Companies are increasingly organizing in-person gatherings to bring employees together despite the rise in remote work practices. This shift has resulted in a surge in demand for offsite internal events, leading to travel managers and hotels revamping their offerings to cater to this new type of business travel. One example is Reed & Mackay, a travel management firm that has recently doubled its meetings and events staff to meet the growing demand. This surge in demand has also led to an increase in revenue, an expansion of global staff, and the acquisition of three new companies specializing in meetings and events.
By merging business travel and meetings, companies can achieve better rates for general business travel and see savings of 15% to 20% on meetings. Travel management tech platform HRS’s senior vice president of consulting services, Tim Wagner, mentioned that companies can benefit from better pricing and travel suppliers can attract more business by handling all travel and meetings together. Grant Caplan, president at travel consulting firm Procurigence, shared an example of a client who booked 8,000 rooms at a single hotel for a year without including company meetings. When meetings were included in negotiations, the hotel was willing to make room for them due to the client’s significant room bookings.
While regular business travel is expected to remain at about 80% of pre-pandemic levels, demand for meetings is anticipated to remain strong. The State of Travel report from Skift Research pointed out that the Meetings industry is poised for significant growth through 2032. Hoteliers have also observed the trend of companies organizing more retreats, employee off-sites, and team meetings as a response to decreased in-person office interaction. Hilton, for example, has introduced innovative offerings to support the growth in small meetings, events, and offsite gatherings, making it easier to book room blocks and meeting spaces online with customized packages in real-time.
In response to the increased demand for meetings and events, hotels have started streamlining the meetings experience for potential clients. Some hotels, like Sonesta and Drury, have changed the way their sales teams operate to provide a single point of contact for customers. This approach allows hotels to better meet the changing demands of business travel, which is valued greatly by clients. Sonesta offers one point of contact for both corporate business travel and group travel, making the process easier for clients. Drury has reorganized its sales team post-Covid-19 to provide more visibility into total spend across different types of travel, potentially leading to more advantageous negotiations for both parties involved.
Overall, the surge in demand for meetings and events in the business travel sector has prompted companies to revamp their offerings and hotels to streamline their sales processes to cater to changing client needs. By merging business travel and meetings, companies can achieve cost savings and better rates, while travel suppliers can increase their business volume. The trend of increased in-person gatherings and offsite events in response to remote work practices has led to a significant growth opportunity for the Meetings industry, as highlighted in the Skift Research report. Hotels are adapting to this trend by providing innovative solutions and streamlining their sales processes to provide a more seamless experience for clients.
