The hotel meeting segment is a collection of groups and meeting types that include small retreats, boardroom style meetings, and larger event and conferences for associations corporations.

Often, meetings are booked based on size and destination. For example, Gaylord Resorts, which is in the Marriott portfolio, was built for large meetings and some of their newer resorts were built as convention centers.

The intent here is to be an all-inclusive resort and conference center. For any hotel, some of the considerations for attracting meetings should include answers to the following:

  • Are your guests ready to make the transition back to face to face?
  • Will hybrid meetings offer sustainable options?
  • Planning issues for hotel group meetings seem to be related to the old adage of, "bigger is better"

The industry approach e has been to grow events in terms of annual attendance. Additionally, pre-pandemic, face-to-face (F2F) was the channel most selected. Obviously, things have changed, and virtual meetings and hybrid meetings have become part of the regular mix of offerings, while F2F meetings try to recover to pre-pandemic levels. One thought is that sometimes bigger is just more and not better. As Cvent (2022) notes, "In-person events continue to recover while virtual and hybrid events remained core to their revenue growth in the first quarter".

The pandemic has had a global impact on businesses, and the hospitality industry is gradually moving toward the path to recovery and has geared itself for a new normal (Parimoo, 2020). From my own personal experiences, our (my place of employment) big event each year is an annual career fair. Since its inception in the traditional F2F format, we had grown each year, in terms of number of vendors and student participation. Things were good; we offered a good value for a reasonable price.

In our first effort in a lingering pandemic time (February 2022) our vendor participation rate was just more than 50% of our pre-pandemic numbers. Vendors were offered F2F or virtual registration options utilizing a recruitment platform. It is interesting to note that this event was the first time back to a F2F event for many of the companies. The space was the same and the target market for the vendors was the same and the price to participate was the same. All but one vendor selected the F2F option. The question we had going forward, what would we/ did we learn for this experience?

Based on vendor feedback a few key takeaways emerged. Keeping the size of the space the same but spread the vendors out separately. proved to be a good decision based on feedback from participants. Therefore, reinforcing health and safety as key meeting and event trends resulting in a Key Learning Point or KLP for us. Vendors indicated they felt safe and secure in their own designated spaces and appreciated how the event was laid out. The F2F vendors noted they liked meeting with attendees and the overall feedback for the event was very positive. Additionally, the one virtual participant organization had a very busy event as well and was pleased.

Finally, other KLPs noted included the question are we better off having a smaller sized events and perhaps more than one per year, rather than trying to have a huge event once per year? What are the pluses in terms of our event goals, having a big event versus small event(s) and or multiple opportunities for other meetings? Also do we continue to offer virtual options and F2F options, per our feedback the answer is YES! Additionally, what other technology elements can be incorporated in the event to add value for participants? Our focus needs to be to enhance the value of a meeting or event for ourselves the organizer, our vendors and our attendee participants. These questions are not unique to our situation but applicable to multiple hotel group meeting scenarios. Hotel group meeting come in all sizes in the same way hotels do, we focus is fit for the meeting.

Uniqueness, Technology, Physical Space and more… Hotel Group Meeting Trends

For many, the conceptual struggle in hotel group meetings is that groups and hotels would like to return to F2F, but not everyone is ready and to repeat, the groups are looking for best fit. On one side, Dr. Lisa Cain of FIU noted, "There is a time and place for using virtual meeting platforms, but business travel and the F2F meetings it facilitates generate more positive outcomes for individuals, organizations, clients and customers in a way that may just be irreplaceable," (Pelletier, 2022).

However, many of the trends continue to focus on virtual in an effort to he prepared and both nimble and flexible in delivering group meetings and events. The pandemic is providing a unique learning experience for all of us, the question is what are we learning? Baraban (2022) noted the following pandemic takeaways for hoteliers and meeting planners to consider. Pandemic KLPs include:

  • Contract cancellation policies is a pressing concern.
  • Cost of hotel rooms and meeting space is the most important site selection factor, followed by ease of airlift.
  • Responsibility as planners was and is to implement safety and security measures at meetings.
  • Younger, less experienced planners are more enthusiastic about virtual meetings and events.
  • Social media has become increasingly important to planners. LinkedIn was the most-favored platform, followed by Facebook, with Instagram increasing in popularity.
  • News and magazine articles were the top ways that DCI survey respondents formed their perceptions of destinations. (Development Counsellors International (DCI) look at how planners are getting back to business in 2022).

Additionally, other trends exist and or are being enhanced for the hotel group meeting sector. Trends for hotel group meetings incorporate both F2F and virtual KLPs and should be part of any hotel's group meeting planning efforts. Pyramid (2021) for example, noted key trends that appear to be carrying over to the current hotel group meeting scene include health and safety, food and beverage reinvented, technology-enhanced options, and a focus on sustainability remains important, as does the size of meetings.

