0.5 mi from LVCC) — $250–550/night. Shares the same campus as Encore with slightly different room configurations. The pool complex and spa are worth arriving a day early for, especially if you need to recover from a red-eye.

On-Site at Mandalay Bay

• Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino (on-site) — $150–400/night. The obvious choice for shows at this venue. The convention center connects directly to the hotel. The Shark Reef aquarium and the wave pool are bonuses if you are extending the trip. Request a room in the tower closest to the convention center — the property is enormous and a bad room assignment can add 10 minutes to your walk.
• Delano Las Vegas (on-site, connected) — $180–450/night. All-suite property connected to Mandalay Bay via skybridge. Quieter, more refined, and every room is a suite. Ideal for exhibitors who need a room that doubles as a meeting space.

On-Site at The Venetian Expo

• The Venetian Resort (on-site) — $200–500/night. Every room is a suite with a sunken living area. Direct access to the Expo center. The Grand Canal Shoppes and the restaurant row give you endless options without ever stepping outside. During CES, the Venetian becomes the unofficial networking hub of the industry.
• Marriott's Grand Chateau (mid-Strip) — $140–300/night. Not on-site at any venue, but centrally located on the Strip with easy access to all three. No casino, no resort fee. Full kitchens in many rooms. A strong pick for exhibitors who attend multiple Vegas shows per year and want Marriott points without the casino chaos.

For more hotel options, search hotels near the Las Vegas Convention Center on Booking.com.

Best Neighborhoods to Stay

The Strip (Convention Center Area)

The default choice, and for good reason. The 1.5-mile stretch between Encore and The Venetian puts you within walking distance of the LVCC and Venetian Expo. Every major restaurant, bar, and meeting point is accessible. The trade-off is price — expect to pay a 30-50% premium over off-Strip options, plus resort fees that typically run $40-60 per night on top of your room rate. Traffic during show move-in and move-out days is brutal. If you are driving, budget an extra 30 minutes for any Strip commute between 7-9 AM and 4-7 PM.

Downtown / Fremont Street

Five miles north of the Convention Center. Hotels like the Downtown Grand and Circa run $80-180 per night with a grittier, more authentic Vegas atmosphere. Fremont Street's restaurant scene has improved dramatically — Carson Kitchen and Le Thai are genuinely excellent. The downside: you will need rideshare or a rental car for every convention center trip, adding $15-25 each way and 20-40 minutes depending on traffic. Best for budget-conscious exhibitors attending multi-day shows where the savings compound.

Off-Strip East (Near LVCC)

The stretch along Paradise Road and Convention Center Drive — including the Renaissance, Westgate, and several smaller hotels — offers the best value-to-convenience ratio for LVCC shows. Rates run 20-40% below comparable Strip properties, you can walk to the show floor, and the restaurant options along Paradise Road (Lotus of Siam, especially) rival anything on the Strip. The neighborhood is not glamorous, but you are here to work.

Getting There & Getting Around

Harry Reid International Airport (LAS)

Formerly McCarran, the airport sits just 3 miles south of the Strip — one of the shortest airport-to-venue distances of any major convention city in America. Direct flights connect to virtually every domestic hub and a growing number of international destinations. Terminal 1 handles most domestic carriers; Terminal 3 covers international and some Southwest flights. Both terminals have designated rideshare pickup areas on Level 2 of the parking garages.

Rideshare

Uber and Lyft are the workhorses of Las Vegas convention travel. Airport to Strip runs $15-25 depending on surge pricing. Airport to LVCC is typically $12-20. During major shows, wait times at the convention center pickup zones can stretch to 15-20 minutes during peak hours (noon and 5-6 PM). The pro move: walk one block away from the convention center before requesting a ride. Drivers can reach you faster, and you skip the pickup lot bottleneck.

Las Vegas Monorail

The Monorail runs along the east side of the Strip with seven stations from MGM Grand to the Sahara. Stops include the Convention Center (direct LVCC access), Harrah's/The LINQ, and Flamingo/Caesars Palace. A single ride is $5, a 24-hour pass is $13, and a multi-day pass drops the per-ride cost further. During CES week, the Monorail is often faster than any car on the Strip. One caveat: stations are located at the back of each casino property, so expect a 5-10 minute walk through the casino floor to reach the Strip side.

Rental Cars & Parking

The Consolidated Rent-A-Car Center is a short shuttle ride from the airport. Rates start around $40/day for a compact. Self-parking on the Strip is mostly free at MGM-owned properties but $18-25/day at Caesars properties and the Venetian. LVCC charges $15/day for general parking, free after 5 PM. If your show is entirely at one venue and your hotel is nearby, skip the rental — between parking fees, gas, and the time spent circling structures, rideshare usually wins on both cost and sanity.

Where to Eat & Entertain Clients

Las Vegas has an absurd density of excellent restaurants. These picks are specifically chosen for proximity to convention venues and their ability to handle the kind of meals exhibitors actually need: quick pre-show fuel, working lunches, and client-impressing dinners.

