Meeting planners are steadily optimistic about 2024 events due to
strong bookings, growing attendance and increased supplier satisfaction,
according to a new survey by Northstar Meetings Group
and Cvent. 

The
latest Meetings Industry Pulse Survey included data collected from Sept. 21
through Oct. 8 from 449 meeting planners, including corporate, association and nonprofit,
third-party and other planners.

According
to the survey, 49 percent of planners during the prior six weeks developed a
more optimistic meetings outlook, while 34 percent reported “no change”
and 17 percent said they had become less optimistic. 

2024
Events, Attendance Build

Forty-five
percent of planner respondents said they expect to produce more events in 2024
than 2023, and 45 percent said they would produce about the same number. Only
10 percent said fewer. 

Planners
also expected in-person meeting attendance levels to grow next year—an area one
respondent said was enriched by virtual attendance options.

“Our
virtual offerings have not replaced attendance; they’ve been an add-on,” according
to one survey respondent who added their attendance numbers “are back to
pre-pandemic levels for our in-person events, but we’ve doubled our overall
attendance because of virtual.”

Approximately
32 percent of respondents said 2024 meetings attendance would be between 91
percent and 100 percent of 2019 levels, while approximately 27 percent said it
would be more than 100 percent. Asked the same question in October
last year, the majority of survey respondents projected
attendance would continue to lag pre-pandemic levels in 2023.

Perceived
value by respondents’ organizations or clients of face-to-face events is also
on the rise. When asked how that perception changed from prior to the pandemic,
32 percent said those events are viewed as “significantly” more
valuable, and 31 percent said they are seen as “somewhat” more
valuable. Only 7 percent said they are viewed as less valuable while 30 percent
said the perception is about the same. 

Planners’
primary focus has shifted significantly during pandemic recovery. The top focus
in January 2022 was rescheduling and rebooking for 30 percent of respondents,
compared to just a quarter who were primarily focused on booking new events. Rebooking
steadily lost steam throughout 2022, giving way to a stronger focus on active
sourcing and new bookings in 2023 that now continues into 2024.

For
40 percent of planners, their current primary focus is booking in-person events—a
slight increase over 38 percent who said the same in October 2022. Primary planning
activities for in-person events for other survey respondents included actively
sourcing (34 percent) and researching (17 percent). Only 4 percent are focused
primarily on rescheduling. Six percent of surveyed planners said they are not
sourcing live events. That number has stayed relatively consistent since 2022.  

Supplier
Satisfaction Increases 

Across
the board, planners’ satisfaction with suppliers and vendors improved year over
year—some of which respondents attributed to faster request for proposal
responses.

According
to the survey, more than three-quarters of planner respondents said hotels within
a week. This compares to October 2022’s survey in which nearly half of
respondents said hotels were slow to respond to RFPs.

Planners
also generally felt supported by their meeting and event suppliers. On a scale
of one to five—one being “not at all” and five being “extremely
satisfied”—respondents reported an average satisfaction level higher than
3.5 in most areas. The only average that fell short was with audio/video
providers, with an average satisfaction level of 3.49.

That
said, planners are experiencing some difficulties, particularly with costs.
Sixty-five percent said food and beverage costs are higher than they expected,
which is lower than the 70 percent that said so last year. Sixty-two percent
said hotel rates are higher than they expected, compared with 70 percent in
2022. Views on supplier staffing showed the most improvement, with less than
half of survey respondents (42 percent) said they are struggling with supplier staffing
deficiencies, compared with 54 percent last year. 

The
hotel industry has worked
hard to increase staffing. While gaps still remain, a July J.D.
Power report in part attributed increased hotel guest satisfaction
to better staffing levels. For planners, that same improved staffing—including
their associated higher pay and better benefits—likely are contributing to the
unexpectedly high catering costs and room rates they noted in the survey.
American Express Global Business Travel expects rates
to continue to rise for transient business and meetings well into 2024. 

Some
planners’ own organizations are also adding staff members, and a healthy number
plan to do more next year. Forty percent of survey respondents anticipated
their meetings and events team will grow in 2024. Thirty-seven percent said
their team wouldn’t grow, and 21 percent said they didn’t know. 

Overall,
cost containment, return on experience and return on investment remain top
priorities for planners in 2024, according to the survey. Following those
concerns within the survey were sustainability and diversity, equity and
inclusion efforts.

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Northstar Meetings Group is a portfolio mate of BTN
under Northstar Travel Group.