WE THINK LONG TERM THAT ’ S NOT SUSTAINABLE ( STRONGER-THAN- USUAL LEISURE ), AND WE ’ LL RETURN TO MORE NORMAL GROWTH PATTERNS NEXT YEAR .
– CLAYTON REID have been essential to the latter .
Another by-product of the pandemic : the need to help planners convince groups that are hesitant to meet in person . Cleanliness and safety are important , of course , but “ it ’ s about partnering on flexibility and sharing best practices to help our customers sell the power of in-person meetings to their own internal decision makers ,” Marriott ’ s Robinson observes .
Through its corporate and association advisory board and conversations with group clients , IHG has determined that sustainability , technology , a consistent guest experience and ease of doing business are priorities for business and group clients . The company ’ s Meet with Confidence addressed one pain point — it was designed to help planners manage hybrid meetings .
“ Lead volume is up considerably for very short-term meetings ,” says Derek DeCross , IHG ’ s senior vice president of global sales . He says small , regional meetings are growing in popularity . And interest in large , citywide events for 2022 is gaining steam , especially among large technology firms .
When normal corporate travel patterns will return or be replaced by new patterns remains anyone ’ s guess , but Reid says the current trend for leisure business to drive RevPAR is a temporary phenomenon . “ We think long term that ’ s not sustainable , and we ’ ll return to more normal growth patterns next year ,” he adds . While many observers are pointing to 2024 , he says 2022 is more likely , especially given the healthy rebound this year in group bookings .
HELEN SMITH , CHIEF CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE OFFICER FOR DORCHESTER COLLECTION , LONDON , SAYS THE PANDEMIC HAS ACCELERATED THE SHIFT TO DIGITAL MARKETING CHANNELS . “ IT GIVES US THE BENEFIT TO BE FAR MORE FLEXIBLE DEPENDING ON DEMAND AND ALSO GIVES US CLEAR MEASUREMENT .
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