PCMA Survey: Ongoing challenges in a strong meetings market

Planners participating in PCMA’s 31st Annual Meeting market survey face less uncertainty, but challenges remain.

255 associations, businesses and independent conference and event organizers participated PCMA 2024 Conference Market Survey Conducted in late August and early September. Recently released results show that while the industry has rebounded and planners feel positive about their jobs, budget challenges are still accelerating.

Investigation points

• Job satisfaction but organizational challenges. Most respondents have a positive attitude towards their jobs. But they also reported challenges facing their organizations, such as frustrations with management and leadership, budget constraints and the pressure to manage high workloads amid staff shortages.

• Attendance continues to grow. Forty-nine percent of respondents said attendance at the largest in-person conferences in 2024 will increase by an average of 17% compared to similar events pre-pandemic. 60% expect attendance to increase by 2025.

•Costs are still rising and budgets are not keeping up. The cost of food and drink, audio-visual, travel expenses and other necessities is rising, but most budgets are not increasing accordingly. Respondents cited the challenges of hosting high-quality events with reduced financial resources. In last year’s survey, 64% of respondents expected larger budgets in 2024 to keep up with rising costs. This year, less than half expect budgets to increase in 2025, while 39% expect budgets to remain the same. 73% expect food and beverage to be the largest expense item in the 2025 budget.

• Staffing has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels. Planners continue to work with smaller staffs. Respondents faced issues with staff shortages, employee retention, and difficulty finding qualified team members.

• Resourceful budgeting solution. Three-fifths of planners say they are becoming more skilled negotiators; 55% are increasing sponsorship opportunities and 53% are selectively cutting costs for events that do not deliver a return on investment. 51% of respondents are passing costs on to attendees through increased registration fees.

•Raised attendee expectations. Attendees are setting ever-higher standards and expectations for amazing experiential, unforgettable events.

• Increase the use of GenAI. Adoption of AI tools increased from 48% last year to 62% this year. Planners are using GenAI for content creation, marketing and promotions, brainstorming and idea generation, research and analysis, and administrative tasks such as budgeting, contract terms, and menu planning.

• Sustainability is becoming a priority. Last year, 31% of respondents included sustainability requirements in their RFPs. This year, that number jumped to 60%. Additionally, 42% of respondents have increased their sustainability reporting internally and/or to attendees, compared to 27% last year.

• Diversity, equity and inclusion are our ongoing commitments. 66% of respondents are prioritizing DEI initiatives in their 2024 activities and are committed to welcoming and including all people. This includes intentionally hiring diverse suppliers, fine-tuning codes of conduct, and selecting more diverse speakers and panelists.

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