Five global challenges facing event organizers

A new survey from Global DMC Partners sheds light on issues ranging from rising costs and budget management to the adoption of artificial intelligence in the business events industry.

According to the latest Q3 Meetings & Events Survey from Global Destination Management Company Partners (GDP), the biggest and most vexing challenge facing event organizers continues to be rising costs. GDP, a global network of independent destination management companies (DMCs) and professional event service providers, surveyed 164 meeting and event professionals between late June and early August, the majority of whom live in the U.S. and Canada, with 20% based in the U.K. and Europe.

In addition to the diversity of the respondent base (37% were corporate/direct planners, two-fifths were agency/third-party planners, and nearly a quarter were associations and independent meeting planners), the survey questions covered a wide range of areas, including budgets, cost management strategies, lead times, diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, adoption of AI tools, and sustainability practices. We recently wrote about the response on sustainability in Climate Monthly.

1. The Perfect Storm — “Rising costs have been an ongoing issue since late 2022, and our latest survey shows that higher lodging, dining and audio-visual expenses are among the biggest challenges facing planners today,” said Catherine Chaulet, president and CEO of Global DMC Partners. Convening By email.

Most planners surveyed said costs in these categories have risen an average of 10% to 30% compared to two years ago, in addition to higher airfares and ground transportation costs. “Planners are facing the combined pressures of rising costs and inflation. Without significant budget adjustments, there is very little room for innovation. Even if the budget increases by 10% to 20%, it is not enough. Planners are still forced to make difficult decisions – reducing program content, shortening event durations and pursuing early contract opportunities.”

Other strategies to reduce costs include adding more leisure time, combining or reducing the number of events per year, reducing audiovisual equipment, and reusing event decorations and materials across multiple events (this gets bonus points because it not only reduces costs, but is also a more sustainable approach).

For two in five planners, switching from in-person to virtual projects to cut costs is out of the question; three in ten would rarely consider such a move; and 23% said it is sometimes an option.

While rising costs have been the top challenge for the past two years, the top five challenges were consistent across U.S., Canadian, and international respondents, indicating that these challenges are universal:

2. Find an open spot
3. Budget management
4. Obtain approval from decision makers in a timely manner
5. Contract Negotiation

Here are some other insights from the survey.

Delivery time — More than a quarter of respondents said they plan events 10 months to a year in advance, up from 15% in the previous (Q2) survey, suggesting lead times may be shortening. However, nearly a quarter still only plan events four to six months in advance, down slightly from 29%.

of — While more companies are putting DEI initiatives on the back burner, DEI and accessibility remain important to event organizers. 18% of companies incorporate this effort into every program at their organization, and more than a quarter incorporate it into most programs. It even takes precedence over wellness programs, with only 4% of companies incorporating wellness programs into all programs and 18% incorporating it into most programs. What are the most common efforts to implement DEI and accessibility measures? Asking about special accommodations during registration, which 64% of planners say they always do. Two-fifths of planners always book accessible venues, and 37% book accessible venues most of the time.

Artificial intelligence, of course — “Another emerging trend is the growing adoption of artificial intelligence, with nearly half of planners using tools such as ChatGPT and Microsoft CoPilot,” Chaulet said. Of those using AI, 84% use chatbots; 44% use grammar checkers and paraphrasing tools such as Grammarly and Wordtune; 15% use content creation tools including Jasper and copy.ai; 12% use image generation tools (DALL-E 2 and Midjourney); 10% use note takers such as Fathom and Fireflies; and 9% use video creation tools such as Descript, Opus, and Visla.

“The rise of AI in our industry is a game changer,” Chaulet said. “It allows planners to streamline processes and focus on creating memorable experiences, even within budget constraints.”

Michelle Russell is convened.