View From Afar S1, E9: IPW 2025 | Bill Hornbuckle, Chair of the U.S. Travel Association’s Board of Directors and President and CEO at MGM Resorts International

I’m Michelle Baran, deputy editor at Afar. Welcome to View From Afar, a podcast that spotlights the people and ideas shaping the future of travel. And in this special series, I’m coming to you live from the floor of IPW, the annual travel conference organized by the U.S. Travel Association to share the best of America with the rest of the world.

This year the conference is held in Chicago. And it’s a rather interesting year to be talking about travel in the United States: In March 2025, data from the World Travel & Tourism Council showed that international visits to the U.S. had decreased, resulting in an estimated $12 billion loss in tourism revenue. At the same time, the country is gearing up for America’s 250th anniversary—and the energy is palpable. So at IPW, my colleague Billie Cohen and I sat down with travel industry leaders and executives to bring you the biggest conference news and insights, and to share what’s on the horizon for America’s 250th birthday.

You’ll hear each of those conversations over the following week.

In today’s episode, I’m thrilled to chat with Bill Hornbuckle, the CEO and president of MGM Resorts International. In the travel industry, you can’t talk about Las Vegas without talking about Bill. He has been integral to building the Las Vegas brand over the decades.

He started as a room service attendant and busboy at the Jockey Club hotel, and eventually made his way to leadership positions at Caesar’s Palace, Treasure Island, and The Mirage. Bill joined MGM in 1998, and in 2012, he took the helm. He now oversees iconic properties in the MGM Resorts portfolio, including Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, and New York-New York. His work has also taken him far beyond Vegas—he’s expanded the MGM presence both nationally and globally and has served on the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Travel and Tourism Advisory Board. So he’s well poised for his next big gig.

In February 2025, Bill was named chair of the U.S. Travel Association, the industry group charged with increasing travel within and to the United States. Here’s his take on what’s next for Vegas—and beyond.

Welcome, Bill!

Transcript

Michelle: Welcome, Bill. It’s a pleasure to have you today.

Bill: Thank you. It’s great being here.

Michelle: Let’s start with Vegas. There have been so many chapters to the Vegas story, from gaming to entertainment, more family-friendly options, conventions, and high-end hotels. Where do you see Vegas going from here?

Bill: I’ve had the good fortune of being there since 1977. And so literally all of those things you mentioned, I took the journey through in one way, shape, or form.

We currently have a significant push on sports. And that activity started in 2016 with T-Mobile and we got lucky and got a hockey team that literally went to the Stanley Cup the first year. We ended up doubling down a few years later with the Raiders and professional football.

And the creation of that venue then brought on—that venue was scheduled to have 24 events a year. Last year it had 43. And so the concerts, the things that it brings are spectacular. We’ve been fortunate, now we’ve got the Oakland A’s, now going to be the Las Vegas A’s coming. So literally on Las Vegas Boulevard, you find a full-fledged arena for NBA and for hockey, you have a baseball stadium, all within a mile of each other.

That whole push continues to be great. You know, fundamentally we’re in the convention business, as you mentioned, about 7 million visitors a year. Our company alone has four and a half million square feet of space, and so it’s a big underpinning of our business. And then just driving, you know, the entertainment scene, which continues to change, I might add. You’ve probably seen—if not you should—the Sphere. *Laughs*, not ours, but it is worth seeing. It truly is. It’s a great addition to the skyline. It’s a great addition to Las Vegas experience, and so we’ll continue to come up with things like that.

The economics have always been there for us to do things kind of outstretched. We got Formula One, and so that’s now extending another couple of years and so that’s exciting. We’ll continue in that mode and that mindset.

Michelle: Always continuing to reinvent itself, which is one of the great things about Vegas. The hotel and resort experience are really key to the destination experience in Vegas. How has that aspect of the city evolved? Obviously, this is something you know a lot about. How do hotels and resorts of Vegas today compare to their predecessors?

Bill: We measure something on a basis called RevPOR—revenue per occupied room. If I go back in the 80s, that revenue was 80% tied to the casino and 20%. We were giving away rooms, giving away food just to get you in to play the machines. Today a place like Bellagio, which is one of the world’s arguably best and biggest casinos, 70% of our revenue is non-gaming. Today people pay for entertainment in any meaningful way.

They pay for food and beverage in a meaningful way. They pay for suites more than they ever had. Mm-hmm. There’s a whole luxury mindset now about coming to most destinations, including Las Vegas, where a suite product and one bedroom suites have become—I wish I had more of ‘em. At MGM this year we’re converting three floors to suite products.

