Results and insight from a survey of over 1,000 meetings and events professionals from corporations in Europe and the US, as presented at the Meetings Show on 15th June 2017. Presented by David Taylor, MD of Grass Roots Meetings and Events, with Technology slides presented by product manager Philip Staines. This research will be published in full in the Grass Roots Meetings Industry Report to be released in Autumn 2017. Find out more at http://meetingsindustry.report.

1. grassroots.events
THE STATE OF THE INDUSTRY
Presented by Grass Roots Meetings & Events
Specialists in strategic meetings management and delegate management

2. grassroots.events
INTRODUCTION

3. grassroots.events3
• Strategic Meetings Management • Delegate Management Solutions
SPECIALIST M&E SERVICES
Registration
Websites

4. grassroots.events
MEETINGS INDUSTRY REPORT

5. grassroots.events
MEETINGS INDUSTRY REPORT
• In-depth look at key issues in the meetings industry
• Corporate benchmarking tool for meetings and events
procurement strategies
• Reliable statistics, facts and insight, and Grass Roots client
case studies
• 144 page report available in print and pdf
• Distributed to CEOs, procurement heads, training and HR
directors, and meetings and events buyers

6. grassroots.events
THE SURVEY
• 31 question survey carried out in March and April 2017
• Sent to 5,000 meetings and events professionals in UK,
Europe and US
• Corporates, agencies and suppliers
• 1,012 responses
• 76% UK & Europe, 24% US

7. grassroots.events
INDUSTRY SECTOR
38%
16%6%
6%
6%
3%
3%
3%
3%
16%
UK Corporates: Industry Sector
Financial Services
Professional Services
Leisure & Hospitality
Retail
Healthcare
Technology
Transportation
Utilities
Business Services
Other
56%
14%
10%
8%
5%
5%2%
US Corporates: Industry Sector
Financial Services
Professional Services
Retail
Other
Leisure & Hospitality
Business Services
Technology

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OPERATIONAL REACH
86%
11%
3%
UK Corporates: Where Do You
Operate?
Global
UK only
Europe
83%
17%
US Corporates: Where Do You
Operate?
Global
US &
Europe

9. grassroots.events
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES
69%
8%
6%
7%
10%
UK Corporates: # Employees
5,000+
1,001-5,000
501-1,000
251-500
1-250
85%
5%
10%
US Corporates: # Employees
5,000+
1,001-5,000
251-500

10. grassroots.events
A CHANGING WORLD

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INDUSTRY TRENDS

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RATES - UK
DAY DELEGATE RATE UK CITIES COMPARISON
DDR VENUES
The MeetingsBenchmark Ltd ©2017

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SPEND - UK
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
Average Meeting £
2015 2016 2017
0 20 40 60 80 100
Average Delegate £
2017 2016 2015
The Meetings Benchmark Ltd ©2017

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TRENDS - UK
0 10 20 30 40
DDR #
24H #
Number of Delegates
2017 2016 2015
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Conversion Lead Time
Number of Days
2015 2016 2017
The Meetings Benchmark Ltd ©2017

16. grassroots.events
RATES - London
• Very static for both 4 star and 5 star market
• There were c. 140,000 rooms in March 2016
(up 18,000 since 2012)*
• c. 16,000 expected by 2018*
• Mirrored by the training venue market in
London which also remained static for the
past three years with an average rate of £61
*London & Partners / JLL Hotel Development Monitor, May 2016

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DURATION
• Average meeting duration up by .25
of a day since 2015.
• More international delegates
• Same period saw an average increase
of 9%, which equates to 3 delegates
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.7
2014 2015 2016 2017
Days

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LEAD TIMES
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Lead times (days)
• After year-on-year increases, lead
times are dropping
• 2013 – 82
• 2014 – 94
• 2015 – 105
• 2016 – 107
• 2017 – 79

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LEAD TIMES
• 26% decrease – from 94 to 69 days overall
• Change most evident in Large meetings
o 270 days in Q1 2016
o 201 days in Q1 2017
• Medium-size meetings actually stayed quite
static, with only 5% decrease
0
20
40
60
80
100
Q1 2016 Q1 2017

