Event planners: join us for our next webinar — GroupSync: The Empowering Alternative to Legacy Sourcing Systems
In this free 30-minute presentation, discover GroupSync, a powerful sourcing system that creates a simpler, more effective RFP for post-pandemic event planning.
Katey Hubbard
Join industry experts Katey Hubbard and Ryan Morris to see how GroupSync simplifies the process of searching, sourcing, and contracting rooms and venues so you can focus on what matters most — creating your perfect event. GroupSync helps meeting planners become more efficient, more effective, and more EMPOWERED throughout the entire sourcing process. Best of all, GroupSync is absolutely free for you to use!
In this webinar, you’ll discover the GroupSync difference:
Ryan Morris
Space calculator with options for social distancing
Tools to source multiple smaller meetings
No subscription fees or room night commitments
No paid placements, only relevant results based on your dates and preferences
More accurate hotel information updated daily to include temporary closures
Proprietary algorithm suggests venues and alternate destinations that fit your needs
Essential market data, including historical rate estimates and occupancy trends
Targeted lead routing and ways to connect with your preferred hotel sales reps
At varying points since the pandemic first engulfed the U.S., industry organizations and publications have been checking in with meeting professionals to gauge their level of confidence in planning and producing live events.
In late spring and early summer, most survey respondents remained optimistic about holding in-person meetings in the fourth quarter of 2020, but as the months wear on and COVID-19 remains an ongoing fixture, the optimism about when face-to-face meetings will recover gets pushed further into the future.
As meeting planners have adapted to the current circumstances, virtual or hybrid events have become a mainstay, but whether the event format will continue to play a central role post-pandemic remains to be seen.
According to Groups360’s most recent research into the shopping and buying experiences of part-time meeting planners, however, these administrative professionals stated that nearly all of their meeting types will return to the face-to-face format as soon as it’s safe to do so.
They can’t wait for virtual meetings to be a thing of the past, which is good news for hotels that can accommodate their needs.
Part-time planners arrange a variety of meetings
“I arrange all our board meetings. I’m tasked with planning a two-day speaking and brainstorming session with 20 people. Our board of directors come from all over the U.S., so we also have to schedule flights and hotel rooms.” —Association planner
“There’s often a need to bring people together for trainings. You can only do so much by phone, and sometimes you just want that face-to-face experience, especially if you’re explaining certain things to them. I’m very big on seeing people’s reactions and being able to give feedback right there.” —Corporate planner
“I do a road show each year with about 12 meetings across the U.S., and they range from 10 to 30 people. And I also do the board meetings. I work very closely with the executives.” —Corporate planner
The administrative professionals interviewed in the Groups360 study included executive assistants, office managers and human resource professionals from associations, small businesses and large corporations. Meeting planning is only one of their responsibilities, and though planning is the least favorite part of their job, the meetings they produce are essential business activities.
The many types of meetings these admin planners put together include board meetings, executive team meetings, training classes, team-building events, committee meetings, and road shows. Others include customer meetings, quarterly vendor meetings and smaller events that complement a larger conference, all of which provide numerous opportunities for your hotel.
Canceling meetings due to COVID
After the pandemic put a halt to meetings and events, the professionals in this cohort either canceled meetings or moved them online. When asked how they decided what events to cancel, their responses depended on either the meeting’s intended audience or the nature of content delivery.
Attendees weren’t tech savvy:“We have canceled some of our smaller events because some of our donor members are not as tech savvy. It’s harder for them to get onto these various platforms. Not everybody is as comfortable in this medium.” —Association planner
Certain types of training needed to happen in person:“The training workshops are all canceled, and I don’t have any immediate plans to reset them because they tend to be the wellness types that are better in person. We also do biometric screenings — it’s one of those things where you have to have access, and I have to book some space with particular needs.” —Corporate planner
Team-building meetings just don’t work online:“Fifty people on a Zoom meeting, you’re talking over each other or just one person is talking. And it’s important for us as a department to have that team interaction. So that meeting is completely off the books until we go back.” —Corporate planner
For similar reasons as listed above, these planners also canceled strategic planning meetings and partner council meetings instead of moving them online.
The (temporary) pivot to virtual
“We plan our annual conference over a year in advance because it is so big, and within the last two months we’ve made that completely virtual. So we’re doing a virtual symposium and retreat. It will be eight to five for four days on Zoom.” —Association planner
“We’ve had a few happy-hour Zoom calls that replace our office happy hours. We just had an associate leave, so we had a send-off for them on Zoom.” —Corporate planner
“The executive team was going to get together to talk about strategy, goals and initiatives for the third quarter, and that is now on Zoom. Ideally, they’d be together in person. They always have much more productive meetings when they’re all together. It’s not that the Zoom isn’t productive, it’s just not the same.” —Corporate planner
The meetings that went virtual included board meetings, executive team meetings, investor meetings, staff meetings, annual conferences, social events and new-hire orientations.