We’re going to lose 150 keys, but that’s where the marketplace is right now. And so it continues to change. Millennials have found Las Vegas and gaming for the first time post COVID. Pre COVID they came, they did the nightclub scene or whatever, but now they’ve settled into, I think, the more normal Las Vegas experience. And so that’s been a good push and a good addition for us.

Michelle: I know that your portfolio kind of contains a mix of more boutique style and some of the big blockbuster hotels. Are you seeing that desire for greater variety of product?

Bill: I think personalized experiences—people are looking for that at any and every level. Even somebody checking into the Excalibur, which is our first line value proposition. For them, it’s still an experience and they’re looking for something that’s unique and special to them. All the way up to Lago Bellagio or Aria where you can dine on the lake. Now you can go out on a Riva boat on the lake. There’s all these things you can do to personalize your experience that Las Vegas 20 years ago didn’t provide. It was free food, free rooms, come gamble, please

Michelle: I actually grew up in Southern California and I tell people that we went as a family to Vegas because it was a time when families would go because the rooms were affordable, but we went to Excalibur and I have great, you know, and so you’re like, what?

Vegas as a family? I was like, yes, absolutely.

Bill: Pool scene is great. There’s a lot to see around the desert, etc. A lot to do. So all good.

Michelle: What are some of the lesser known Vegas attractions, things about the city and surroundings that are gaining traction with the next generation of travelers? You mentioned, for instance, growing appreciation for the natural surroundings—

Bill: Particularly for a lot of our international visitors, it’s nothing for them to jump on a helicopter, go to the Grand Canyon for the day. And that’s a great experience. It’s nothing to go up the Valley of Fire. It’s nothing for them to jump in a car and tour Red Rock, which is literally some of the best hiking in the world. You can see it from Las Vegas Boulevard, 15 miles outside of town. And there’s Lake Mead, which, albeit down some, still has a lot of water sports on it. The surrounding area is great—Southern Utah, St. George has amazing golf, a big deal up in that community. Obviously Las Vegas has got lots of golf. There’s a lot to do beyond just what people think of Las Vegas. People enjoy that and they continue to do that en masse.

Michelle: I just think it’s so interesting that it’s sort of evolved into more of this like adventure outdoor destination as well, because it wasn’t traditionally what Vegas was known for. But people are like, actually there’s so many beautiful things. So you can do that great combination of experiences. So in your role as chair of the board of U.S. Travel Association, how does your experience in Vegas translate to helping build the U.S. brand? And what’s your vision for the future?

Bill: We’ll use Vegas as the example. One of the things we were always able to do as a community is come together as a community and push things through, like the Raiders Stadium, Allegion, $2 billion proposition was a combination of a bunch of folks coming together, being of one mindset, one message, and getting something done. We’re trying to do the same thing with travel.

It’s complicated in the U.S. I mean, you go to the UK or many other European countries, they have a minister of tourism, they have a minister of sports. We have none of that. We have the overview for tourism sits in the Commerce department, but State is involved because of visas. You’ve got Homeland Security involved, trying to get into the country with immigration and all that that entails.

So you’ve got it in so many different places. You have Transportation involved, with FAA rail, etc. So trying to have government act as one has been a key push. I was before this role chair of TTB [US Travel and Tourism Advisory Board] on behalf of the Secretary Raimondo for Commerce.

And the goal was to try to get everybody in the room and talk about what’s important and what we could do about it, and how we could influence that. That goal hasn’t changed at U.S. Travel. The good news is, at least for today, the administration recognizes that and candidly, given the environment, I think the administration is the only one who can pull this together. Because we have this massive opportunity in front of us right now with the Olympics coming, World Cup coming, Ryder Cup coming. There are 10 events over the next decade that are America 250, that can be defining in a way like nothing else we’ve historically ever done, and really turn what was a $50 billion surplus, [but] is now a $50 billion deficit, into a positive thing.

But it will take one mind, it’ll take focus by the administration and the industry to do things so that you’re not waiting three hours to get into the country. So you’re not waiting 180 days in some countries to get a visa to begin with. And so thinking about it holistically from beginning to end is what’s important, but communicating it with one voice is important.

Michelle: Those are some of the big challenges. It sounds like it’s sort of what we call logistics, you know, the getting into the country, but also I imagine infrastructure is part of that.

Bill: *Laughs* It’s money, money, and money. And it’s getting in front of the right legislators getting the right things in play. Secretary Duffy, now with Transportation, has a 12 and a half billion dollars ask in that big beautiful bill for FAA. It is essential that he gets that. We saw what happened in Newark and there are many airports in that similar condition throughout the U.S. And so making sure that some of the things that are really critical get pushed through are what’s important.

