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The way people travel for work has changed in recent years, and the industry has responded to adapt to new business travel “norms” that are not fleeting trends but long-term changes.
“Why, how and where we do business have changed, impacting the meetings and events industry,” said Gerilyn Horan, Vice President of Sales and Strategic Accounts, Hilton Worldwide. “As we celebrate Global Meetings Industry Day, it’s important to Be cognizant of the ways the industry is changing and the innovative solutions that are coming to the forefront – from expanded booking capabilities to enhanced loyalty programs.”
As people increasingly prefer in-person meetings, today’s planners are looking for solutions to streamline the booking process, which often involves juggling many event details at once. Customers want to be rewarded for their loyalty, such as matching points to spend towards future events, hotel stays, etc. Additionally, meetings and events are being held in new locations, moving from large city centers to secondary markets as well as resorts and all-inclusive hotels.
Streamline success
Meetings and events have also changed over the past few years as the way people travel for work has changed. More than 70% of event attendees said they preferred in-person meetings and events to virtual ones. While face-to-face meetings are in high demand, about a third of event planners (27%) are frustrated by complex and time-consuming booking processes. Specifically, four in 10 said they felt frustrated juggling event details and finding a space that met their requirements (39%).
Hilton Meetings Packages is Hilton’s expanded online event booking capability that meets the needs of professional and individual planners and solves these challenges by allowing small meeting and event customers to book event space entirely online. Planners have the option to bundle meeting spaces with guest rooms, audio-visual needs, food and beverage orders, and other customizable extras. From board meetings to fundraising events, this feature enables planners to focus less on contracts and more on customizing personalized packages and experiences based on attendees’ unique needs.
Reward loyalty
With new updates to the Hilton Honors Event Planner program, Hilton is enabling customers to get extra bang for their buck on event planning. For all eligible events booked on or after April 15, 2024, Hilton Honors members who reserve rooms and meeting and event space will now be eligible to earn 2 Hilton Honors Points per $1 of eligible spend , which is an increase from the original 1 Hilton Honors point per dollar. There is no limit to the number of points that can be awarded per event, and planners can redeem Hilton Honors points in a variety of ways, including free hotel stays, future events and charitable donations.
To celebrate the value of in-person meetings and events and Global Meetings Industry Day, Hilton Worldwide Sales is hosting a competition to introduce Meetings That Matter to meeting and travel planners around the world. As advocates for the industry, planners are encouraged to tell stories of powerful connections built over the years in in-person meetings for a chance to win 1 million Hilton Honors points towards grand and runner-up prizes.
This year’s honoree is Timena Sarratt of Cherokee County First Steps, a local nonprofit dedicated to bringing families, caregivers and community partners together in high-quality programs and services to improve the life of children from pre-birth to Early childhood development at five years of age. One of her most memorable meetings occurred during a staff retreat, when the team left their planned schedule to record a social media video. While doing this, Timena and her colleagues had so much fun together that they lost track of time. Now, they seek to incorporate unique connecting experience opportunities like this into their work to bring everyone closer.
“[That bonding time] It’s so special to us and we want to create this experience for the families we serve because for us it’s almost like we’re on a mini vacation,” Zarate said. “This led us to create what we now call Mom Meetup Groups, a way for our clients to come together to enjoy life, laugh, have fun and be encouraged during a brief escape from reality.”
Find new accommodation
Hilton expects that by 2023, many large conferences and events will move from large urban centers to secondary markets. Group bookings at the Columbus Downtown Hilton, for example, are up nearly two-thirds from this time last year. As another example, based on market demand, Hilton recently opened the new Embassy Suites by Hilton Gatlinburg on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, offering 12,800 square feet of flexible, function space to serve a variety of people. Conference size and functionality.
Major markets such as Atlanta and Orlando also continue to grow. The recently opened Signia by Hilton Atlanta Georgia World Congress Center is the brand’s flagship hotel, designed and developed with feedback from meeting planners and offering more than 100,000 square feet of meeting and event space, including the largest hotel ballroom in Georgia. Conrad Orlando debuts in Orlando this year with more than 65,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting and event space, from modern conference rooms to lush outdoor lawns, the hotel can host meetings of all sizes and formats. Globally, Hilton’s increasingly popular key destinations include Barcelona, London, Rome, Vienna, Prague, Singapore, Tokyo, Sydney and Dubai.
Global Meetings Industry Day spotlights the evolving meetings and events landscape, celebrating the innovation and adaptability of the industry over the past few years. From solving booking challenges and rewarding planners to entering emerging markets while supporting growth in key locations, Hilton continues to lead the way in the new era of meetings and events.
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