Quick & Casual

• Tacos El Gordo (Strip, near LVCC) — $5-12/person. Tijuana-style street tacos. The adobada is the best quick meal within walking distance of the Convention Center. The line moves fast. Open late. No frills, no pretense, just legitimately great food when you need to eat and get back to the floor.
• Lotus of Siam (Paradise Road, 0.5 mi from LVCC) — $15-30/person. Widely considered one of the best Thai restaurants in the United States. The Northern Thai specialties are exceptional. Lunch is a relative bargain. Dinner requires reservations, especially during major shows.

Working Lunches & Mid-Range

• Mon Ami Gabi (Paris Las Vegas, Strip) — $25-50/person. French bistro with a patio overlooking the Bellagio fountains. The steak frites are reliable, the wine list is solid, and the atmosphere is professional enough for a client lunch without being stuffy. Reserve the patio.
• Esther's Kitchen (Arts District, 10 min from Strip) — $20-40/person. Modern Italian in a converted warehouse. Handmade pasta, natural wines, and a scene that signals you know the city beyond the casino floor. A strong pick for impressing a client who has already been to every steakhouse on the Strip.

Client Dinners & High-End

• Bavette's Steakhouse (Park MGM, Strip) — $80-150/person. The best steakhouse atmosphere in Las Vegas. Dark, moody, jazz-fueled. The bone-in ribeye and the shrimp de Jonghe are worth every dollar. Reservations are essential during show weeks — book the moment your show dates are confirmed.
• Nobu (Caesars Palace, Strip) — $70-130/person. Japanese-Peruvian fusion from the restaurant that defined the genre. The omakase experience works for entertaining international clients. The Caesars Palace location is central to every major venue.

Exhibitor Packing Tips for Las Vegas

Las Vegas punishes exhibitors who pack for the wrong conditions. The desert climate and the sheer physical demands of working a trade show floor require specific preparation.

• Comfortable walking shoes are non-negotiable. You will walk 5-8 miles per day on concrete floors. This is not an exaggeration. Bring shoes you have already broken in — a trade show is not the time to debut new footwear. Many experienced exhibitors pack two pairs and alternate days.
• Layers for the AC. Convention halls are refrigerated to offset the body heat of 50,000 attendees. Expect 65-68 degrees inside while it is 105 outside in summer or 45 outside in January. A light jacket or blazer solves both the temperature and the professionalism problem.
• Hydration gear. The desert air is brutally dry. Relative humidity regularly drops below 15%. Bring a refillable water bottle, lip balm, and moisturizer. Your throat will thank you after a full day of booth conversations. Eye drops if you wear contacts.
• A portable power bank is essential when you are using your phone for lead capture, navigation, and communication all day. The Anker 313 power bank is compact enough to fit in a blazer pocket and holds enough charge for a full day on the floor.
• Sun protection for outdoor time. The walk from hotel to convention center, outdoor demo areas, and after-hours networking all happen under desert sun that does not care about your schedule. Sunscreen, sunglasses, a hat if your ego allows it.
• A proper travel backpack. You need something that holds your laptop, chargers, printed materials, and the inevitable swag you collect. A purpose-built travel backpack with a laptop compartment and organizational pockets saves you from the plastic-bag-full-of-brochures look by day two.

Pro Tips from Experienced Exhibitors

These are the things nobody tells you until your third or fourth Vegas show. Learn them now and skip the learning curve.

1. Buy the multi-day Monorail pass. At $36 for three days, it pays for itself after your fifth ride. More importantly, it eliminates decision fatigue. No surge pricing, no wait times, no traffic. Walk to a station, badge in, and go. During CES, this is the single best transportation investment you can make.
2. Hit Costco or Walmart before the show opens. There is a Costco on Martin Luther King Boulevard, 10 minutes from the Strip. Stock up on water flats, granola bars, and any booth supplies you need. Convention center vendors charge $7 for a bottle of water that costs $0.25 at Costco. A case of water and a box of protein bars in your hotel room will save you $150 over a four-day show and keep you fueled when you cannot break away from the booth for a proper meal.
3. Arrive the day before setup, not the day of. This sounds obvious. It is not. Half the exhibitors at every Vegas show arrive the morning of setup, hit traffic from the airport, wait 45 minutes for their rideshare, and arrive at their booth stressed and behind schedule. Arrive the evening before. Sleep. Wake up ready. The extra hotel night costs $150-300. The cost of a botched setup day is incalculable.
4. Know the shuttle schedule — and beat it. Show-provided shuttles between hotels and the convention center are free but crowded. Lines at the major pickup hotels (Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand) can stretch to 30-45 minutes during morning rush. If you are taking the shuttle, be in line by 7:15 AM for a show that opens at 9. Or skip the shuttle entirely and Monorail in while everyone else is still queued up.
5. Schedule your client dinners for night two, not night one. Night one of any major Vegas show is chaotic. Restaurants are slammed, everyone is still finding their bearings, and your energy is at its lowest after setup day. Night two is when the show has settled into a rhythm, you have had real conversations with prospects, and you can make a dinner reservation that actually starts on time. Use night one for a casual team dinner at a low-key spot and save the Bavette's reservation for when it counts.