And then another one. We’re sitting right across from Brand USA here. Its funding is in jeopardy. You know, it’s funded historically off of a $13 tax that you pay when you come into the country. The government wants to sweep that money away and lower that budget to 20 million.

That’s not good. And so, you know, keeping an eye on that, focusing on that. Understanding and pushing through what is really a separated government function into a single focus is really the key job of this association. And keeping everyone focused on how to move forward through technology, through economics, you know, so it makes a difference.

Michelle: You mentioned all the different segments of travel and how complicated it is. You have so many different entities from airlines and hotels to destinations and attractions that all have to work together. And you’re leading this 30 member executive board that represents all these different segments. So with a strong background in the hotel sector, how do you, how do you bring everyone together and have you had success in doing so?

Bill: It’s interesting. The challenge hasn’t necessarily been on the industry side. We sat a month ago in D.C. for a CEO round table. The airlines want—need—the same thing. They want to get people visas quicker. They want to get FAA funded correctly. They don’t mind the notion that a high speed train can be a good delivery from point A to point B. So, generally speaking, we’re all in the same mindset.

So the industry’s pretty much focused on what’s important, and I think U.S. Travel has been able to capture that. The question is, do we have enough input? One in 11 jobs in America is tied to this industry. One in 11. It’s a massive undertaking, but it. People don’t think of it as an industry in that context.

They think of it as an airline. It’s a hotel down my street. It’s all these things, but it collectively just needs to do a better job pulling the government’s focus into why it’s important, and then making sure it gets the funds it needs to do the right technology we’re talking about. It’s not even about creating technology. The technology exists today, most of it created in America, by the way, in pieces and parts throughout the world, to make it a whole lot more seamless and a whole lot more painless. Some of it’s policy, of course, and some of it’s the politicization of rhetoric we have to be careful with. I use Canada as the obvious example today.

That doesn’t help. But I think, in macro, the opportunity before us for this next decade, the administration understands what’s at stake and what could happen and should happen. We just gotta keep everyone focused on.

Michelle: Yeah, exactly. You brought up high speed rail. So I assume that you are excited about the Brightline train that we’ll be connecting the LA area with Vegas. So is that the type of infrastructure improvements that you see benefiting everyone?

Bill: Very. That’s a 10 billion plus dollar investment. Wes Edens and his team have done an amazing job over—that project, by the way, let me tell you how long some of this stuff takes. That’s a 25-year-old idea.

There’s a group in town called the Marnell Companies that promoted that idea for almost 20 years. Wes got involved about five, six years ago, and now we’ve all gotten it to the finish line. But those are the kinds of things that, with focus, need to get done. You know, a proper rail system from New York to D.C.

Unfortunately, there are probably a dozen bridges in America that go to key destinations, like Cape Cod is what I’m thinking of, that need revamping. And so it needs focus and so. The industry’s come together on what it wants and where it wants it. Just getting it across the finish line has been the push and the challenge.

Michelle: And when you say get it across the finish line, what do you mean?

Bill: Economics, mostly. You know, policy, economics, getting everyone to focus on these for it. A simple one again is Brand USA. There’s a political belief that let industry pay for itself, but Marriott’s not going to pay for what it does to promote the beauty and the welcome attitude, hopefully the welcome attitude, of America to the rest of the world. That’s not their remit. It’s not MGM Resorts’ remit to do that. We all need to come together and do that through U.S. Travel and through something like Brand USA.

Michelle: Right. To recognize that it benefits everyone to have these broader messages about coming to America and what there is to see and do

Bill: And it’s 150 million jobs at stake. It’s a big deal.

Michelle: Yeah. Right. And you mentioned America 250.

Bill: No, 15 million jobs at stake, not 150 million jobs. *Laughs* That’s a lot of jobs!

Michelle: You mentioned America 250, what do you see as some of the opportunities around that, despite the challenges there, you mentioned there are some perception issues right now. What are the opportunities?

Bill: To project that we’re welcoming. In a meaningful way is what’s relevant. I think the first thing is to go back to the Brand USA discussion, secure that funding.

So in fact, we can send that message and say it. You can see right outside this booth, this thing about Route 66, that ties the nine states together, that Route 66 runs through. Those are the kinds of fun things that, once you get into America, there’s nothing like this experience anywhere in the world.

It’s so large, it’s so diverse. You can do everything from the glamor and glitz of Las Vegas all within like 500 mile range, you know, go down to the Grand Canyon on a donkey. I mean, it goes on and on and on. The kinds of things you can do, and the access to them is pretty free flowing once you’re here.

Yeah. It’s that whole process we all need as an association and an organization of travel executives to really focus the administration on and make sure we get someplace different.

