New Cvent Event Planner Study Highlights Larger Budgets and Increased Desire to Provide Unique Experiences
Announcement posted by Cvent, Inc. 20 Aug 2018
Event planners’ strategies and priorities for sourcing venues revealed in second-annual APAC survey
Media Release: 20 August 2018
After conducting an in-depth survey of meeting and event planners across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, Cvent, Inc., a market leader in meetings, events and hospitality technology, has released the results of its ‘2018 Global Planner Sourcing Report APAC.’ The study explores how meeting planners source venues and what influences their decision-making process. The results equip hotels and venues with new insights to improve their offerings and attract a greater share of MICE business events in the region. Compared to previous years, the study revealed event planners in the APAC region are seeing an increase in budgets and have an increased desire to deliver unique experiences for their attendees.
The report showed over half, 52 percent, of respondents said their event budgets had increased year–on–year (compared with 29 percent in the year prior). Small events with one to 20 attendees have increased by 14 percent compared to 2017 results. The report also revealed an increase in organisers planning off-site meetings.
Commenting on the state of the events industry across the APAC region and what it means for hoteliers and venues, Sandeep Nagpal, Vice President of Marketing at Cvent said, “Organisers are seeing an increase in their event budgets and now more than ever, planners are looking to utilise these additional funds for more memorable and personalised experiences. Hotels and venues that are able to re-evaluate their strategies to focus on flexible meeting space, unique activities and atmospheres, and delivering enhanced amenities and best-in-class service levels are the ones that will find most success in attracting MICE business to their properties.”
“This survey offers hospitality professionals the data insights they need to attract meetings and events buyers, and to ensure their venue’s sales and marketing teams are focusing on the areas that will bring the most ROI for planners,” said Nagpal.
Additional findings from the report include:
Sourcing events continues to go digital and most group business is available for the taking and can be earned by any venue with great marketing plans and a strong digital presence.
Despite growing budgets, costs and discounts remain important to planners, but they aren’t everything. Though they may have more resources at their disposal, planners remain sensitive to costs, but the desire to deliver a memorable experience can help override cost restrictions
-ends-
For media enquiries, please contact:
Debbie Bradley, Group Account Director, Zadro | debbie@zadroagency.com.au
+61 2 9212 7867 | +61 420 761 189
About Hospitality Cloud
The Cvent Hospitality Cloud partners with hotels and venues to help them drive profitable group and corporate travel business. Event planners and corporate travel managers source more than $16 billion dollars in business through Cvent’s online platforms each year, and the Cvent Hospitality Cloud offers clients direct access to these buyers. Using Cvent digital marketing tools and software solutions, hoteliers attract valuable leads to grow their business, maximise the value of that business, and strengthen direct customer relationships. By connecting hotels with buyers and providing technology for winning and servicing customers, Cvent Hospitality Cloud helps hoteliers grow and own their group and corporate travel business. For more information regarding the Cvent Hospitality Cloud, visit https://www.cvent.com/au/hospitality-cloud.
About Cvent, Inc.
Cvent, Inc. is a leading cloud-based event management company with more than 3,200 employees, 25,000 customers, and 300,000 users worldwide. Cvent offers software solutions to event planners for online event registration, venue selection, event management, mobile apps for events, email marketing, and web surveys. Cvent provides hoteliers with an integrated platform, enabling properties to increase group business demand through targeted advertising and improve conversion through proprietary demand management and business intelligence solutions. Cvent solutions optimise the entire event management value chain and have enabled clients around the world to manage hundreds of thousands of meetings and events. For more information, please visit cvent.com/au, or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.
After conducting an in-depth survey of meeting and event planners across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, Cvent, Inc., a market leader in meetings, events and hospitality technology, has released the results of its ‘2018 Global Planner Sourcing Report APAC.’ The study explores how meeting planners source venues and what influences their decision-making process. The results equip hotels and venues with new insights to improve their offerings and attract a greater share of MICE business events in the region. Compared to previous years, the study revealed event planners in the APAC region are seeing an increase in budgets and have an increased desire to deliver unique experiences for their attendees.
The report showed over half, 52 percent, of respondents said their event budgets had increased year–on–year (compared with 29 percent in the year prior). Small events with one to 20 attendees have increased by 14 percent compared to 2017 results. The report also revealed an increase in organisers planning off-site meetings.
Commenting on the state of the events industry across the APAC region and what it means for hoteliers and venues, Sandeep Nagpal, Vice President of Marketing at Cvent said, “Organisers are seeing an increase in their event budgets and now more than ever, planners are looking to utilise these additional funds for more memorable and personalised experiences. Hotels and venues that are able to re-evaluate their strategies to focus on flexible meeting space, unique activities and atmospheres, and delivering enhanced amenities and best-in-class service levels are the ones that will find most success in attracting MICE business to their properties.”
“This survey offers hospitality professionals the data insights they need to attract meetings and events buyers, and to ensure their venue’s sales and marketing teams are focusing on the areas that will bring the most ROI for planners,” said Nagpal.
Additional findings from the report include:
Sourcing events continues to go digital and most group business is available for the taking and can be earned by any venue with great marketing plans and a strong digital presence.
- 17 percent of respondents now list smart phones or tablets as venue sourcing tools.
- Now more than ever, planners are more flexible and work on the go. Since less than half of planners are certain of their venue at the beginning of the sourcing process, APAC hotels and venues need to be more visible and appealing online, ensure their websites are mobile-responsive, and prioritise digital into their sales and marketing strategies.
Despite growing budgets, costs and discounts remain important to planners, but they aren’t everything. Though they may have more resources at their disposal, planners remain sensitive to costs, but the desire to deliver a memorable experience can help override cost restrictions
- Nearly 70 percent said they are extremely or very certain about what they have to spend.
- Only 40 percent of planners said they would move to their second choice venue if they offered a more than 10 percent savings. Additionally, unique atmosphere, customer service and free amenities are all up year over year as top influencers in booking a venue. This helps to demonstrate the importance of these offerings, all of which can provide a standout experience and entice group business.
-ends-
For media enquiries, please contact:
Debbie Bradley, Group Account Director, Zadro | debbie@zadroagency.com.au
+61 2 9212 7867 | +61 420 761 189
About Hospitality Cloud
The Cvent Hospitality Cloud partners with hotels and venues to help them drive profitable group and corporate travel business. Event planners and corporate travel managers source more than $16 billion dollars in business through Cvent’s online platforms each year, and the Cvent Hospitality Cloud offers clients direct access to these buyers. Using Cvent digital marketing tools and software solutions, hoteliers attract valuable leads to grow their business, maximise the value of that business, and strengthen direct customer relationships. By connecting hotels with buyers and providing technology for winning and servicing customers, Cvent Hospitality Cloud helps hoteliers grow and own their group and corporate travel business. For more information regarding the Cvent Hospitality Cloud, visit https://www.cvent.com/au/hospitality-cloud.
About Cvent, Inc.
Cvent, Inc. is a leading cloud-based event management company with more than 3,200 employees, 25,000 customers, and 300,000 users worldwide. Cvent offers software solutions to event planners for online event registration, venue selection, event management, mobile apps for events, email marketing, and web surveys. Cvent provides hoteliers with an integrated platform, enabling properties to increase group business demand through targeted advertising and improve conversion through proprietary demand management and business intelligence solutions. Cvent solutions optimise the entire event management value chain and have enabled clients around the world to manage hundreds of thousands of meetings and events. For more information, please visit cvent.com/au, or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.