Additionally, the location of meetings and options for outdoors continue to be important, as well as an interest in attractive destinations. Finally, it is worth noting that hoteliers and meeting planners need better partnering efforts. Additionally, the following group meeting factors translate as trends for this sector and include meetings for fewer large groups of 500 people, trends for small meetings, defined as, maybe 30-50 people, and hybrid meetings are not going away. There is also a demand for out-of-the-office conference space and new competition from smaller boutique properties and in all cases, technology will continue to be a key factor for meetings (Baraban, 2022).

Additionally, there are multiple other factors for hotels to consider in pursuing hotel group meetings with optimal fit being a goal. Some factors are outlined by Hertzfeld (2022) that include changes to group travel requirements, staffing reductions for both hotels and meeting planners require reorganization and changes to operations, the planning and challenges for both hybrid and in-person meetings, and the opportunities for innovative partnerships to unlock hotel group meeting potential success.

Hotel group meeting success can also be supported by what is adapted from Pelletier (2022) called tried-and-true strategies that are good ideas during better times may be more important than ever now. Strategies include planning ahead as much as possible and always have a backup plan. Nourish your vendor relationships and throw a wide net to multiple vendors and decide what is truly essential for your event to be a success, versus the nice-to-haves. Remember, sustainability is more than just good for the planet and can be good for the budget and inclusive of local farms and products if supply chains are clogged. Finally, and especially in these times, communication is more important than ever (pre, during and post meeting) with vendors, meeting planners and attendees.

Other key foci for meeting planners and hoteliers are to use meetings and events as marketing and public relations tools (Adapted from Horwath 2022). The highlights from a marketing perspective can and should be focused on health and safety, unique and transformational experiences, including investment, use and application of technology for hybrid and F2F meetings and events.

Additionally, for all hotel group meetings and events, data collection during and post meeting will remain a key to good planning for the future. Hoteliers and meeting planners can utilize existing metrics and or create metrics that are unique to the new and innovation experiences that guests are being offered.

Technology

During the height of COVID-19 when most people were only attending events virtually, event planners relied heavily on the standard two-dimensional experience, using screens and video to provide experiences for guests. Hoteliers and meeting planners are looking for ways to fully engage their guests more than ever with new types of technology to provide people with a more immersive experience. Some of these new technologies to enhance content is referred to as augmented reality. This type of technology employs the use of a digital device to overlay visual, audio, or other sensory information on top of the attendee's typical experience.

Additionally, extended reality, or XR, is another way to immerse guests in their experience. XR makes people feel like they are in ultra-realistic settings despite the fact they're in an event hall -- or maybe even thousands of miles away. We, hoteliers, meeting planners and venue operators are linking technology and innovation with the destinations to produce as referred to previously a transformative experience (Adapted from AMP Events, 2022). As Murar stated in 2020, tech upgrades are no longer important for just the conference room, tech investments are moving to the pool deck, to the restaurants, to the lobby.

Staffing and the Next Generation of Leadership

Given the continuous changes in the hotel group meeting field. One focus for the allied university programs is to enhance their curriculums with the same flexibility and pivot speed as the industry was forced to do at the height of the pandemic. As we reviewed the group meeting trends in this article, those trends also align with the needs for curriculum enhancement and changes. The KLPs for this part of a curriculum are an appreciation for innovation, transformative experience, sustainability, technology enhancements, flexibility, and the ABCD theory of "always be collecting data" during and after a meeting and optimal use of these metrics, which will lead to hotel group meeting planning and decision- making tools. Additionally, the health and safety-oriented decisions for guests and employees.

What do these trends mean in terms of course work? You can't create a new course for every topic, but new topics can be integrated into existing course work, and we can also take advantage of "special topics courses" connected with industry partners in order to alert students to a new generation of leaders. There are educational methods and exercises that can be utilized to focus on innovation though creativity and entrepreneurship.

For example, projects that require the creation of unique one-time events can be presented to and adapted by operators. Hospitality programs already offer a food safety designation. Perhaps there is an option to expand the scope of that content to include health and wellness. This could be an academic partnership with other units like nutrition, therapeutic recreation, and allied health programs. Hospitality programs have an existing connection in hotel industry analytics and metrics through STR Global. Students are being taught to use these tools for decision making in hotels. The comparable analytics for the hotel group meetings segment can be identified and utilized for planning purposes.

Finally, technology innovations for the hotel group meeting industry, in terms of course work, could require more outreach and collaboration with computer science programs, management information systems departments and perhaps engineering programs and efforts for digital transformation. Key to the curriculum efforts will be to partner with hotel group meeting professionals, sales and conference services experts and secure feedback for educational institutions from their industry partners. Educators need to think about how to match students to hotel group meeting career pathways.

