Competition and Costs on the Rise at Traditional Event Venues

As Tim Brown explains in this recent Successful Meetings post, high demand and limited inventory have created a “sellers market” for the hotel industry. In fact hoteliers are now turning down three meetings to every one they accept, and hotel fees are expected to rise to $2.47 billion in the U.S. this year.  

Brown recommends creating a custom contract that can be modified to suit the event and the venue as a way to mitigate risk and contain costs.  Read more.

The 2016 Meetings and Events Forecast predicts a significant increase in costs associated with traditional event venues. Image credit: http://www.carlsonwagonlit.com/export/sites/cwt/en/global/insights/global-forecast-2016/2016-cwt-meetings-events-forecast.pdf

 The Carson Wagonlit Travel Meetings & Events Report also predicts increased competition for meeting and event space in 2016. In its press release CWT warns that some hotels no longer hold space when responding to availability requests, and recommends that event planners pay careful attention to their food and beverage budgets in order to control costs.  

CWT also recommends increasing lead times for larger events in order to improve your leverage when negotiating event contracts.