Meetings and Events in 20 Years

Our industry... in 20 years!Trends and predictions in events, meetings, hospitality, and travel

August 2015

Dan Berger | CEO | Social Tables

@danberger | #WEC15 | 2015

Audience-Presenter Contract

● Leave at any time.

● Join the conversation: #WEC15 or

@danberger.

● Steal everything.

● Participate... or don’t.


I am a participant.

I am a planner.I am a

believer.





3,000 customers (50,000 users)

150 countries

3 languages



1 billion sq ft of function space

500,000 events created

63 million attendees impacted


Just how big are meetings and events in the U.S.? Globally?


Learning

Zone

Three Ways to Measure the Impact of Meetings

Direct The expenditures with booking and attending the event.

Travel, F&B, accommodations, activities, etc.

Indirect The purchasing of goods and services between participants at the event.

Buying products or booking services from showcasing vendors

Induced The future business conducted as a result of connections at an event.

Leisure travel, future unrelated business transactions between participants

What You’re Going to Learn With Me

1.8 million meetings in

the U.S. per year for a

total direct spend of

$280mm.

The U.S. meeting market is large.

The Economic Significance of Meetings to the U.S. Economy, CIC Study, PwC, 2012


● $565 bn in 2012, including

accommodation, transportation, and

support costs.

● Hotel revenue associated with

meetings and events is $103 bn.

The global meetings and events market is even larger.

Frost and Sullivan, “A Survey of Meeting and Event Planning Professionals and Hotel Operators,” June 2013

@danberger | #WEC15 | 2015Source: World Travel & Tourism Council

Global GDP contribution of travel will be $8 trillion in 2015 and is rising to almost $12 trillion in 2025.

“


Frost and Sullivan, “A Survey of Meeting and Event Planning Professionals and Hotel Operators,” June 2013Special Events Magazine

Businesses spend money on events.

● Businesses spend 1% of revenue on meetings/events.

● 25% of corporate planners expect to plan more events

this year.

● Millennials value events more than previous generations.


● Live Nation Concert Revenue was up 29% in Q1 of

2014.

● Google search for sport tickets up 32% from 2

years ago.

Consumers spend more money on events.

"Lifting the Curtain on Live Events," Think with Google, 2014Brookings Institute


Why do meetings and events matter?

# hashtag

● Meetings and events are a leading

indicator of the economy.

● Meetings and events precede leisure

travel.

● Their true economic significance is

immeasurable.

Meetings and events matter.


Predictions for 20 years in events, meetings, hospitality, and travel.

The number of event planners will continue to rise significantly.

There were 94k planners in the U.S. in 2012.

That number will grow 33% by 2022.

Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics

Meeting and event professionals will be more strategic than ever.

Event planning will be a more respected and

common field.

Of the 3,000 universities in the U.S., 80 each meeting planners


Which trend excites you? Scares you? What will you do about it?

The industry as we know it will be obliterated.

The industry will continue to consolidate.

7 hotel companies own 80 brand

Source: IBISworld, USA Today

2 companies make up 20% of the event revenue.

Expedia and Orbitz control 80% of the OTA market.

There are only 3 major air carriers

Event logistics will be automated.

Technology will be more integrated into our lives, and thus, into events.



Group business will be booked mostly online.

Event planning software will be free and integrated.

There are 200 event registration softwares.

Custom event apps willno longer exists.

There are 120 event app companies

Learning

Zone

Networks at hotels and events will be a target for

hackers.




Live events will be an important source of revenue for most companies


1. Identify attendee segment.

2. Simulate their experience from cradle to grave or survey them. Extending

Exiting

Engaging

Experiencing

Entering

Arriving

Anticipating

Attracting

AnnouncingJo

urn

ey M

ap

pin

g

Source: The 8 Phases of a Successful Event, Maritz

Learning

Zone

1990s 2010s 2030s

Virtual audiences will be a basic component of events.

Discovery will be seamless and perfect.

Event space will be more commoditized than ever.


Hotels will do mostly group business.




Events will mostly be indoors or under covered structures.

Everything you will need will be available on-demand.


Learning

Zone

Organized labor will beless of an issue because events will be setup automatically.



There will be a subscription model for events.

Free events will be expected by consumers.

There will be no cash at events.

Events will be crowdfunded.

Learning

Zone


F&B will be replaced by more efficient supplements and synthetic alternatives



Education will be the key component at meetings.

Content will be crowdsourced.

Events will be smaller and more intimate.


There will be no more weddings.


Experiences will be more common and more expensive.

Face-to-face interactions will be even more coveted.

Source: eMarketer, April 2014




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Meetings and Events in 20 Years