Global DMC Partners Survey Highlights New Challenges for Meetings and Events

Global DMC Partners (GDP) recently released the results of its Q2 Meetings & Events Pulse Survey, which found that the industry faces new challenges as in-person events resume.

The findings were released during GDP’s quarterly webinar, hosted by president and CEO Catherine Chaulet, which featured a panel of industry experts weighing in on the top findings, discussing insights from their own perspectives and sharing their real-world best practices.

Panel participants included Helen Capelin with Ashfield Event Experiences, Becky Cavanaugh with Syneos Health, Danene Dustin with Morris Meetings & Incentives, Tom Edelen with Thrivent Financial, Megan Griggs with Intellectual Property Owners Association, Cindy Grove with Morley Meetings & Incentives, Katherine Kirk with Chicago Is…LLC, A Global DMC Partner, and Kuba Piotrowski with Oriflame.

The research found that travel restrictions and vaccines are a challenge. Forty-six percent of respondents cited travel restrictions and vaccine rollout as their primary challenges in returning to in-person events. GDP said it was noteworthy that the challenge of implementing health and sanitation protocols dropped significantly, by nearly 20 points, in comparison to the Q1 survey results.

During a webinar live poll, participants said that travel limitations and flight restrictions are one of the biggest concerns for in-person meetings and events.

Rising costs were also one of the major challenges for planners. Thirty-two percent reported that program budgets have not changed significantly, which poses an additional challenge as hotel room rates, airfares and other associated costs are rising. This problem could only be temporary as 26 percent of planners are now reporting that their meeting and event budgets are increasing.

Only 23 percent of planners said that they are decreasing budgets in Q2.

Staffing and venues are another problem. Both survey respondents ad panelists highlighted the issue, noting that hotels, venues, décor and A/V suppliers were short-staffed. Sixty-two percent of webinar participants responded that hotel/venue costs are the biggest concerns regarding budget, followed by increasing flight costs (25 percent).

Many venues are also fully booked. U.S. panelist Becky Cavanaugh with Syneos Health said that, during a recent site inspection in Nashville, Tennessee, she found that most of the hotels and venues were fully booked. Room rates are particularly high; however, many hotels are still offering limited services. Some hotels have not brought back room service or daily housekeeping, she said.

Some companies are still not allowing in-person events. Kuba Piotrowski with Oriflame stated that all of their 2020 and 2021 programs have pivoted to virtual. However, they are returning to face-to-face programs in 2022 by dividing incentive programs into smaller, regional groups rather than large, global events.

Hybrid event models are also popular. Megan Griggs with Intellectual Property Owners Association is hopeful that in-person attendance for association programs in 2021 will reach 25 to 50 percent of total attendees. She also shared a new version of the hybrid model, holding two separate meetings: one in-person portion and a virtual piece the week following.

Market demand is also shifting. Global DMC Partners reported that planners are considering more regions outside of their domestic markets for 2022 programs. The Q2 survey findings also support this, especially in Europe, which is gaining more traction as compared to the Q1 survey results.