Wrap Up

The hotel group meeting business has changed dramatically since the pandemic and is trying to work its way back to pre-pandemic levels. This is a difficult task and requires hoteliers to think outside the box. Perhaps the first question for a hotel focused on hotel group meetings is to identify the decision makers and what part of a hotel's demand is focused on group meetings? Developing an internal check list for group meetings could provide an outline. There are numerous meeting and event check lists available online, but you as a hotel professional want to find the one that best fits your hotel. You should find the demographic guest data that can help determine if Gen X, Z or Millennials are your target market. Then is the hotel group meeting segment F2F, Virtual or Hybrid or all three and more.

For example, what is a transformative experience? Percy (2022) shared quotes from industry professionals like the following from Georgia, "Anybody can have a dinner or a picnic outside", "But we can marry our wildlife and natural setting with a first-class dining experience." The result could be dinner on the beach followed by a night turtle patrol, undertaken in conjunction with Jekyll's Georgia Sea Turtle Center. This would be unique and special for a guest. That kind of experience is in line with what Jay Markwalter, executive director of the Georgia Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus, sees as a trend toward "a hyper-focus on local experience, putting together a unique Georgia experience" for conventioneers. "That's what attendees want" (Percy, 2022).

As the hotel group meeting sector is looking for resources to help progress through these challenging times there are some opportunities that exist. On April 7 across the country and beyond, there was an event held to celebrate Global Meeting Industry Day, Meeting planners, hoteliers, and allied vendor members from MPI and PCMA as well as students, faculty, CVBs and others all participated in a day that included career fairs, speakers and F2F educational sessions. These group meeting opportunities are key to developing relationships with meeting planners, vendors and hoteliers.

In Charlotte, where this author attended, one of the presentations was the Meeting Industry Outlook that brought all of the above entities together with local political leaders and Convention and Visitor Bureau professionals for industry updates and discussion of current trends. Operators need to be on the lookout for resources that can help enhance efficiencies and effectiveness.

This author notes again that the KLPs identified as trending in hotel group meetings sector are innovation, transformative experience, sustainability, technology enhancements, flexibility, data collection, the health and safety, sustainability, digital transformation and technology enhancements. These KLPs will integrate with destination options, size of groups and the number and types of meetings to be held. They won't all be F2F, they won't all be virtual, but they will likely all have a hybrid component.

To close, a Harvard business professional noted "Hybrid is actually a new venture for most companies, so we're at the early days of experiments on how to do this." "The role of travel, much like the role of why do we come to the office in person, is becoming more and more important to figure out" (Strauss, 2022).

It is a new paradigm for all of us!

References

Amp Events, (2022). 6 Event Industry Trends for 2022, [Accessed 6-20-22].

Baraban, R. (2022). New Study Reveals Changing Meetings Landscape, January 17,[Accessed 6-19-22].

Baraban, R. (2022). Meeting and Event Trends in 2022 and Beyond, April 13, [Accessed 6-19-22].

Cvent (2022). Press release: Cvent announces first quarter 2022 financial results. (2022, May 09), Dow Jones Institutional News, [Accessed 619-22].

Hertzfeld, E. (2022). Report: Group travel, events show significant uptick for 2022, Hotel Management, April 6, [Accessed 6-20-22].

Horwath, J. (2022). 9 Emerging Event Industry Trends (2022-2024), January 27, [Accessed 6-19-22].

Murar, K. (2020). Groups: More water, wellness; less stuffy. Orange County Business Journal, 43(4), 20-25. [Accessed 6-21-22 ].

Parimoo, V. (2020). Intimate boardroom meetings have been organised at the hotel : (2020, Oct 21), Business World, [Accessed 6-19-22].

Pelletier, S. (2022). Meetings Face Staffing, Inflation and Supply-Chain Issues, February 18, [Accessed 6-19-22].

Pelletier, S. (2022). New Study: F2F Meetings Offer Competitive Edge, March 29, [Accessed June 19, 2022].

Percy, S. (2019). Meetings – and more. Georgia Trend, 34(12), 44-50, [Accessed 6-20-22].

Pyramid Global Hospitality (2021). The Top 10 Trends Impacting and Transforming Meetings in 2021, HospitalityNet, [Accessed June 20, 2022].

Strauss, L. C. (2022). Business travel is Rebounding-Slowly and unevenly. 'there is no more normal. Barron's (Online), [Accessed 6-20-22].

*Reprinted from the Hotel Business Review with permission from http://www.hotelexecutive.com/.

Robert O'Halloran
Professor & Director
+1 252 737 1604
East Carolina University