How Anxious Should Event Planners Be as Coronavirus Impact Looms?
Skift Take
Event planners can expect increasingly aggressive pitches from hotels as group bookings decline and the threat of coronavirus continues to loom. The new year is already taking some unique turns.
The Group Business Outlook recently released by Cvent depicts an expected drop across the board for 2019’s fourth quarter. This comes even before the impact of the coronavirus is truly felt, causing concern for what’s to come in the months ahead.
Demand for group bookings was already anticipated to be low as a result of softening business investment in the U.S., and now West Coast venues in particular may need to brace for an even greater drop in the first half of 2020. Lower projections are resulting in hoteliers becoming more aggressive in locking contracts. Event planners should expect to receive increased pressure from their venue contacts as hotels look to fill their short-