The administrative professionals indicated that almost all of their meetings and events will return to the live format as soon as attendees and hosts feel safe doing so. The exceptions are certain sales meetings and staff meetings, which are easy to host online with few logistical issues or hinderances to productivity.
Ready to return to face-to-face meetings
“There’s something about being on a screen — people are busy looking at themselves on the camera and not reacting to what others are saying. When you’re sitting in a meeting room, you can better read people’s expressions or feel the authenticity.” —Association planner
“My colleagues and I are hating the online meetings, just hating it. I mean, it’s easier in terms of scheduling, but if I’m attending a meeting, I prefer to get away from my desk. My coworkers are the same way. As a meeting attendee, I’ll be looking forward to going back to that.” —Corporate planner
According to Jan Freitag, senior vice president at STR, those who predict that Zoom meetings will replace in-person meetings are “suffering from ‘recency bias.’” The part-time meeting planners in our study seem to agree. One sentiment these professionals shared is that Zoom fatigue has set in and their corporate teams are over “the online thing.”
The question remains as to when meetings will resume. The current sentiment from multiplepolls of meeting planners seems to indicate that live meetings and events won’t fully recover until 2022.
The Marina Bay Sands in Singapore launched the first new hybrid event studio to hold up to 50 people and broadcast events to an online audience. And some hotels are live-streaming their views to keep would-be travelers engaged with their destinations.
But that’s not to say large events aren’t happening at all. In fact, the Georgia Motor Trucking Association successfully hosted 300 people for their annual meeting in Florida in mid-June without any reported COVID cases.
And the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association gathered 450 people live in Colorado at the end of July, reminding their attendees to “keep one cow apart” for the safety of “the herd.”
For these part-time planners, when in-person meetings do resume, they’re likely to start small and stay within driving distance of most of their anticipated attendees. As smaller groups arrive at your hotels, a little creativity and attention to detail will help them feel safe at your property.
These part-time planners may not be your usual clients or the ones soliciting space for the largest events, but they will seek you out according to your brand reputation. They are relying on vetted venues because they don’t shop extensively or use much sourcing technology. This group definitely exemplifies meeting planning as a relationship business that relies on trust and transparency for successful transactions.
Acquisition of IDEM Hospitality establishes key sales and product development presence
Groups360 recently announced the acquisition of IDEM Hospitality and the addition of senior leadership based in Singapore. Steven Hopkinson will join the company as senior vice president, EMEA & APAC sales and Matthew Howden will become senior vice president, attendee management product development.
Formerly founders and joint CEOs of IDEM, Hopkinson and Howden bring a wealth of sales and entrepreneurship experience to Groups360. At IDEM, they created a platform to help hoteliers maximize revenue from their meetings, events and group business through increased interaction with attendees, while also strengthening the guest experience. The result was increased direct bookings, food and beverage revenue, and loyalty program memberships.
“I’m thrilled to join forces with Groups360 and offer a unique housing solution to the thousands of hotels and major brands in the GroupSync platform. Automation of essential functions will be a crucial component to the recovery of the hospitality industry.”
“Our unique attendee management solution is a perfect fit with GroupSync. We make managing attendee booking simple and easy for attendees, planners and hotel suppliers. We minimize time required to book and maximize upsell opportunities for suppliers. We are thrilled to be a part of the team.”
—Matthew Howden, senior vice president, attendee management product development
Matthew Howden
Steven Hopkinson
“Adding IDEM to the Groups360 family brings us a stellar team with a best-in-class product in a strategically important geography. Steven and Matthew add experienced, successful, entrepreneurial leadership for our newly added attendee management and group housing solutions. This is the first investment in a long-term commitment to the region.”
—Kemp Gallineau, CEO, Groups360
About Groups360
With Groups360, your next event starts here. Groups360’s cloud-based technology solutions make booking group business simple for suppliers and planners.
GroupSync Supplier Solutions help hoteliers boost their bottom lines by allocating group inventory through multiple distribution channels at a low cost. Whether integrated to third-party systems or using GroupSync’s proprietary inventory management system, group inventory is distributed through a real-time, enterprise-grade, PCI-compliant, private-labeled booking engine and complemented by attendee management tools. Suppliers also have the ability to engage their sales teams in GroupSync, allowing sales teams to invite planners to collaborate in the platform and even send preapproved RFPs, eliminating much of the planners’ workload during the buying process.
