Event budgets on the rise for European planners

Meeting and event organisers in Europe are continuing to see their budgets rise despite ongoing concerns about rising costs, according to a new survey by specialist technology provider Cvent.

Cvent’s survey of 600 planners in France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and the UK found that 67 per cent had higher budgets for in-person and hybrid events in 2023 than during the previous year, with 22 per cent expecting their event budgets to go up by at least 20 per cent in 2024.

Despite this, inflation was the top concern for 38 per cent of planners, with 77 per cent expecting the cost of holding similar-sized events to rise by up to 20 per cent in 2024 compared with this year.

The concern over rising costs is particularly acute in Germany where 84 per cent of planners are forecasting that event costs will rise by up to 20 per cent in the next 12 months.

To combat the anticipated higher costs of holding events next year, most planners (85 per cent) have “built contingencies” into their 2024 budgets.

Graham Pope, Cvent’s vice president of international sales, said: “The findings in this latest report, particularly the rise in budgets, clearly demonstrates continued resilience in the market and a desire to forge ahead with in-person event plans despite external macro-economic factors.” 

The survey also highlighted the continuing issues with venue and hotel staffing shortages – 30 per cent of respondents cited slow RFP response times, inexperienced hotel staff and reduced amenities as problems. Other challenges included poor attendee experiences (25 per cent), a shortage of hotel rooms (24 per cent) and the loss of supplier relationships (20 per cent).

Around one-third (32 per cent) of planners in Europe said they wanted to receive sustainability information as part of the venue sourcing process – this percentage rose to 40 per cent for organisers in the UK. Key topics were energy consumption, food provenance, carbon neutrality, water consumption and waste/recycling policy.

While Western Europe remains the top choice as a destination for meetings, Cvent said that Eastern Europe was “gaining popularity” among planners. Holding events domestically is increasingly important with 61 per cent of planners aiming to host more than 50 per cent of their in-person events in their home country.

Planners are also seeking more online sourcing tools to help them to select the right venues for their events.

“Events are critical to organisational success, and venues that can provide planners with the necessary digital tools and online resources they require, such as interactive floor plans and 3D virtual tours, are best poised to attract these events in the coming year and beyond,” added Pope.