Bigger meeting budgets, more attendees, increased focus on sustainability and more webinars are among the trends expected by 343 corporate meeting professionals polled for the 2008 FutureWatch survey conducted by Meeting Professionals International and American Express. Respondents, however, projected no change in the volume of meetings.
In its sixth annual survey, MPI and Amex surveyed 1,643 buyers, suppliers and intermediaries at meeting planning companies to get a pulse on the trends and concerns for 2008. Of those polled, 343, or 21 percent, were corporate meeting planners; 16 percent, or 265, were independent meeting planners; nearly 15 percent, or 243, were association meeting planners; 25 were government meeting planners; and 732 were suppliers. Geographically, 78 percent of respondents were from the United States, 12 percent from Europe, nearly 9 percent from Canada and 14 were from other countries.
Budgets Rise: Corporate planner respondents forecast a whopping 27 percent rise in their meeting department budgets this year, nine points higher than the 18 percent rise forecast last year. Across corporate respondents, total spending on meetings averaged $7.66 million in 2008, up from $6 million in 2007. Nearly one-third of corporate respondents said their organizations spent more than $5 million annually on meetings, while 35 percent said the line item was less than $1 million per year.
Association planners forecast a 9 percent drop in their total meeting expenditures for 2008, which averaged $2.23 million in 2007. The anticipated drop was in sharp contrast to the 21 percent budget increase that association planners anticipated in the 2007 poll. This year, less than 4 percent of association respondents reported budgets of $5 million or more, while 63.5 percent reported overall budgets of less than $1 million.
Per meeting, corporations budgeted an average of $212,783 in 2008, nearly 22 percent more than 2007. Nearly half of corporate meeting budgets were less than $50,000, respondents said.
Attendance to Rise: Overall, planners projected a 19.3 percent jump in average meeting attendance in 2008 from 2007 figures. Corporate meetings were forecast to average 309 attendees in 2008, 11.2 percent more than 2007. Association meetings were forecast to attract an average of 710 delegates, 18.3 percent more than in 2007.
Of corporate meetings, 15 percent are planned for less than 50 people, 67 percent for 50 to 500 attendees and the remaining 18 percent for 500 or more, respondents said. More than 80 percent of all corporate meetings are one to three days in length.
Nearly two-thirds of respondents expect hotel rates to rise next year, from 7.4 percent to nearly 10 percent.
Top Internal Concerns: Budget changes topped the internal concerns of all four segments polled: corporate, association and independent planners, as well as suppliers. Nearly one-third of corporate planner respondents cited changes in the way meetings are viewed or used in-house as concerns; they also listed workloads as a key concern. Suppliers noted "shifting goals and strategies within organizations" and "changes in attendees' preferences and expectations" among their concerns.
Economy Tops External Fears: Externally, "economic worries outweigh all other concerns" for suppliers in 2008. "Among suppliers, and across all respondent groups, the proportion predicting a recession outnumbered those who expected a stronger economy by a 2.5 to 1 margin," according to FutureWatch. Recession fears "emerged as a top concern for 40 percent of meeting professionals in the U.S., compared to 24.1 percent in Europe and 22.8 percent in Canada." Last year, the impact of terrorism and war topped the list, but fell to tenth place in 2008.
Conservation and environmental concerns also emerged as a trend, as 19 percent of all respondents--and nearly 31 percent in Europe and 29 percent in Canada--listed green issues among their top external concerns.
This year's snapshot of the meetings industry indicated that procurement's role in meeting purchasing decisions continued to grow. "Three-quarters of all FutureWatch 2008 respondents, and almost 85 percent of respondents in Europe, reported that procurement plays some role in purchasing decisions." In the 2007 FutureWatch, only 30 percent of respondents said procurement played a major role in meetings, while 34 percent said 'some' role.
In the 2008 poll, only 150 of the planner respondents described their experience with procurement. Of this small group, one in four said procurement's involvement led to cost savings or better service, while 42 percent said procurement had "created significant frustration or difficulty" with contracting processes, timing or decision-making. But, as in the past two surveys, respondents expect procurement's role to increase during the next year.
About 8 percent of suppliers said they report to procurement, while just over one in five independent planners said that "procurement has had a significant influence on their fee structure." Meanwhile, independents identified project fees as their preferred method of payment, followed by hourly or daily rates and commissions.
FutureWatch also identified gaps between planner and supplier views of preferred customer loyalty strategies. "While four out of five planners now place a premium on competitive pricing, only 52 percent of suppliers set out to offer it. Although four in 10 suppliers are prepared to offer flexible contracts, twice as many planners would like to see them," the study noted. More than half of the suppliers polled said they tried to fast-track client proposals, yet "only one-quarter of planners see turnaround as a priority ... While one-quarter of suppliers still offer planner reward programs, only one in 10 planners are expressing serious interest," the study stated. The poll also indicated that 16 percent of suppliers are ready to wine and dine clients, yet only one in 50 planners cited hospitality as a way to win their business.
While there is no shortage of technology for meetings, fewer than two in five planner respondents ranked any meeting technology category as "adequate, affordable and accessible." Top five technologies of interest cited by at least one-third of corporate planners, included: attendee feedback systems, meeting interaction software, meeting logistics tools, attendee ID/tracking systems and better onsite Internet access. While RFP systems were of interest to all respondents, fewer than 40 percent said they were "adequate, affordable, and accessible" or had "flooded the market."
Webinars didn't top the technologies of interest, but garnered the attention of planners, especially corporates, results indicated. "Two of five meeting planners and nearly half of corporate planners expect their use of webcasts to become more or much more frequent in the next year," according to the 2008 FutureWatch. While nearly half of last year's respondents forecast a rise in webinars this year, most said they were not involved with production. In the 2008 poll, nearly 40 percent of all planners said their meeting departments were "totally or largely involved" in encouraging webcasts, 29 percent said they had undertaken a "major effort to position" the meeting department as the go-to-source on webcasts and 26 percent were "totally or largely responsible for executing webcasts."
"Three in 10 planners expect webcasts to be a more or much more frequent feature of live meetings, with corporate planners leading the way at 36.2 percent," MPI stated.