GroupSync Planner Solutions allow event professionals to regain their most valuable resource — time. Using the GroupSync marketplace, planners can search and compare more than 200,000 properties, without ads and pop-ups from unqualified venues, making shopping a quicker, more seamless experience. GroupSync also allows planners to collaborate in the app with other team members involved in the selection process. The time saved allows planners to move from searching and sourcing to the buying process easily and expeditiously. Now, planners can choose to book online immediately or send a prequalified RFP to the hotels that best align with their needs.
Groups360 has offices in Nashville, London and Singapore.
As a follow-up to our spring 2020 research into the buying journeys of full-time meeting planners, Groups360 initiated a second double-blind research study, this time focusing on part-time meeting planners from associations, small businesses and large corporations.
This group featured executive assistants, office managers and human resource professionals who plan multiple smaller events and meetings each year but for whom meeting planning is not their primary responsibility.
The types of gatherings these planners organize include board meetings, executive team meetings, company town halls, team-building events, training sessions, customer advisory councils or informational seminars, association committee meetings, vendor meetings, road shows, and satellite events associated with a larger conference.
Our biggest takeaway from the latest round of interviews is that this group of administrative professionals represents an underserved market for hotels and suppliers. With the right attention and guidance, this untapped opportunity could mean more loyal group business for the hotels that meet their needs.
Ready to resume in-person meetings
“We are a very personable company and people like to see one another, especially if there are new folks. It’s just nice to get everyone together. So I do see that things will return to normal, not next month, but maybe next year.” —Corporate professional
“Everyone’s so Zoomed out. Everyone’s upset that a number of our education conferences will be held virtually. Once this is over, I think you’re going to see conference attendance skyrocket. People are going to be so excited to get out and meet in person. It’s going to be great.” —Association professional
“Our business is relationships. They want to get together. They want to talk about the latest ways of keeping the environment clean, but they also want to play golf. It’s really about the cocktail hour. That’s where business gets done.” —Corporate professional
After the pandemic put a halt to live events and in-person meetings, the professionals in this cohort either canceled meetings or moved them online. The meetings that ended up canceled instead of held virtually included events whose attendees weren’t tech-savvy, offsite team building, training sessions that require in-person learning, and strategic planning meetings that couldn’t be replicated on Zoom.
There has been ongoing speculation about how business travel will rebound after the pandemic subsides. One sentiment these part-time planners shared is that their corporate teams, fatigued by Zoom, are ready to return to face-to-face meetings as soon as it’s practical. Their companies depend on in-person interaction to build relationships and conduct business, both within and outside of the office. Their associations’ revenues and programs also largely depend on live events.
When in-person meetings do resume, they’re likely to start small. These administrative professionals foresee all previous types of meetings and events returning to a live, in-person format, except for staff meetings, which are easy to arrange and meet their goals, even online.
Least favorite part of the job
“Probably the least favorite part of my job is arranging these meetings, choosing food, and scheduling transportation. I don’t love it. I’m not a secretary. I went to college and got a degree.” —Corporate professional
“I like the idea of planning something and executing it, but sometimes meeting planning can feel like an added responsibility. It’s stressful because it doesn’t necessarily help me achieve the written pieces of my role.” —Association professional
“I think people assume HR managers have a degree in meeting planning. It’s always been that way — I did this for years in my last organization as well. They just believe that HR people know how to a plan meeting.” —Corporate professional
The planners in this administrative group feel a sense of satisfaction from a successful meeting, but they view the logistical work and preparations to be a nuisance. These busy professionals are likely to appreciate anything hotels can do to make the task easier on them.
Hotel sales managers often have to spend a good part of the sales process teaching this clientele the business. Hoteliers shouldn’t expect them to be as well-versed in the ins and outs of rate negotiations, attrition policies, or what makes for a fair set of concessions — and more importantly, shouldn’t use that lack of experience to their advantage.
If you want to build strong, ongoing relationships with these professionals, take the time to guide them through the process and listen to the needs of their group. There is so much at stake in their types of meetings that they can’t risk anything going wrong. Once you have made their short-list of trusted venues, you will be rewarded with repeat business year after year.
Looking for a one-stop solution
“I’d like a one-stop-shop where you can see availability, average rates, the perks or incentives you might get. If the property is far from the airport, whether they have a complimentary shuttle, as well as possible events in the area for networking activities.” —Corporate professional
“To have a site with information on pricing and availability so that I don’t have to reach out and wait. I’d like to see the floor plan of the meeting space, A/V, restaurants, catering, pictures of the restaurant and guest rooms. If I’m looking for a hotel, visuals are very important to me.” —Corporate professional
When asked what they would want if they could have anything to make their jobs easier, many of these part-time planners expressed a desire for one site where they could see rates and availability and manage all the logistics of a meeting. They are looking to make the planning process simpler so that they can return to the more central aspects of their roles.
