Travel, meetings and events consolidation has grown 62
percent since 2015, according to a survey of 124 North American travel managers,
event planners and others at least "somewhat involved" in their
organization's meetings and events. The study was conducted by GBTA and meetings technology supplier Cvent.
If consolidation continues at this pace, two-thirds of all travel, meetings and
events programs will be fully consolidated by 2019, the study predicts.
The proportion of travel managers who said they are currently
considering consolidation dropped by 46 percent since 2015, with the trend line
indicating that more have taken action since. Sixty-four percent of respondents
reported their meetings, events and travel programs to be either fully
consolidated or in the process of consolidating.
Ninety-seven percent of respondents with fully consolidated
programs reported great success in achieving their consolidation goals, an
increase of 14 percent compared to two years ago. The survey pegged the top
priorities as well: Eighty-three percent of respondents aimed to improve
transparency; 79 percent wanted to leverage their spend volume and 77 percent
were looking to increase efficiencies.
"Organizations can increase efficiencies, reduce
redundancies and ultimately save time and money by bringing together travel,
events and even marketing programs," said Cvent chief marketing officer
Patrick Smith. "We are seeing more travel and events programs come
together at a faster rate than ever before, pointing to growing industry
recognition that all of these functions support and reinforce each other—and
generate better business outcomes."
Breaking Down the
Barriers to Consolidation
Two years ago, the toughest challenges for travel manager
respondents were securing leadership support and adopting management
technology. This year, just 47 percent of respondents cited securing leadership
support as a challenge, compared to 56 percent who did so in 2015. Access to
meetings technology improved dramatically as well, jumping from 34 percent who
had adopted meetings management tools in 2015 to 60 percent this year.
Still, a sizable minority has yet to take any steps toward
consolidation. Twenty-three percent of the respondents do not have a
consolidated meetings, events, or travel program and do not plan to implement
one. Fourteen percent reported they are considering consolidation.