Conference management technology platform provider Cvent conducted a survey of more than 500 conference and event professionals in the U.S. last summer to understand its site procurement habits and preferences, and released data in February. The company identified eight major trends by 2025.
1. The cost issue is real, but trust wins –Meetings and Event Managers will prioritize priority partners even if their costs are far beyond the next option. Only 6% of conference organizers are reluctant to increase their budgets to work with preferred venues. A 39% budget boosts its budget by up to 10%. Fifty-four percent will increase the budget by more than 10%, but up to 20%. However, on the other hand, 58% of event organizers consider transferring from their preferred venues, so decisions can also be made when comparing the quality and total value offered by the second choice option. Given that meeting execution requires close cooperation and seamless delivery on the site, organizers in the Cvent survey seem to be inclined to trusted suppliers who know that these suppliers will support the goal.
2. Fast RFP response inspires bookings –According to Cvent’s survey, the vast majority of conference organizers (80%) want to respond to their request to propose proposals in four days or less, and they want the venue to be able to respond more thoroughly to specific needs in the request. 35% of CVENT survey respondents said they took the time to create unique RFPs to send to the venue, while 22% said the venue could do better to return to the same effort. 20% said the venue should rotate the RFP faster, although 32% believed there were still shortages in hotels and venues that led to delays.
3. Plan more time online– Thirty-sixteen percent of survey meetings and event organizers said they spent more time working on technical tools during the planning process. Almost 20% of planners say that hotel or location event technical support capabilities have the greatest impact on their decision to submit RFPs, as they are seeking efficiency. Indeed, resource constraints are a huge challenge to survey respondents, and 20% of the event teams suffer resource constraints from the event teams due to other responsibilities, facing 29% of the time management restrictions (such as providing companies with transient hotel plans, as well as other tasks). Meanwhile, 66% of respondents said that different meetings and events will increase from 2024 to 2024.
4. Key Performance Indicators: Experience and Cost– Fact success includes various factors. The most common single factor among survey respondents is control costs, with more than one-third of respondents identifying it as a key metric. Overall, however, more critical metrics are related to experience: 31% of event organizers said attendance was a key metric, while attendee participation was a key metric of 27%. That is, the combination of cost and experience (factual ROI) was emphasized by 28% of respondents.
5. Unique venues support attendees’ experience and participation– Almost half of the conference organizers told Cvent that they actively sour special event venues. This is a big shift from two years ago, when that number was only 17%. The best special venue options for 2025 are restaurants (37%), art galleries (26%) and gyms (26%). 40% of organizers used the cost as a decision-maker’s decision-making driver around special event venues; 37% cited the attendee’s experience or “wow” factor.
6. Online planning requires correct visual effects and information –For more than half of the meeting organizers (52%), the decision to submit an RFP depends on the meeting room specifications of the hotel or location. Images and videos affected RFP submissions of 47% of respondents.
7. Main concerns for site availability 2025 –30% of conference organizers were concerned about venue availability, as 66% believed that the demand for conferences increased. If the venue does not show its exact date available, more than a quarter of RFP will not be submitted. Others are more likely to negotiate within the window, but 20% of organizers say date flexibility and usability transparency in RFP responses can be improved to win the business.
8. Simple meetings require different procurement processes –75% of conference organizers say simple meetings make up 50% of their workload. One third of them said the percentage will increase in 2025. Organizers of simple meetings are looking for a process that may not include the negotiation process. In the CVENT survey, 84% said they were more likely to have simple meetings with properties with a turnkey online booking process than with an RFP-powered process.