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ORGANISATION TRENDS

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IMPACT OF BREXIT ON M&E
11%
3%
47%
39%
UK Corporates: Impact of Brexit
Positive
Negative
No change
Don't know
45%
22%
22%
11%
US Corporates: Impact of Brexit
Positive
Negative
No change
Don't know

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IMPACT OF US ELECTION ON M&E
3%3%
55%
39%
UK Corporates: Impact of US
Election
Positive
Negative
No change
Don't know
10%
10%
60%
20%
US Corporates: Impact of US
Election
Positive
Negative
No change
Don't know

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IMPACT OF TERRORISM ON M&E
22%
45%
33%
UK Corporates: Impact of Terrorism
Negative
No change
Don't know
10%
20%
60%
10%
US Corporates: Impact of
Terrorism
Positive
Negative
No change
Don't know

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M&E IMPACT ON EMPLOYEES
86%
3%
11%
UK Corporates: Impact of M&E on
Employee Engagement
Positive
No change
Don't know
70%
30%
US Corporates: Impact of M&E on
Employee Engagement
Positive
Don't know

25. grassroots.events
A SHIFT TO EMPLOYEE EVENTS
• A continuing shift in focus
towards events supporting
employee programmes (vs
customer programmes) over the
last four years
• With average delegate numbers
per event up over 18% with
average event spend up 47%
%ofemployeeevents

26. grassroots.events
AVERAGE CUSTOMER EVENT SPEND
• A massive three fold increase in the average
event spend for customer events in the last
five years
Averagespend/customerevent

27. grassroots.events
M&E IMPACT ON PROFITABILITY
73%
17%
10%
UK Corporates: Impact of M&E on
Profitability
Positive
No change
Don't know 60%
40%
US Corporates: Impact of M&E on
Profitability
Positive
Don't know

28. grassroots.events
DO YOU MEASURE IMPACT?
31%
25%8%
19%
17%
UK Corporates: Measurement of
impact of M&E
Yes - other KPIs
Yes - ROI
Yes - ROO
No - but plan to
No - no plans
40%
20%
10%
20%
10%
US Corporates: Measurement of
impact of M&E
Yes - ROO
Yes - other KPIs
Yes - ROI
No - no plans
No - but plan to

29. grassroots.events
SMM PROGRAMMES
42%
23%
19%
16%
UK Corporates: Deployed SMMP
Yes
Planning to in
2017/18
No, would like
to but can't
No, and won't
66%
17%
17%
US Corporates: Deployed SMMP
Yes
Planning to in
2017/18
No, would like
to but can't

30. grassroots.events
TMC & MEETING CONSOLIDATION?
36%
8%
6%8%
42%
UK Corporates: Consolidated?
Consolidated
events and travel
Consolidated
travel, not events
Planning to
No intention
Don't know
20%
40%
10%
30%
US Corporates: Consolidated?
Consolidated
events and travel
Planning to
No intention
Don't know

31. grassroots.events
Supply Network Asset Type
Travel Flights/Trains/Taxi
Accommodation
Meeting Space
Function/Event Space
GlobalRegional
TMC Scope
Technology heavy – global, locally deployed
Meeting Venues
Training Venues
Apartments
Innovative
Venues
Restaurants
Meeting Space
Function/Event Space
Accommodation
Meeting Space
Function/Event Space
Accommodation
Function/Event Space
Meeting Space
TYPICAL VPA
Scope
Specialist
Technology,
knowledge
service,
consultancy
on mix
Regionally
deployed
Growth
Product
Leadership
Regional
Market Focus
Differentiated
Product
Operational
Excellence
Market Strategy
Hotels
Growth

32. grassroots.events
TECHNOLOGY TRENDS

33. grassroots.events
TECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTED
Tech Implemented UK Corporates US Corporates
Artificial Intelligence 6% 10%
Hybrid Meetings 19% 30%
M&E / CRM Integration 20% 20%
Event Apps 50% 92%
Interactive Signage 33% 30%
Sensory Tech / VR 20% 11%
Tracking Movement 17% 30%
E-RFP 14% 40%
Benchmarking tools 11% 10%

34. grassroots.events
Artificial Intelligence
“Computer systems which are able to perform tasks normally requiring human
intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and
translation between languages.”
• AI in events can help with:
• Personalisation – suggesting sessions or exhibitors based on
data profiles
• Streamlined customer service – people no longer want to
phone a help desk to speak to a person, they want instant
answers personalised to them
• Improved event experience – notifying the F&B company that
more bar staff are need as footfall has increased in that area
• South by Southwest® (SXSW®) – Abby the chatbot

