I write this as I'm preparing to travel to the Association Management Company (AMC) Institute’s Annual Meeting. This gathering of AMC owners and senior staff delivers insight into industry trends and leading practices, while providing connections to a vibrant network of association management colleagues.
This year I also have the pleasure of speaking on a panel of my peers where we'll share our journey through the accreditation process. In the same way that our clients' conferences bring energy and excitement to their members and professions, this conference puts energy beneath my feet.
One of the sessions I'm looking forward to is a panel discussion on the state of the industry featuring executives at Destination DC, MGM Resorts International, ALHI, and Encore. Costs for in-person events continue to rise, specifically A/V, food and beverage, and overnight rooms. Recent research continues to show expected increases in costs and changes to event locations due to the costs:
According to Knowland and Conference Direct’s 2024 State of the Meetings Industry, 53% of respondents consider moving meetings to secondary markets to reduce costs.
CoStar’s research found “the rate of inflation has not been fully accounted for in hotel guest room rates,” resulting in hotels holding firm on pricing for room rental and F&B to offset the rise in labor costs.
Year-over-year, North American hotel group rates are estimated to increase by 6.41% and group airfares by 5.41%, according to the Amex GBT 2024 Global Meetings & Events Forecast.
Understanding the basis for these cost increases and how to navigate cost savings for our clients is front and center. I’ll certainly share the takeaways from the conference with the Barcami Lane team in support of our clients.
Until next time!
Cambria Happ, MPA, CAE
President
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