The meetings business tells a story about itself of strength and resilience, but sustainability and increased pressure on planners pose as obstacles to sustained growth.
Cvent remains committed to bringing new products to its customers through acquisitions. By diving into the U.S. market for weddings, the event tech giant hopes to keep its platform relevant despite the friction it creates for hotels and planners alike.
Industry trade shows often act as a celebration of a sector's successes. A trip to IMEX Frankfurt, though, shows the meetings and events sector needs to embrace change instead of what has worked in the past.
Planners expect the uncertainty of an election year and difficulty working with venues to top the list of challenges they face in 2020. For now, business is good but becoming more complicated.
Tight budgets, competition, needy clients, last-minute requests, and unresponsive venues rise to the top of the list of challenges planners need to tackle in 2019. They anticipate tougher times next year.
Events offer a major opportunity to bring different kinds of people together. Planners need to do more to not just attract but also empower those who have been left out by the traditional paradigms of event design.
Cvent's group booking research shows that consolidation and increased costs have likely caused the hot meetings market in North America to cool down on its platform. It could signal something bad for the sector on the horizon.
Meetings and events should reflect the wider world, not just the insular sphere of corporate executives. Planners, though, need better education to create experiences that welcome a more diverse set of attendees.
Eventbrite is getting slammed by investors as costs mount from integrating Ticketfly. The company's core ticketing business is strong, though. It needs to bring new event technology products to market once the Ticketfly quagmire ends.
Event attendees may find it convenient to remain downtown during their business trips, but convention and visitors bureaus increasingly want them to spread out.