Barring worldwide economic collapse, a pandemic, catastrophic terrorism or the sudden arrival of the Borg...meeting planners surveyed in a recent study seem pretty optimistic about 2015. And, that should be good news for Destination Marketing pros.
According to Destination Hotels' third annual "State of the Meetings Industry" survey of more than 185 meeting planners nationwide, over a third said their 2015 meeting budgets would increase while half said budgets will remain static. There are indications that the witch-hunts of the recession are no longer as feared as they once were after the President infamously chided companies for taking their meetings to Las Vegas. Planners told Destination Hotels that they are more interested in getting back to using spa services and playing golf, thus committing more dollars to on-site social events and recreation in exchange for lower room rates.
Not surprisingly, geographic location and room rate continue to be the most important factors to planners when selecting a host property. But the availability of sufficient bandwidth, wireless connectivity, charging stations and large screen LCD panels are also more important than ever before.
Finally, some good news for secondary and rural destinations: Active, adventure and wellness-focused team building activities ranked high in meeting planners' interests for the New Year.
Here's hoping the surveyed planners are right.
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