Five Things Meeting Planners Want from Destinations

October 25, 2024
High angle view of meeting planners discussing Winning Strategies in Destination Marketing in the lobby. Male and female professionals are working in office. Focus is on executives at workplace.

Meeting planners are happy to be getting back to what they do best, to ensure successful, productive and cost-efficient meetings, business events, and conferences. 

We know because we asked them! DCI surveyed 173 North American meeting planners for the fifth edition of the industry-leading report, “A View from Meeting Planners: Winning Strategies in Destination Marketing”. Since the last report in 2021, at the height of the pandemic, there are more than a few changes to share.

The report is a snapshot of perceptions, helping tell the ever-developing story of what today’s North American meeting planners expect from destinations. These insights, in turn, are vital for destinations to market themselves successfully and to land the business events and conferences that are back in force.

1. Safety First

The pandemic is behind us. While health concerns were front and center in the 2021 edition of the report, this year, only 10% of meeting planners have COVID on their minds. Instead, major concerns have shifted toward crime and safety. North American planners seek destinations that provide secure experiences for their attendees.

With global conflicts and political unrest making headlines, destinations want to be deliberate in positioning themselves as safe choices. Boast about a track record of decreasing crime or tout any innovations and enhancements to local security forces. Meeting planners will want to know if they are going to book with you.

2. Real Relationships

Meeting planners want connections—real ones. They are looking to build relationships with destination representatives, especially to help secure the best rates possible.

In this report, 80 percent of corporate event planners and 76 percent of association planners report trade shows as a top influencer of destination awareness, compared to 49 percent of corporate event planners and 46 percent of association planners in 2021. The takeaway is clear for destinations: Connect with meeting planners!

Good relationships are symbiotic. When a meeting planner gets what they need, it can spell positive word of mouth for the destination among other planners. Industry professionals know that good relationships can lead to better rates, more flexibility in contracts and access to exclusive or in-demand venues. In addition to in-person meetings,

Real relationships lead to more authentic and successful events, and increases the chance of repeat bookings.

3. Strategic Marketing

Meeting planners want you to hit the right note with your marketing. Younger meeting planners are increasingly looking toward social media to learn about destinations. Among respondents, most (60%) rely on Instagram, but LinkedIn (45%), YouTube (30%), and Facebook (30%) are not far behind on the list of social media platforms that meeting planners found useful.

It’s not just about social media, either. Among more experienced meeting planners, industry publications like “Meetings & Conventions” and “Successful Meetings”  continue to shape their perceptions of a destination.

Creating marketing campaigns that cover traditional and social media will continue to be important moving forward—even if other tactics like FAM trips and in-person meetings continue to be preferred ways for learning about a destination.

4. Straightforward Websites

The digital front door of a destination continues to be important to attract decision makers and meeting planners. These professionals are looking at convention and visitors bureau websites to get an overall impression before moving forward in their selection process.

It’s essential to ensure that these websites contain the hooks and lures that draw in meeting planners. Respondents ranked the most-useful features of a convention and visitors bureau website when considering a destination for a business event, and general destination information (78%) came in first, helping to establish a “vibe” before moving on to further details. Meeting space information (64%), convention centers/meetings hotels (61%) and staff contact information (56%) followed as the most valued parts of a website.

Destinations and convention bureaus need to update their sites to ensure that the first connection with meeting planners isn’t the last.

5. Cost and Accessibility

“A View from Meeting Planners: Winning Strategies in Destination Marketing” also makes one thing clear: Costs of in-destination meeting space/hotel rooms is by far the most important of all criteria. Destinations need to keep any and all cost-cutting strategies at the front of their marketing to attract meeting planners.

Not far behind, planners want a destination with some “wow factor.” While it may seem like a nebulous concept, enhanced relationships with meeting planners may help shine a spotlight on what your destination’s wow factor is—in their opinion, anyway. 

Planners also seek destinations that are convenient to access from the U.S./Canada as well as for attendees from outside North America. Having the right airlift to and from a destination is a big win, so be sure to market any new routes loudly to let planners know how connected you are.

Get in touch with Pamela Laite at pamela.laite@aboutdci.com to learn more about working with DCI to leverage insight from “A View from Meeting Planners: Winning Strategies in Destination Marketing”. Tap into the agency’s 60+ years of experience to build a successful campaign and attract meeting and incentive planners.

Written by

Pamela Laite

Director, Business Events