35. grassroots.events
Hybrid events
“A hybrid event is a tradeshow, conference, unconference, seminar, workshop or
other meeting that combines a "live" in-person event with a "virtual" component.”
• Hybrid event utilisation remains steady, but there are many
benefits:
• Increased audience and reach – fresh ideas and perspectives
from audiences that may not be able to physically attend.
Potential for increased numbers.
• Cost savings – travel, venue, F&B are all potential saving areas
• Efficient – People are busy! Reduce the amount of time it
takes out of the office to get new ideas
• TED Cinema Experience – streamed the TED2017
conference to cinemas worldwide

36. grassroots.events
Integrations
“A set of clearly defined methods of communication between various software
components.”
• Critical to the future of the event industry:
• Increased insight – systems interacting with each other gives
opportunity for more insight in order to make informed decisions
(e.g. event data into CRM data)
• Innovation – integrating an existing platform with new
technology gives opportunity for new tech with decreased risk
• Enhanced delegate experience – Seamless interaction with
systems without multiple sign ups and usernames and passwords
• Reduce error – no manual data entry or spreadsheet upload
• Grass Roots and Client – Registration system integrated into
client environments and a variety of tools

37. grassroots.events
Event apps
• A multitude of providers at every price point, all
offering value to your audience:
• Convenience – content in a single place
• Green – no need to print schedules and collateral
• Increased engagement – some offer enhanced
features such as audience matching or
recommendation engines
• Increased revenue – content and sponsorship
opportunities within in the app
• Insight – a view of who is arranging meetings and
what content strikes a cord with the audience
• Coachella music festival – used app to suggest
artists and the location tracking for queue
monitoring at bars amongst other things

38. grassroots.events
Interactive signage
“Digital interactive signage uses technology to display content and allow audiences to
interact with it for a better more personalised experience”
• Prevalent in retail and will start to filter down to the events
industry more and more. Can offer a different way of providing
content and assisting the audience:
• Personalised experiences – allow attendees to get personalised
relevant information or directions quickly and easily
• Engagement – content and experiences can be dynamically
updated to keep audiences engaged throughout the event
• Insight – understand what people are looking at in order to make
informed decisions about your event
• Cleveland Museum of art – 40ft digital screen allowing the
audience to build and curate their own art experience

39. grassroots.events
Virtual Reality
“Virtual reality is an artificial environment that is created with software and
presented to the user in such a way that the user suspends belief and accepts it
as a real environment”
• Adoption slow as people figure out how to embed it, but
there are numerous benefits:
• Experience – can take an audience to another place or time
completely
• Increased audience reach – audiences can still experience
and event without being at the event location
• Potential cost savings- using VR for site visits would reduce
travel costs etc.
• YPO Edge conference 2017 – Mobileye used VR as part of
their keynote to simulate driving an autonomous car

40. grassroots.events
Tracking movement
“The use of technology to determine and track a precise location of a person or object.”
• Tracking locations of your audience at an event can offer great
insight, but you must have a plan to use the data:
• Increased insight – can see which areas people are interacting with
the most, which can aide floorplan formulation for future years
• Customer service – can monitor journey times to the venue and
give people updates based on this, proactively react to queues
• Additional content – location based marketing gives the
opportunity for extra content
• Staffing – opportunity to move staff to busy areas and potentially
save on staffing levels
• C2 Montreal – Klik platform with their new badge with built in
Bluetooth to track audience

41. grassroots.events
DATA SECURITY IN M&E
67%
33%
UK Corporates: Do you have data
security systems in place for
meetings and events?
Yes
No
67%
33%
US Corporates: Do you have data
security systems in place for
meetings and events?
Yes
No

42. grassroots.events
IMPACT OF CYBER SECURITY
14%
6%
49%
31%
UK Corporates: Impact of Cyber
Security
Positive
Negative
No change
Don't know
10%
10%
70%
10%
US Corporates: Impact of Cyber
Security
Positive
Negative
No change
Don't know

43. grassroots.events
For more information visit:
www.grassroots.events