MEETINGS

In-person meetings and events continue to surge, though Meetings Outlook
data reveals more of a normalization of growth and optimism comparedto the gangbuster momentum seen over the past couple of years.

Q2 2024

MEETINGSMEETINGSMEETINGS

The mostimportant
event elements
you need to ace
right now
By Elaine Pofeldt

Destination appeal, scheduled networking opportunities and spontaneous conversations identified as leading components that will most impact the success of meetingsand events throughout the near future.

Hollis Carter runs curated events for entrepreneurs at his company, The Baby Bathwater
Institute, in Boulder, Colo., bringing founders
together everywhere from ski mountains
to the islands of Croatia. Typically, they stayat unique, independently owned hotels, talk business andhave fun.
“It’s really just getting people out of the hotel conference
environment and making sure they’re all peers—owners,founders and entrepreneurs who are scaling their businesses,” he says.
Carter’s business has thrived with a model that gives
attendees membership in the Institute for a year along withadmission to their first event for $12,500. Many come back

MPI MEETINGS OUTLOOK: Q2 2024

to a second event—discounted with the membership—tostay in touch with the people they met at the first one.
“It kind of feels like a family reunion,” he says.
Carter is not alone among meeting professionals inembracing creative approaches to keep meetings appealing in a challenging business environment. In the Q2 2024
edition of MPI’s Meetings Outlook research, there was anotable pullback in expectations for favorable business conditions over the next year, with 68% of respondents expecting to see them materialize. That was the lowest result since
Q1 2022, when 65% projected favorable conditions in thenear future.
Digging deeper, in this latest quarter, only 15% of
respondents are anticipating business conditions over the“Current pricing has required us to critically reassess allof our programs, leading us to revising programs and scaling
back certain functions to minimize the need for multi-day programswith heavy food and beverage needs.”
MARY ANNE WHITTLE, CMP

President
MPI Arizona Sunbelt Chapter

next year to be more than 10% better—the lowest result
since Q2 2020. This is happening while full-time hiring
is relatively flat, with 53% saying it remains the sameand 16% saying it is decreasing. As to whether it’s still aseller’s market, 57% still believe it is, down slightly from
59% in Q3 2023.
The pullback in optimism, while concerning, could
suggest a continuing normalization of the marketplace,
given that results are closer to what we saw immediately
pre-pandemic. Live attendance projections remains
strong, and virtual/online attendance is up, the highest
since virtual attendance projections began plummetingin Q2 2022.

Bright spots amid normalization
The brightest spots in the latest outlook are destination
appeal—as Carter has found—networking receptions
and the ability to have spontaneous conversations. These
were the top three components that had a significantly
positive impact on respondents’ meetings/events in 2023
and the elements they expect to continue to have a leading impact throughout 2024, the research found.
The ability to provide curated networking has
contributed to a boom in business for Adam Sloyer, CEOand co-founder of Sequence Events, a full-service event
production company in New York City. Many of his clientsare looking for opportunities to help team members

BUSINESS CONDITIONS

Leveling Off
This quarter’s survey saw a notable pullback inexpectations for favorable business conditions overthe next year. This favorable percentage (68%) is thelowest we’ve seen since Q1 2022. Looking deeper,
only 15% of respondents are projecting business conditions over the next year to be morethan 10% better—that’s the lowest we’ve seen since Q2 2020.

Favorable
Neutral
Negative

MPI MEETINGS OUTLOOK: Q2 2024

Q3 ‘23Q4 ‘23

Q1 ‘24Q2 ‘2480%10%
11%

70%
14%
16%

76%
19%
6%

68%
16%
16%

get to know each other better at employee-engagement
meetings.
“A lot of the companies that have gone remote-firstor virtual need motivation and experiences to get people
together in person,” Sloyer says.
Many event organizers are looking to break throughthe distraction factor that comes with online events.
“Even when you’re on Zoom, you’re wondering, ‘Are
they looking at the Zoom or answering email?’” Sloyersays. “When you get people in a room, you have the best
chance of capturing their attention and having them bepresent. There’s a new lens around the importance ofthat for brands and organizations, whether the meetings
are internal or external.”
Keeping that in mind, Sequence Events has focusedon delivering curated conversations to help employees
connect with colleagues in other departments or achieve
other goals they have set for the meeting. It sets key performance indicators (KPIs) to make sure attendees haveactually connected with people they wanted to meet by
the end of the meeting.
“You’re putting yourself in the attendees’ shoes andfiguring out what success looks like and then ensuring
they feel that way when they walk out,” Sloyer says.
Activity-based networking, he says, has been especially helpful in achieving those goals.
“Being able to do a whiskey tasting, build-a-bikeor some other type of volunteering is super-effective
because it diminishes the anxiety around meeting people,” he says.
Many of Sloyer’s clients are seeking interesting

