23
representing 92% of reservations.
The percentage of meetings for
21-40 attendees grew marginally
by 3%, reaching 8% of online
meeting reservations.
Delaney notes that this trend will
continue to see growth, as more
global corporate organisations with
larger meetings rollout online
sourcing technology.
However, co-working spaces are
not for everyone, and with the
majority providing wide, open-plan
space, they don’t all offer the
required privacy.
Although, according to the
research, specialist conference
centres hold 19% of the market
share, it is down 7%. This likely
owes to dated facilities on a broad,
global landscape.
In the view of Conference News,
one non-residential venue chain
that offers specialist and modern
spaces is etc.venues. It offers
high-spec, city centre venues
which are all easily accessible
on public transport, which is
essential for modern meeting
professionals.
By the end of 2020, the
specialist venue’s portfolio will
feature 20 venues in London,
Birmingham, Manchester and New
York, offering more than 300
meeting rooms and over
46,500sqm of dedicated event
space.
Nick Hoare, etc.venues’ chief
operating officer, in January said:
“2019 was a remarkably
successful year for the company.
We increased our revenue by 20%,
successfully delivered 19,000
events for an ever-growing list of
clients including 84% of the FTSE
100, and hosted 965,000
delegates.
“The year ahead is very exciting.
We’re investing a record £20m plus
in development, and with more
venues and rooms to offer, we’re
expecting to host more than one
million delegates at more than
20,000 events in 2020.
It is this sort of ambition that
eventprofs would be well-advised
to pay attention to.
Cover Story
Instant bookings %
64%
36%
Instant bookings
Average
lead time
(days)
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Request
for proposal
Online
bookings
Comment
53%
47%
Request to book
Consumerisation
of meetings
One of the great challenges the
conference and meetings industry
has faced over the last couple of
years has been to rival the likes of
Airbnb and booking.com when it
comes to ‘effortless’ instant
booking. While Meetingsbooker.
com does have this capability, the
demand for instant booking
through reliable, mobile-friendly
portals remains high.
According to the new research,
instant bookings now represent
47% of total online reservations,
which has risen by 11%. Delaney
believes this trend is set to rapidly
increase as more venues connect
via API, offering instant booking
capability direct into their central
reservations systems.
However, with the relative ease
of instant bookings now a
requirement, eventprofs are looking
for a single solution to manage all
their events. Someone booking
space for 20 delegates online may
also organise a 100-delegate event
with group accommodation the
following month.
Eventprofs want to be able to
decide how they book and at the
same time remain in control of the
process. Online bookings are
generally smaller with shorter lead
times, while larger events take
www.conference-news.co.uk
“Ultimately
venues want to sell
their spaces and
have happy
customers who will
book again.”
Ciaran Delaney,
Meetingsbooker.
com’s CEO
longer to plan and tend to involve a
team in the selection process,
along with the additional
requirements.
Bookers and planners now expect
to have one platform catering for all
their meeting sourcing needs. The
research shows that online bookings
have an average lead time of only 12
days, whereas larger event bookings
with group accommodation made
via the platform using RFP have a
much longer lead-time of 62 days.
Does Delaney believe there is a
disconnect between venues and
organisers; do venues still think they
can dictate how they sell their event
spaces, and is there perhaps a
nervousness that the customer has
too much control? He says: “No,
ultimately venues want to sell their
spaces and have happy customers
who will book again. The smarter
venues are constantly reviewing
their offering, making changes to
respond to customer needs
including sustainability, broader food
offerings as well as venue
technology.”
The full research document
can be found at www.
meetingsbooker.com