Michelle: So what do you see as the biggest opportunities for the United States as a destination overall? I think you mentioned this idea that there is maybe this misconception that it sells itself, but like there is still some selling and marketing that needs to be done to get people to come to

Bill: Despite the rhetoric they may hear, making sure people understand that we’re welcoming, I think is a critical message to get across right now. That it’s not as difficult to accomplish as it might appear or think.

I think all of that messaging is important, is critical. And then backing it up, whether it’s the safety through FAA, whether it’s the actual process when you come to the gate, you know, and it’s time to now get into the country and the immigration officer is there. What’s happening? How quickly does that happen?

Is it simply staffed properly? Getting staffing for Homeland Security has been a real challenge coming out of COVID. It took a while to rebound. We finally got back there. The speed in processing of simple visas. There are still countries that are six months out. But for example, the World Cup, if you haven’t applied from some countries right now, chances of you getting a visa are slim and none. And so getting—

Michelle: So how’s it going to work? I mean, we have these major sporting events—

Bill: Technology can help that meaningfully. Proper staffing and proper focus on the countries that matter can help that meaningfully. Like China right now, we’re down 50% of Chinese visitors as a nation. They spent, I think the average when it was peaking, was like $4,000 per person a visit. It was meaningfully different than everybody else. But for today, given the environment, given all that’s going on, given where airlines can and can’t go anymore with Russia, maybe we need to refocus our thoughts on things that will move.

Like World Cup is the first big opportunity in 2026. So what is it that we can do to make sure that World Cup and those people that are coming have the best travel experience they can have from end to end? It’s basics, but it’s making sure we do have the right staffing in place. Making sure we’re simply ready when they arrive at LAX and some of these other places to accommodate them.

You know, it sounds simple, but I just had a reporter I was talking to who had a three hour experience to get through immigration. Well, they knew when that plane was coming. It’s scheduled. There’s going to be 215 people getting off that aircraft who need to go through here. We need to make sure they have the resources they need to accommodate that kind of demand.

Michelle: Right, right. And the pressure’s on, with the World Cup coming—

Bill: We want to stand on the world stage and say, see, we still know how to— obviously we know how to do it, we’ve done all these things independently before. But in the collective, we know how to do it, we know how to do it better than anybody else. It’s important.

Michelle: Right. And it’s interesting ‘cause you brought up this concept of a United Voice and I think it’s really helpful for people to understand that that’s what U.S. Travel does. That when you’re looking at all these different challenges as well as opportunities that U.S. Travel does represent that united voice of the priorities for the industry to help move the needle and to help things improve.

Bill: I think I mentioned I was chair of TTAB, which is a commerce department’s version of travel, because technically travel sits within the Commerce department. We have asked—we just haven’t gotten funding yet, we’ve got approval—for an assistant secretary of travel and tourism, which will be helpful in just bringing all these disparate pieces and parts of the government together as one so that that experience can be seamless.

Just literally getting the various constituencies in play is critical. For now, fortunately, the administration has stepped up and recognized the void. They have a special committee. They’ve put together JD Vance as chair of that committee.

Actually the president’s chair, JD is vice chair. But the point is there are people in the White House who have focused on this issue going forward. And for now that’s meaningful because otherwise we’re not going get it done in time.

Michelle: Right, right. And so are you hopeful as you step into this role?

Bill: I think we had more challenges today than I thought we’d have six months ago when this subject first came up, but yeah, I’m very helpful. I think this show demonstrates that. I mean, look at the enthusiasm. You got 5,000 active buyers here. And while everybody in the back of their mind’s thinking about where will all this ebb and flow, it will ebb and flow because historically it always has.And we will get to the next point as we always do on this kind of stuff.

Thanks for joining this episode of View From Afar. In the show notes, you’ll find links to the topics we discussed, links to U.S. Travel Association’s website and social handles, as well as our coverage of great trip ideas all across the country. And be sure to follow along this week to hear more interviews with travel industry experts.

You can find more Views From Afar on afar.com. And be sure to follow us on Instagram and TikTok. We’re @AfarMedia. If you enjoyed today’s exploration, I hope you’ll come back for more great interviews. Subscribing always makes that easy. And be sure to rate and review the show on your favorite podcast platforms. It helps other travelers find it.

This has been View From Afar, a production of Afar Media. The podcast is produced by Aislyn Greene and Nikki Galteland, with assistance from Michelle Baran and Billie Cohen. Music composition from Epidemic Sound. This podcast is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Visit AirwaveMedia.com to listen and subscribe to their other fine shows like Culture Kids and The Explorers Podcast.