destinations for both internal meetings and client-facing
events.
“We’re doing something in a couple of weeks for aventure capital firm,” he says. “It’s the first event of its
kind for their portfolio companies. Most are on the West
Coast, and a few are in New York, and they wanted something destination-wise that was going to be appealing
and that was going to have a bit of a name-drop.”
They opted to hold the meeting in Napa Valley, Calif.
For another client’s recent companywide meeting, theclient chose Chicago for the destination’s easy accessibility for participants.
That said, one factor with which Sloyer must contend
is that locations are exceptionally busy right now.
“We have clients that are looking to book hotels andoffsites for 2025, and availability and locations are limited,” he says.
Meetings Outlook data also found a notable jump in
the percentage of respondents saying that trade shows
were important in 2023, with that percentage up from
18% in 2023 to 27% in 2024. This underscores the anecdotal evidence of record-breaking show attendance that’sbeen seen in news headlines this year.
The associations behind the shows are jumping on
the opportunity to bring more value to their events. With
many of its members looking to build their networks,
the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), forinstance, has been emphasizing mingling more at its

MARKET LANDSCAPE

Sellers Still Calling the Shots
Overall, the majority of respondents are still living ina seller’s market.

Q3 ‘23Q4 ‘23

Q1 ‘24Q2 ‘24

Buyer’s market
18%
Balanced market 22%
Seller’s market
59%

17%
22%
61%

21%
20%
58%

25%
18%
57%

MPI MEETINGS OUTLOOK: Q2 2024

“A lot of the companies that have gone remote-first or virtual needmotivation and experiences to get people together in person.”
ADAM SLOYER

CEO and Co-founderSequence Events

CattleCon conference and NCBA Trade Show.
Before the events start, the organization, based inCentennial, Colo., and Washington, D.C., encourages
attendees to share that they will be attending on social
media—even creating fun graphics for them—and toconnect through the group’s mobile app, notes Kristin
Torres (MPI Rocky Mountain Chapter), the association’sexecutive director, meetings and events.
To support members who want to make more connections, the group upped the number of networking
lounges from its usual three or four to eight, locatedaround the trade show floor, at its Orlando event this pastyear. Among the lounges were the Meating Place, withnook-pods as seating areas; the Grove, an orange-treedecked area with a space for photo ops; the Caffeinated

Cow coffee lounge; a beer stop with a set of picnic tables
and a beer truck; and the Gator Lounge, complete with agator handler with live gators. There were also daytime
and evening receptions each day, giving attendees andexhibitors a chance to network off of the show floor.
“All of these areas/events not only offer opportunities
for attendees as well as exhibitors to network, [they] also
allow us to offer unique and fun sponsorship opportunities,” Torres.
On top of this, the group encourages its exhibitors tohold their own events in conjunction with its convention.
“While these aren’t ‘official’ events of the convention
it’s still allowing attendees time to connect while at theevent,” she says.
Some planners are also gamifying networking. Sarah

FOOD & BEVERAGEFEEDBACK
In which of the following ways are F&B costs affecting what you’re able to offer
your clients, participants or peers?
53%
50%
42%
36%
32%
30%
29%18%
9%8%

Simpler designs for F&B experiences
Fewer breaks with F&B
Fewer meal options
Less alcohol
Fewer meals
Fewer beverage options
Smaller portions
More local produce
Less time for meals
Less local produce

MPI MEETINGS OUTLOOK: Q2 2024

“Before the events start, the organization encourages attendees
to share that they will be attending on social media—even
creating fun graphics for them—and to connect through the group’s
mobile app.”
KRISTIN TORRES

Executive Director, Meetings and Events
MPI Rocky Mountain Chapter
Gemmell, a lead generation trainer and networking
expert based in Gainesville, Ga., hosts her own eventsand often attends up to seven meetings a week to makenew connections. She finds that attendees are gravitating
away from “free mingling,” because of the hit-or-missaspect, and prefer to know ahead of time whom they may
be meeting.

