Industry Trends

This information is not new, however, still very relevant in the ever-changing meeting and events industry.  I wanted to share several trends that were discussed at last years MPI World Education Congress (WEC).  They continue to have an impact in 2019:
1.  Commissions - The three largest hotel groups cut commissions by 30% last year.  Some smaller hotel chains saw this as an opportunity and raised their commissions and have done well to lure business they had not seen before.   This is and will still be a very hot topic into 2019 and beyond.  
2. Consolidations - Event planning groups have seen consolidations, Vendors like PSAV bought Hargrove, on the technology side, Cvent purchased Quick mobile and in the DMC world PRA has been purchasing smaller DMC's in different markets, strengthening their position.   As consolidation continues, prices will also increase.  
3.  Disruptors - Airbnb will have added 50 million new listings in 2019, that's another 50 million more rooms available in the world, something that didn't exist just 10 years ago.  Sonder is a new company that will lease apartments for you, similar to Airbnb.  It's definitely something to watch in the future.   
You can read the entire article here.