Daily attendee meeting costs are set to climb in 2020 in North and Latin America but fall in EMEA and Asia/Pacific, according to the Future Trends in Meetings and Events forecast that CWT Meetings & Events published today. In North America, the average daily cost per attendee for 2019 events booked by the end of June was $234. The average cost for meetings booked by that date for 2020 was $253. The figure includes accommodation, food and beverage, A/V, meeting space, transportation, entertainment and other miscellaneous costs.
In spite of this increase, CWT said North American buyers have leverage to negotiate better rates in 2020 thanks to slower demand growth, significant new supply of meeting space and nervousness about the economic and political outlook, especially if trade disputes escalate.
In Latin America, daily attendee costs have risen from $232 for 2019 events booked by June to $260 for 2020 events booked by the same month, but they've fallen from $255 to $229 in EMEA and $276 to $233 in Asia/Pacific. CWT predicts global revenue for the entire meetings industry will climb 8 percent next year, though by only 4 to 6 percent in EMEA, CWT M&E VP for EMEA Ian Cummings told BTN.
Cummings attributed the falling costs in EMEA to strong economic headwinds, especially in Germany and the U.K., plus volatility caused by Brexit. Similar to North America, which BTN covered previously, uncertainty means that "over the last six months, people have been leaving it longer to make decisions again after we had made some headway with lengthening lead times," said Cummings. "Cancellations are also creeping up again."
One reason EMEA costs likely will fall next year, Cummings added, is a major shift in bookings to secondary cities. "You can get a 50 percent lower price in Liverpool or Manchester than in London," he said. Secondary cities across EMEA are picking up additional business, including Nice, France; Porto, Portugal; and Seville, Spain. However, London remains the most booked city in the region for 2020, thanks in part to the weakness of the pound since the Brexit referendum in 2016. Frankfurt is up from 10th to second, while Paris has jumped from ninth to third, returning to favor after the terror attacks of 2015.
There are also some inflationary pressures on meetings costs. According to Cummings, food and beverage is rising as a proportion of meetings costs as dietary requirements diversify and greater demand for high-quality, locally sourced food rises. Food and beverage accounts for 38 percent of meeting costs in EMEA in 2019, although North America is even higher at 42 percent. It forms 30 percent of meeting costs in Latin America and 20 percent through Asia/Pacific.
Among other key trends in EMEA, Cummings noted a strong push for environmentally friendly meetings. Hotels that make tangible attempts to improve sustainability are "filtering to the top of what we propose." He rejected the idea that such choices are little more than "greenwashing." He pointed to new corporate social responsibility legislation for businesses in France and a pronounced change in attitudes among meetings participants. "People care more now. We have a generation coming through that doesn't want to go to places serving plastics," he said.
Arguably the most environmentally friendly meeting is one that involves no travel and is staged virtually. "Certainly, when it comes to small meetings, clients are asking us to ask their bookers if they can do this another way," said Paul Stoddart, CWT M&E managing director for the U.K., Ireland and Benelux.
Cummings and Stoddart believe technology, aided by the impending upgrade of mobile telecommunication networks from 4G to 5G, will help reduce carbon footprints. Possibilities include speakers appearing in hologram form and attendees from farther afield joining in by livestream instead of traveling.
When it comes to technology already in play, CWT reports that dedicated apps for specific meetings have more than doubled since 2017. The average portion of attendees who download the apps has risen from 45 percent last year to 74 percent in 2019.
Use of dedicated event registration websites has jumped 52 percent since last year. North America leads the way, with 61 percent of events using these sites. Elsewhere, the figure is much lower: 22 percent in EMEA and only 6 percent in both Latin America and Asia/Pacific.
CWT also reports low uptake worldwide of online booking tools for small meetings. The main stumbling block, said Cummings, is that most booking tools effectively offer only a meeting request service rather than allowing live bookings. "We are testing three tools in EMEA at the moment, but it's almost taking up more time than it's worth," he said.
Cummings also expressed skepticism about Groups360, the meetings technology platform that has received $50 million of investment from Accor, Hilton, InterContinental Hotels Group and Marriott International. "It's great, but it just directs you to those four chains," said Cummings. "For small meetings, it's not necessarily one of those you want to go to, especially if you are looking for a boutique hotel."