The other discovery was that these planners are unaware of the event technology and sourcing solutions currently on the market. One way that hotels can help is to invite these types of planners to collaborate on RFPs and the booking process within online search-and-book solutions such as GroupSync, the most trusted and most transparent meetings marketplace. Technology that reduces their search to the specific hotels that best fit the group’s needs can drastically speed up the process for both planners and suppliers.
Not a fan of the sales pitch
“I would prefer to not have to do all the back and forth on things like attrition, concessions and deposits. In an ideal world, I’d get everything the first time that proposals come back without having to go back and ask for more and more. Start from the top, let me know that I’m getting everything I can possibly get, and I can eliminate some of that negotiating.” —Corporate professional
“It’d be nice if there was a way to negotiate with hotels without having to call them. If there was a way of just pulling it up online and getting that started like Expedia, where you can see the rates and whether they’re in our range so that I don’t have to go calling all these places.” —Corporate professional
Many hotel salespeople bemoan the fact that meeting planners no longer want to pick up the phone. These planners certainly don’t, at least not in the initial stages of their planning process. They would prefer to evaluate rates, availability, rooms and meeting space online and conduct initial inquiries via email. They want the basic facts before the sales pitch starts.
Once your hotel is on the short list, these planners will be willing to talk details. Given the need to streamline the process, they prefer to avoid extensive negotiations. It’s not their personality nor in their typical job description to do so. To the best of your ability, offer them the most reasonable deal that will address their needs and requests while ensuring the group business is beneficial for your hotel.
Where and how to reach them
“Everything is more digitized now, so I would suggest sending direct email blasts to folks who are in this line of work or have meetings as part of their responsibilities.” —Corporate professional
“I subscribe to several daily newsletters about the news and markets. Every now and then, they have a sponsored ad that I tend to ignore, but I see it. It’s in the context of a relevant business newsletter. Advertise like that or post a testimonial.” —Corporate professional
Ready to reach this untapped market? The planners in our study said that the best way to advertise your offerings and services is to send direct email campaigns or advertise in their industry publications.
Another gateway is through the events team on staff at their organizations. Full-time corporate event planners frequently attend industry conventions and bring back vendor information to the administrative staff at their companies who plan meetings. Keep that in mind when you exhibit or present at a hospitality industry conference or trade show.
If you have existing corporate event planner or association meeting planner customers, consider asking them for referrals to admins in their organizations, as that’s another great way to communicate what you have to offer.
Find out how Groups360 is addressing these needs through industry-changing event technology.
Group360 founder Dave Kloeppel welcomes a cross section of industry leaders for an ongoing conversation series, The Future of Meeting.
Earlier this week, we posted part 1 of his conversation with Andrew Messick, CEO of the IRONMAN Group, operator of the iconic triathlon series and other multisport races around the world.
In part 2 of their conversation, Messick discusses how his 26 global offices have continued to successfully conduct business during the new normal.
Watch the highlights.
Listen to their full conversation.
The Future of Meeting: A Conversation with Andrew Messick
Managing housing for group events can be difficult. Beyond negotiating rates and disseminating the pertinent information to participants, attendees always have last-minute changes. Event professionals spend hours, days or even weeks inputting details for individual attendees into a spreadsheet or other document, plus additional time managing special requests and itinerary changes.
When it comes to room block management, it would be far simpler if meeting attendees were able to input their own details into an online booking site that communicates the information directly to the hotel or event planner.
Consider the ways transient travelers book their hotel lodging — they simply visit an online travel agent, choose a hotel and room rate, and confirm their stay. Why can’t it be this convenient for meeting delegates who need to book a reservation in a room block?
Attendee management solutions
GroupSync now makes this possible through newly added room-block management tools. In less than five minutes, hoteliers can set up a room block online according to the details of the group contract and then provide the planner customer with a link to a unique, event-branded booking website.
The planner then sends that link to meeting attendees, who book their own reservations in the room block. When attendees make their reservations directly, it reduces the amount of handling and possibility of transposition errors.
The process eases the administrative burden on both sides of the process. Hotel staff aren’t keying in an entire rooming list days or hours before a group is set to arrive. Without having to manage attendee details, event planners can focus on the value-added aspects of their roles.
Simplify your workflow
The end result of better room block management: Event planners have more capacity to focus on ensuring their events exceed expectations. Attendees are empowered to manage their own reservations, book shoulder nights for an extended stay, and specify personal requests. Everything gets communicated directly to the hotel, easing the workload for all involved.
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