In the new Meetings Outlook for Q3 2024: In-person meetings have gotten stronger, the sellers’ market has gotten weaker, and the meetings landscape has gotten more balanced, MPI’s quarterly survey of planners reveals.
According to planner responses, the meeting and event industry is “experiencing a greater sense of equilibrium,” with 26 percent of respondents citing a balanced market, 31 percent seeing a buyer’s market and 43 percent claiming a seller’s market—a significant decrease from Q1 when that figure was 61 percent.
Meanwhile, in-person meetings are up and planners expect that trajectory to continue, with 76 percent projecting favorable live-event attendance, up from 71 percent last quarter.
Unbalanced Budgets?
Among other reasons, respondents said that working from home has driven the demand for in-person meetings; but in doing so has steered planners directly into budget issues. In fact, a majority of respondents (60 percent) expect budget increases of up to 10 percent going forward.
As one planner put it, “all the big conferences are back, whether or not these companies have the budget to do an after-party.”
Many are scrambling for ways to lower costs at hotels for increasingly more expensive F&B and AV while some are looking for alternatives, including limiting functions at hotels, partnering with local businesses for discounts and holding more functions featuring food trucks.
They’re also feeling the crunch in Europe, with one planner in Italy saying higher costs are turning events toward destinations like Portugal, Turkey and Morocco.
Now Trending
Despite the challenges, Q3 Meetings Outlook saw an increase in overall business projections, with 72 percent of respondents expecting favorable conditions for the year ahead, down from 68 percent in Q2 but still below the 80+ percent seen in recent years.
Virtual event attendance projections remained stable; however, another meeting type is on the rise, some planners say: smaller events. Or as one planner described it, “20-person leadership dinners versus large-scale events… I think people are seeking out smaller events for more of the relationship building that helps sales.”
Read the complete report here.
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