HomeMy WebLinkAbout13. Meeting Planner Survey, Knowland with Conference Direct, December 2020The State of the Meeting Industry | 2020 Planner Survey
In Partnership with
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The State of the Meeting Industry2020
Planner
Survey
In Partnership with
Employees get ideas and inspiration from each other.
The inability to meet, collaborate and ideate as a group has
substantially impacted businesses during 2020. Getting back
to the business of business is at the heart of the meeting and
events industry.
With the reality of a vaccine in distribution and new gathering
norms in place, the future of the meeting industry includes the
return to in-person meetings in 2021. Meetings may not look
the same, but the value of face-to-face connections will not
be overlooked.
Together Knowland and ConferenceDirect collaborated on a
survey designed to help industry professionals understand the
planner and event manager perspective on recovery.
The results reflect the state of planner considerations and
expectations as the industry is poised to turn the corner with
the end of 2020.*
*450 ConferenceDirect meeting planners were surveyed from
November 10 – December 4, 2020.
Introduction
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The State of the Meeting Industry2020
Planner
Survey
In Partnership with
Q1 Have you started to rebook meetings?
Bolstered by news of a vaccine and venue adoption of safety protocols,
75% of planners are rebooking meetings today.
75.8%
13.7%
10.5%
Yes No Under Consideration
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The State of the Meeting Industry2020
Planner
Survey
In Partnership with
58.9%22.1%
7.4%
5.3%6.3%
Not comfortable with travel
Not comfortable with meeting venues
Reduced meeting and event budgets
Virtual or online meetings are adequate for now
No business demand for meetings
Q2 From your client perspective, rank these obstacles for returning to in-person meetings.
Demand is not the issue preventing the return; companies aren’t comfortable
with travel yet.
#1 Obstacle to In-person Meetings
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The State of the Meeting Industry2020
Planner
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Q3 For the 12 months after COVID-19 restrictions have passed, do you expect to book more or less in-person
meetings compared to pre-COVID volume?
Despite projections of pent-up demand for travel, respondents are wary of
a return to pre-COVID in-person meetings in the new normal.
11.6%
49.5%
21.1%
17.9%
More Less Equal Amount Don't Know Yet
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The State of the Meeting Industry2020
Planner
Survey
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Q4 What type of meetings are your clients requesting you research/book at this time? (check all that apply)
Smaller meetings are the mood of the day; standalone and hybrid events
seem to dominate.
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The State of the Meeting Industry2020
Planner
Survey
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Q5 What level of impact has COVID meeting restrictions had on your clients in the following areas:
While inability to meet is affecting all aspects of business, for 66.3% of respon-
dents it’s having a significant to very negative impact on financial growth.
Very Negative and Significantly Negative Impact
40.0%
47.4%
50.5%
45.3%
54.7%
66.3%
0.0%10.0%20.0%30.0%40.0%50.0%60.0%70.0%
Engaging with existing customers
Acquiring new customers and increasing sales
Expanding geographic markets
Motivating employees
General health of the business
Financial growth
Very Negative and Significantly Negative
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The State of the Meeting Industry2020
Planner
Survey
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Planners put their clients first, balancing the importance of safety and flexible
contracts as the most important influences on restarting meetings.
Q6 How important is each of these factors for in-person meetings to return?
Extremely Important Factors
65.3%
49.5%
60.0%
46.3%
29.5%
0.0%10.0%20.0%30.0%40.0%50.0%60.0%70.0%
COVID vaccine
Lift of meeting restrictions
Flexible low risk hotel contracts
Business confidence in venue safety
Real-time rapid testing availability
Extremely Important Factors
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The State of the Meeting Industry2020
Planner
Survey
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Q7 How important is it for venues to do the following in order to encourage the return to in-person meetings?
Seeing “how the sausage is made” is important when it comes to safety
protocols; let guests see how cleaning and sanitization is done.
Extremely Important Factors
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The State of the Meeting Industry2020
Planner
Survey
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Q8 How confident are you about the return of in-person meetings in each time period below?
Confidence begins to build for second half of 2021.
Extremely and Very Confident about In-Person Meetings
35.9%
35.9%
24.8%
3.4%
0.0%5.0%10.0%15.0%20.0%25.0%30.0%35.0%40.0%
2nd Half of 2022
1st Half of 2022
2nd half of 2021
1st Half of 2021
Extremely and Very Confident
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The State of the Meeting Industry2020
Planner
Survey
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Q9 How do you expect your average number of attendees per event to change post-COVID?
As smaller meetings dominate, events will have 20-40% fewer attendees.
3.0%
13.6%
34.8%
33.3%
13.6%
1.5%
0.0%5.0%10.0%15.0%20.0%25.0%30.0%35.0%40.0%
Up to 10% fewer attendees
11 - 20% fewer attendees
21 - 30% fewer attendees
31 - 40% fewer attendees
41 - 50% fewer attendees
More than 50% fewer attendees
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The State of the Meeting Industry2020
Planner
Survey
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Q10 In your opinion, when will the meetings industry return to its pre-COVID number of events per year?
Q11 In your opinion, when will the meetings industry return to its pre-COVID number of attendees per event?
45% of planners believe meetings will return to pre-COVID levels in 2023.
27.7%
45.8%
26.5%
0.0%
0.0%10.0%20.0%30.0%40.0%50.0%
> 2024
2023
2022
2021
Attendees
16.3%
45.0%
37.5%
1.3%
0.0%10.0%20.0%30.0%40.0%50.0%
> 2024
2023
2022
2021
EventsNumber of Events Return to Pre-COVID Number of Attendees Return to Pre-COVID
The State of the Meeting Industry2020
Planner
Survey
In Partnership with
Good news: 75% of planners are rebooking meetings.
Q1 Have you started to rebook meetings?
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