Planners need to hear about safety plans/strategies from industry suppliers. That’s the top messaging they desire at this time, as cited by 58% of respondents in the The Meeting Professional’s June survey. The No. 2 messaging sought by planners: “zero-attrition policies” (21%). Supplier messages such as “We’re open for business” and “We’re ready for you” were much less important, with only 5% and 7%, respectively, wanting to hear that at this time.
Meeting professionals are eager to get back to business, but expressed uncertainty about when they expect to feel comfortable doing a wide variety of activities associated with the meeting industry.
When do you anticipate feeling comfortable with the following again?
| June | July | Aug. | Sept. | Oct. | Nov. | Dec. | Q1 2021 | Later than Q1 2021 | |
| Domestic air | 9% | 7% | 9% | 13% | 7% | 8% | 3% | 29% | 15% |
| International air | 3% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 5% | 2% | 3% | 31% | 47% |
| Cruise travel | 1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 2% | 1% | 1% | 17% | 74% |
| Attending gatherings <100 pax | 14% | 8% | 8% | 17% | 15% | 9% | 6% | 16% | 7% |
| Attending gatherings >100 pax | 6% | 3% | 5% | 9% | 7% | 7% | 4% | 31% | 28% |
| Working in shared office space | 16% | 7% | 9% | 17% | 6% | 4% | 3% | 25% | 12% |
| Buffet dining | 6% | 3% | 3% | 9% | 6% | 4% | 3% | 24% | 44% |
| Restaurant dining (non-buffet) | 31% | 15% | 10% | 12% | 6% | 7% | 5% | 10% | 5% |
| Hiring additional staff | 8% | 6% | 4% | 9% | 5% | 5% | 3% | 29% | 32% |
| Bringing back furloughed staff | 13% | 7% | 8% | 19% | 10% | 4% | 2% | 22% | 13% |
| Visiting a theme park | 4% | 5% | 3% | 5% | 6% | 3% | 2% | 22% | 51% |
| Visiting a casino | 5% | 5% | 3% | 4% | 4% | 1% | 3% | 20% | 55% |
Additional data regarding the level of comfort with these sorts of activities appears in our next Meetings Outlook survey (August 2020, The Meeting Professional).
On the supplier side, there’s a notable split regarding marketing plans specific to short-term recovery. While 36% of respondents said such plans were being deployed in June or July, a whopping 46% were unsure of the deployment timeframe or simply not developing these plans at all. Considering when meeting professionals expect to feel comfortable with various elements of the industry, it perhaps makes sense that marketing plans may be uncertain or lagging.
