The Collective #MICEBEAT 2

The (New) Group Request: winning the business for tomorrow’s events 

The Collective #MICEBEAT is a data-led live think tank on the future of the meetings and event industry.

–  Key Takeaways: 3 Quick Action Steps

In this second session of #MICEBEAT Lea Jordan and Rita Machado hosted guest panelists Tracy Scott from Connect Worldwide and Lidia Skarapani, from Principal Group Events in a lively discussion on the current meetings and events landscape in Europe, sharing existing data as well as real-time and real-life  experiences.

If you have time, we thoroughly encourage you to listens to the 60 minute session and benefit from the lively audience interaction and questions.

If you don’t have time, read through the 3 crtical action points you can implement right now to position your hotel to win the business that is out there.

These are the strategies that will enable your team to set the stage to keep your hotel’s MICE business on the road to sustainability, tomorrow. 

Fundamentally, current requests tell us that It’s crucial to instill confidence in clients right now. This means that, at every level of the supply chain – whether venue sourcing, venue, technology and all of the logistics in between – we need to look at the sales journey with a fresh perspective and answer the question

what can we do to make our corporate clients feel safe when they come to our venue?There are 3 main areas hotels need to focus on:

Technology: Riding the learning curve together

Technology is currently among the top drivers for making events and it feels like we’re all riding the learning curve – clients, agencies and venues. Approach this as a “partners in planning” opportunity where working together creates real and sustainable connections and relationships. It’s not all a guessing game, though and there are certain items you should have in place and communicate that you do. Don’t wait to be asked!

The latest requests reveal is that to instill confidence and win the business, venues need to secure the following:

  • Bandwidth
  • A dedicated technical team on hand to solve issues as they arise
  • Contactless technology: from check-in, to in-room options, delegate registration, and F&B

Contracts and special clauses: Walk a mile in each party’s shoes

Procurement departments have increasingly been involved in the proposal process. It’s about more than the delegate experience and the creative side of the event. As well as the ROI of each event, companies are hedging their bets, in contractual terms. Hotels must offer clauses in their contracts to allow for greater flexibility – assuring companies that they can book an event without feeling trapped. Specifically, these three clauses can make the difference:

  • Postponement
  • Group clauses – cancellation
  • Force Majeure

Communications: Yes! Pictures are worth a thousand words!

Communicate absolutely everything your hotel is doing. Let clients know how much your hotel has invested in safety, hygiene and technology and incorporate that into your offer. Agencies want to know how you are contributing towards solving the central problem of how to make corporate clients comfortable when booking an event and clients, as always, will be looking to get more bangs for their buck.

  • Virtual show-arounds and site inspections that project a well thought out guest and delegate experience from check-in to check-out, including flow and exterior spaces have proven very successful.
  • New capacity charts, fact sheets and images that can be passed on from agencies to clients reflecting new needs, demands and policies and compliance measures will make the difference at this stage.
  • Your destination is critical. Providing key statistics, facts and measures as well as new events, sites and activities will do wonders for persuasion.

In a changing and pressure filled climate, anticipating for the future can prove to be overwhelming and paralyzing even as business begins to pick up and  move forward. However, the picture that begins to emerge shows us that the turnaround is really in the small and actionable steps we can take. At the end of the day, we’re all playing the same end game – getting back to safe and successful meetings and events. That will, of necessity,  involve working closely together with all stakeholders to find solutions to the most basic questions.

If you would like more information about how Great Hotels of the World can help your hotel get ready for the future of the Meetings and Events industry, visit our website, right here


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