2013 Small Meeting Trend Report

Online tools and a preference for conference centers over other meeting venues are some of the notable findings in the latest Successful Meetings reader survey on small meetings. The study, which polled readers in an online survey about their decision-making priorities when planning small meetings (defined as 100 or fewer attendees), found that almost two thirds (65.2 percent) exclusively planned to run their small meetings domestically. While 32.6 percent expected to head to both domestic and international destinations, just 2.2 percent are looking at only international options for the coming year. 

The survey, which received responses from 181 readers, found that the types of properties that planners preferred for their small meetings varied widely. The most popular property type proved to be conference centers, at which 62.4 percent of respondents planned to host their small meetings. This was followed by resorts, with 58.6 percent; city centers, with 54.1 percent; and airport hotels at 42 percent. Day centers were the least popular venue choice, with just 18.2 percent of planners expecting to hold an event there. 

Looking specifically at planners’ management and procurement efforts, digital and online tools proved a hit with respondents. Nearly a third of the readers surveyed (32.4 percent) cited online RFP tools as “important” or “very important” in their planning efforts. Some 29.1 percent of respondents said the same about mobile apps. Of less significance for small-meeting planning were third-party planning companies, which 23.5 percent of respondents cited as important, and site-selection companies, indicated by 20.6 percent of respondents.

While the rise of virtual meetings technology continues to shape the industry, most respondents acknowledged that they only occasionally used these tools for their small meetings. Most respondents (62.4 percent) said they used virtual meeting tools at fewer than 10 percent of their meetings. An additional 14.9 percent said they use virtual technology at 11 to 25 percent of their meetings, while 11 percent use them at more than half of their events.