Meeting professionals are used to juggling schedules and contingencies, but the last few months have felt like an endless roller coaster of challenges. As many planners know, it is not a stretch to imagine being at their desk one morning, surrounded by seating diagrams and catering quotes, when the phone buzzes with an alert: Another multibillion-dollar tariff has been announced on raw materials, affecting the price of myriad conference necessities. Minutes later, a colleague emails that a major sponsor’s travel has been frozen by budget cuts. By afternoon, headlines pop up about an executive order requiring written approval for federal employee conference travel. The script reads more like a thriller than a planning playbook, but it is all too real for most planners this year. And the plot twists keep coming.
While dealing with uncertainty and mastering flexibility have always been aspects of a planner’s job, this doesn’t mean navigating such shifts comes easily. Planners thrive on knowing they can rely on at least a few relative constants, such as the cost of a trade-show booth or the ability of key international attendees to attend a conference. But today, even these event elements can be unpredictable. And when the ground shifts in such profound ways, planners feel the impact immediately.
Fortunately, industry professionals have responded with typical aplomb. The sky might feel like it’s falling, but there is plenty of time and ample resources to counter the uncertainty and succeed in the face of challenges.
Blocks in the Road
This era’s terrain has already taken a toll on attendance and budgets. A Tourism Economics Global Travel Service update released this year underscores the impact, highlighting that international visitor arrivals to the U.S. are expected to fall 9.4% this year, with Canadian visitation dropping 20.2%. Canada has long been a top feeder for U.S. events, so the latter dip is especially significant.
Cameron Curtis, president and chief innovator at association management firm C2 Association Strategies of Alexandria, Virginia, has already felt the effects. “We had a small domestic conference in March where the Canadian attendees said they wouldn’t travel to the U.S. for at least four years,” she says. “For that reason, we are considering moving meetings that have traditionally been held in the U.S. to Canada to make it easier for international travelers to attend. People forget that diversity also means diversity of thought, perspective, and experience, and international attendees enhance that.”
Therese Jardine, CEO of consultancy Strategic Event Procurement based in Seattle, says her network also is bracing for lower international turnout. “Everyone in my network is concerned and expecting lower attendance from outside the country,” she says.
Adding to the uncertainty is a wave of additional trade tariffs that might make events more expensive. After levying steel and aluminum tariffs in March, the White House imposed duties on most imported goods in April, increasing costs across the board. While some of those tariffs have subsequently been scaled back, their future status remains unclear. Those higher expenses could cut deeply into meeting planners’ budgets, already stretched thin by factors like inflation and staffing shortages. Additionally, hotels and vendors face higher costs of doing business, and they often pass on some expenses via steeper room rates and service fees.
Jardine confirms the pinch is real. “Food and beverage costs are increasing,” she says. “Planners are going to get creative on how to keep a good experience while managing cost and reducing waste. Clients are waiting to make financial commitments. Even corporations face uncertainty about attendance as travel budgets are reduced. People are going with more conservative room blocks than they might otherwise to avoid potential attrition.”
Planners also are reviewing and suggesting contract language that addresses uncertainty in its numerous forms. Many event professionals insist on broader force majeure clauses (allowing cancellation due to an event that cannot be reasonably anticipated or controlled) or other cancellation clauses to protect themselves against unforeseen obstacles. Industry experts recommend explicitly covering political or regulatory disruptions in contracts. “Force majeure [clauses are] interesting,” says Jardine. “Reduced attendance because attendees can no longer afford to attend does not constitute force majeure. Planners and hoteliers will need to work together to come up with agreements that allow a certain amount of flexibility. Neither side will 100% get their way.”
Most note that force majeure clauses have included unforeseen regulatory changes for years. But as Brittney Cobb, director of global events at Las Vegas-based Innov8 Meetings and Events, notes, contracts only work if you enforce them. “Even with the right contract language, the real power comes in knowing how to enforce it,” she says. “When unexpected issues arise, having a contract expert in your corner who understands every clause and holds venues accountable is the best protection you can have.”
Innovation Strikes Back
Faced with so many obstacles and tightened resources, successful planners innovate by necessity. “As an eternal optimist, I choose to focus on what I can control rather than dwelling on what I can’t,” says Cobb. “[I prioritize] staying ahead of industry trends, global news, policies, and market shifts that could impact meetings and events; protecting clients from unnecessary risks and surprise costs; and educating clients on things like food supply-chain disruptions, new or rising hotel fees, and where to get the best value for their program.”
This also might mean carefully reallocating budgets after cuts, finding new revenue streams, or tweaking event formats. For instance, with lower marketing and sponsorship funds, planners might target fewer but more reliable sponsors. They also might create tiered packages that appeal to cautious marketers.
According to Nancy Shaffer, CEO of Bravo Events in Washington, D.C., there are plenty of time-honored options open to planners for reducing budgets or increasing revenue without affecting event quality. “Many [planners] are either shortening events or combining sessions to save on lodging and meals,” she says. “Others are beefing up value-adds—such as on-demand content or postevent reports—to make it [worthwhile to] sponsors even if fewer delegates attend.”
MaryAnn Blanchard, director of sales at Royal Lahaina Resort & Bungalows on the island of Maui in Hawaii, notes the recent shifts have led to the resort’s events team refocusing on what is important. “We’re either pivoting by using other vendors or pausing on those purchases,” she says. “The silver lining is that we are really looking to our local vendors and sourcing items closer to home. From bamboo to paper products, we are getting [everything] either on-island or from the other islands.”
Technology and format pivots draw mixed reviews from planners, with many stressing the superiority of in-person events over virtual. But Jardine believes hybrid formats should remain part of the playbook as useful tools for staying flexible. “I believe hybrid formats continue to be viable options,” she says. “It’s not necessarily a less-expensive option but rather one that allows the content to be available when in-person attendance isn’t viable.”
Doubling Down on Optimism
The meetings industry is finding ways to persevere. Many planners who weathered the peak of COVID-19 can draw on those lessons now. Budgets might be cut and attendance might decline, but the problem-solver mentality of planners is kicking in. By tightening financials, vetting risk factors early, and keeping lines of communication open with stakeholders, event teams are learning to thrive amid volatility.
Marsha Flanagan, president and CEO of the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE), which is headquartered in Dallas, underscores the value of the long view. “Our focus remains on long-term adaptability,” she says. “We’re working closely with legal experts and policymakers to ensure compliance while advocating for fair implementation.”
As always, event planners are innovative, fearless, and optimistic by nature. Goodwin says, “This is an opportunity for events to show their enduring value. Regardless of the uncertainty, bringing people together and delivering the commerce, the networking, the education, and the experience that people are looking for will lay the groundwork for years to come.”
As planners counsel their peers, some might think the obvious choice is paralysis. But others conclude with a rallying call: Keep moving forward. Goodwin continues, “Lots of times in these environments full of economic uncertainty, people pare back on their global expansion. And that might actually be the riskiest move right now.”
After all, “We learned so many things as an industry getting through the [height of the COVID-19] pandemic,” says Shaffer. “It’s time to rally together, circle the wagons, and put those ideas back into practice.” When people pull together, strength and innovation persevere. Armed with that perspective and a dash of optimism, the industry is determined to survive—and even find new opportunities—in this time of uncertainty.
c2associationstrategies.com
eventsbybravo.com
exhibitionsconferencesalliance.org
iaee.com
innov8meetings.com
royallahaina.com
strategiceventprocurement.com