“They want to know there is a 95% chance they will
walk out of here with some kind of benefit to their business,” she says.
More organizers at the events she attends are usingcard decks with prompts to make it easier for attendees
to strike up a conversation.
“The gamification of getting people into conversations

ATTENDANCE FORECASTS

A VIRTUAL RISING
Live attendance projections remain strong. Surprisingly, “favorable” virtual/online
attendance projections are up—the highest we’ve seen since Q2 2022, when virtual
attendance projections were plummeting.
Projected Live Attendance

Positive
Flat
NegativeQ3 ‘23Q4 ‘23

Q1 ‘24Q2 ‘24

82%
10%
8%

70%
15%
15%

76%
11%
13%

71%
19%
11%

Q3 ‘23Q4 ‘23

Q1 ‘24Q2 ‘24

17%
30%
50%

17%
33%
50%

18%
33%
49%23%
31%
46%

Projected Virtual Attendance

Positive
Flat
Negative

MPI MEETINGS OUTLOOK: Q2 2024

“The gamification of getting people into conversations has
been wildly popular in networking.”
SARAH GEMMELL

Lead Generation Trainer and Networking Expert
Gainesville, Ga.
has been wildly popular in networking,” Gemmell says.
Jen Kem, CEO of Master Brand Institute, a brand strategy and leadership development firm in Walnut Creek,
Calif., has put her own spin on the trend with “UnicornConnection Cards.” Attendees address two questions:
how they help people in the world and what help theyneed in terms of referrals and resources. If they meetsomeone they want to follow up with, they make a noteon that person’s card about what they discussed, where
they met and what they hope to connect about in thefuture.
“We call it the Uniform Connection Card because what
we’re looking for is the other rare people or rare breeds
that are in the room,” Kem says. “Our purpose is to keep it
simple and make it easy for people to play.”
She calculates that clients who attended her smallgroup events over the past six years have generated $22
million in new business as a result of the cards.
Entertainment that helps start conversations is also a
hit in today’s business environment. Karen Kuzsel (MPIGreater Orlando Chapter), owner of The Psychic Lady inOcoee, Fla., finds that as attendees seek more connection
at meetings, she’s been in high demand as a psychic forcorporate team-building events.
“The way I connect to people at events isn’t, ‘This isgoing to happen to you,'" she says. “It’s more of, ‘This iswhat I feel from you,’ and then people can engage in conversation and there’s a lot of back and forth.”Those darn budgets
Of course, there are also budgetary realities to consider.

Many meeting professionals say they are paying close
attention to the financial side of meetings. Mary Anne
Whittle, CMP, president of the MPI Arizona Sunbelt Chapter, anticipates that rising costs for food and beverage andlabor will continue to be significant factors in the next 12months and beyond.
“Current pricing has required us to critically reassess
all of our programs, leading us to revising programs
and scaling back certain functions to minimize the needfor multi-day programs with heavy food and beverageneeds,” she says. “Functions we have had to cut to meet
our budgets include once-anticipated welcome receptions and breakfast networking segments. We have also
shortened signature meetings to eliminate lunch anddinner functions.”
At the same time, Whittle has turned an eagle eye tocontracts.
“Given the influx of new charges and additionalcharges layered onto already exorbitant service charges,
I collaborate closely with my sourcing partner to ensure
our contracts clearly delineate what is to be considered
complimentary and what charges we will not be acceptable,” she says. “This concerning trend of incremental fee
assessments has compelled me to adopt a firmer stanceduring negotiations—not only for venue contracts, butalso increasingly in-house audiovisual services.”
In response, she’s shopping around more.
Ultimately, meeting professionals are finding that it’s
all about the attendee experience. The trick is continuing
to improve upon it as the price of doing just about everything keeps going up.

Meetings Outlook is supported in partnership with IMEX Group.
© 2024 Meeting Professionals International

MPI MEETINGS OUTLOOK: Q2 2024